The Pac-12 has initiated a lawsuit against the Mountain West, challenging what it claims is an unlawful and unenforceable “poaching penalty” that could cost the Pac-12 over $40 million due to its recent additions of Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, and San Diego State. The lawsuit was filed on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.
The antitrust complaint seeks a declaratory judgment from the court. According to the lawsuit, “The action challenges an anticompetitive and unlawful ‘Poaching Penalty’ that the MWC imposed on the Pac-12 to inhibit competition for member schools in collegiate athletics.”
Currently, the Mountain West has exit fees exceeding $17 million for schools that decide to leave the conference. These fees can escalate based on how much notice is given by the departing institution but are not a focal point in this lawsuit.
The Pac-12 is contesting the poaching fees established in the Mountain West’s football scheduling agreement for the current season, which primarily affects Oregon State and Washington State, the only remaining Pac-12 members this season. The penalty begins at $10 million and increases by $500,000 for each additional school the Pac-12 recruits from the Mountain West. With four new schools already added, this penalty totals $43 million.
Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez stated that the Pac-12 had previously agreed to these fees, emphasizing their importance to Mountain West members. “The provision was put in place to protect the Mountain West Conference from this exact scenario. It was obvious to us and everyone across the country that the remaining members of the Pac-12 were going to try to rebuild,” she said. She further noted, “The fees at issue were included to ensure the future viability of the Mountain West and allow our member institutions to continue providing critical resources and opportunities for our student-athletes. At no point in the contracting process did the Pac-12 contend that the agreement that it freely entered into violated any laws.”
On Monday, the Pac-12 also extended invitations to Mountain West schools Utah State and UNLV. The lawsuit claims that Utah State was admitted, although no official announcement has been made by the school or the conference. Adding these two schools would cost the Pac-12 an additional $24.5 million and would leave the Mountain West with only six members, which is two short of the NCAA’s requirements for conference recognition.
The Pac-12 argues in its lawsuit that the already existing exit fees imposed by the Mountain West adequately address the financial impacts of departing members. The lawsuit contends that the poaching penalty is unrelated to the agreement between Oregon State, Washington State, and the Mountain West, which aimed to secure six football opponents for the current year in exchange for a $14 million payment to the Mountain West.
“It extends beyond the Scheduling Agreement’s terms, it does not affect the schedule in any respect, and it does not in any way impact the amount of football played, games scheduled or anything related to the 2024-25 scheduling of games,” the lawsuit states. It claims, “Instead, the Poaching Penalty serves only to increase the MWC’s profits by locking up its member schools and preventing them from leaving for a competitor (Pac-12).”
The scheduling deal with the Mountain West was not renewed for the next season. Oregon State and Washington State are currently operating the Pac-12 as a two-member conference during a two-year NCAA grace period. To maintain its status as a recognized conference by the NCAA and the College Football Playoff by 2026, the Pac-12 must secure at least eight members.
The first phase of the Pac-12’s expansion took place two weeks ago with the addition of Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Colorado State, which are among the Mountain West’s most successful football programs historically. Following this, the Pac-12 attempted to recruit schools from the American Athletic Conference but was unsuccessful with Memphis, UTSA, Tulane, and South Florida.
As the Pac-12 shifted focus back to Mountain West schools, the Mountain West sought to solidify its remaining eight members through a grant of rights agreement that connects schools within the conference through television rights. Some Mountain West institutions signed a memorandum of understanding and returned it to the conference, but Utah State’s lack of response allowed other schools to reconsider their positions.
With the Pac-12 now pursuing legal action against the Mountain West, the future directions of both conferences remain uncertain.
