Pac-12 vs. Mountain West Lawsuit: The Chaos of Conference Realignment
Last week, the Pac-12 Conference filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference over an alleged unlawful poaching penalty that would make the Pac-12 pay $43 million for adding four schools from the Mountain West.?
Earlier this month, the Pac-12 announced the additions of Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, and San Diego State to the conference. All four schools currently compete in the Mountain West Conference.?
The Mountain West has a significant exit fee for departing schools, which can reach upwards of $17 million depending on how much notice a school provides before leaving the conference. The lawsuit revolves around an additional "poaching penalty" included in the Mountain West’s scheduling agreement with Oregon State and Washington State, the only remaining members of the Pac-12 for the 2024 season.
The penalty starts at $10 million and increases by $500,000 for every additional school that the Pac-12 adds from the Mountain West. With four schools already on board, the penalty currently totals $43 million.
Further expansion plans by the Pac-12 are aimed at Utah State and UNLV, which would add an additional $24.5 million to the penalty total. This lawsuit is critical for the Pac-12’s efforts to rebuild after losing most of its members to other conferences during the ongoing wave of conference realignment.
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Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez defended the poaching penalties in a public statement:
“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,” Nevarez said. “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.”
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