-
Kyle Bonagura, ESPN staff writer
The Pac-12 filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday challenging the validity of “poaching penalties” included in the football scheduling agreement it signed with the Mountain West Conference in December.
After Oregon State and Washington State struggled to fill their 2024 football schedules following the Pac-12’s collapse late last year, they agreed to a one-year deal with the Mountain West that adds six MWC opponents to each remaining Pac-12 school’s schedule this season.
As part of the agreement, the Mountain West stipulated that if a school left the MWC and joined the Pac-12, it would pay the Pac-12 a $10 million fee, plus an escalator of $500,000 for each additional school.
“This action challenges an anti-competitive and unlawful ‘poaching penalty’ that the MWC imposed on the Pac-12 to impede competition for member schools in collegiate athletics,” the lawsuit states. “The ‘poaching penalty’ imposes an excessive and punitive monetary fee on the Pac-12 for engaging in competition by admitting MWC member schools into the Pac-12.
“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 few resources to reject this blatant ban on competition.”
When Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State announced on Sept. 12 that they were leaving the Mountain West and joining the Pac-12, it was expected that the Pac-12 would have to pay $43 million in fees outlined in the scheduling agreement. That number jumped to $55 million on Monday after Utah State accepted an offer to leave the Mountain West for the Pac-12.
The same day those announcements were made, Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez sent an email to Pac-12 chief legal officer Scott Petersmeyer, citing the Pac-12's “obligation” to pay the $43 million within 30 days.
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould responded to Nevarez’s email on Tuesday, informing him of the lawsuit, and underscoring the conference’s stance that the fee is unlawful.
“Essentially, these provisions attempt to impede competition by imposing excessive and punitive monetary fees on the Pac-12 simply for accepting MWC member schools into the Pac-12,” Gould’s letter said. “As you know, the MWC imposed these unfair penalties over the Pac-12’s objections at a time when the Pac-12 was desperate to schedule football games for its two remaining members and had little choice but to reject this blatant restriction on competition.”
The Mountain West was reviewing the lawsuit when contacted by ESPN on Tuesday but could not immediately comment.
The lawsuit also noted that each departing school would be required to pay an exit fee of approximately $18 million to the Mountain West.
“To the extent the MWC would suffer any harm from the departure of its member schools, these exit fees provide more than adequate compensation to the MWC,” the lawsuit states. “There is no reason why the schools’ new conference should be responsible for further compensating the MWC, or why such penalties should apply to only one competitive conference: the Pac-12.”
Negotiations this summer between the Pac-12 and Mountain West to extend the scheduling agreement through the 2025 season ended with a significant difference between what the Mountain West was asking for and the amount the Pac-12 would pay.
“The conferences’ negotiations broke down after the MWC demanded $30 million from the Pac-12 for the 2025-2026 season, which is more than double the already exorbitant price the MWC charged the Pac-12 for games during the 2024-2025 season,” the lawsuit states. “After the parties were unable to reach a consensus in the face of the MWC’s financial demands, the MWC Commissioner halted further discussions stating, ‘I guess we have to move on.’”
With both conferences having seven schools — starting in the 2026 season — more movement is inevitable, as the NCAA requires a conference to have eight football-playing schools. UNLV backed away from that commitment on Monday after confirming its commitment to the Mountain West, only to learn that Utah State was leaving for the Pac-12.