Pac-12 sues Mountain West over ‘invalid and unenforceable’ fees

The battle for conference survival between the Pac-12 and Mountain West has moved from the boardroom to the courtroom.

As UNLV continues to ponder whether to remain a member of the Mountain West or join the five schools that have defected for the Pac-12, the power struggle between the leagues is now the subject of a federal lawsuit.

The Pac-12 filed the lawsuit against the Mountain West in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California on Tuesday, hoping to vacate the so-called “poaching fees” that were part of a scheduling agreement between the two leagues.

The agreement required the Pac-12 to pay the Mountain West a fee if it added a school from the Mountain West, with the amount escalating for each defection. The Pac-12 alleges the Mountain West asked for $43 million after Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State announced Sept. 12 their intention to leave the Mountain West for the Pac-12 for the 2026-27 school year.

The Pac-12 also alleges the Mountain West signaled its intent to ask for more money after Utah State left for the Pac-12 on Monday. The Pac-12 referred to those fees as “invalid and unenforceable” in its lawsuit.

Part of the lawsuit hinges on the claim that the Pac-12 had little leverage when the scheduling agreement was announced Dec. 1. The deal came about when Oregon State and Washington State were the final two remaining Pac-12 schools after conference realignment, leaving them with few options to fill out their football schedules.

The Pac-12 lost Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington to the Big Ten; Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah to the Big 12; and Cal and Stanford to the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“The Poaching Penalty saddles the Pac-12 with exorbitant and punitive monetary fees for engaging in competition by accepting MWC member schools into the Pac-12,” the lawsuit states. “The MWC imposed this Poaching Penalty at a time when the Pac-12 was desperate to schedule football games for its two remaining members and had little leverage to reject this naked restraint on competition.”

MW denounces lawsuit

Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said in a statement she will continue to do what is in the best interest of her league and its current members. She accused the Pac-12 of trying to get out of a stipulation that was a major factor in the Mountain West agreeing to the deal in the first place.

“The provision was put in place to protect the Mountain West Conference from this exact scenario,” Nevarez said. “It was obvious to us and everyone across the country that the remaining members of the Pac-12 were going to try to rebuild. 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. To say that the Mountain West was taking advantage of the Pac-12 could not be farther from the truth. The Mountain West Conference wanted to help the Pac-12 schools and student-athletes, but not at the expense of the Mountain West.

“The Pac-12 has taken advantage of our willingness to help them and enter into a scheduling agreement with full acknowledgment and legal understanding of their obligations. Now that they have carried out their plan to recruit certain Mountain West schools, they want to walk back what they legally agreed to. There has to be a consequence to these types of actions.”

Suit cites exit fees

The lawsuit might have been filed in California because the state has case law that strongly supports ruling against punitive actions that suppress competition, such as poaching fees and noncompete clauses.

The Pac-12 was able to file in federal court because it claimed the Mountain West was in violation of antitrust laws.

The lawsuit also states that the Mountain West is already receiving enough compensation for the defections to the Pac-12 in the form of exit fees. Each school leaving the conference has to pay the Mountain West between $18 million and $20 million.

“To the extent the MWC would suffer any harm from the departures of its member schools, these exit fees provide more than sufficient compensation to the MWC,” the suit claims. “There is no reason why the schools’ new conference should be responsible for compensating the MWC further, or why such penalties should apply to only one competitor conference: the Pac-12.”

UNR seeks answers

While UNLV’s pending decision has generated most of the headlines, the rest of the remaining schools are left wondering whether the Mountain West will stay viable.

UNR president Brian Sandoval said he has been in communication with the league office.

“Our leadership is monitoring the current situation and is in frequent contact with Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez about the future of the conference,” he said in a statement. “We will continue to work toward the best solutions for the University of Nevada and our student-athletes.”

Contact Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.