Colorado State, Utah State File Lawsuit Against Mountain West Over Exit Fees

On Monday, Colorado State and Utah State filed a lawsuit against the Mountain West in Colorado state court. The complaint, obtained by Yahoo Sports, alleges the two universities had not agreed to the minimum $19 million in exit fees that the conference has requested they pay before they join the Pac-12 in 2026.

Attorneys for the two schools called the exit fees “extraordinary and illicit actions penalizing the five members planning to join the Pac-12 Conference in 2026.”

“The conference and its commissioner, Gloria Nevarez, willfully disregarded conference bylaws and governance procedures and have threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars—including this season’s College Football Playoff revenues and post-season travel cost reimbursement—from the members,” O’Melveny & Myers partner Steve Olson said in a statement.

In September, the Pac-12 announced it would add five schools from the Mountain West in 2026 including Colorado State and Utah State—part of a plan to rebuild the conference. The other three departing schools—Boise State, Fresno State, and San Diego State—are not parties to the lawsuit. 

“The lawsuit filed today by Colorado State and Utah State is an inappropriate attempt to circumvent their clear financial obligations as departing members of the Mountain West,” the conference said in a statement. “The Mountain West rules pertaining to withdrawal from the Conference are long-standing and were developed and codified by the current member institutions – including Colorado State and Utah State.”

The Pac-12 made the announcement in the middle of a football scheduling partnership with the Mountain West, which allowed remaining members Oregon State and Washington State to enter a season-long conference schedule with Mountain West programs this year. But the contract also said that if the Pac-12 admitted any of the Mountain West programs during a certain window, the conference would owe the Mountain West tens of millions in damage fees.

The Pac-12 currently owes $55 million for poaching five schools, according to a copy of the contract previously obtained by FOS. But the Pac-12 quickly filed a lawsuit against the Mountain West to get out of paying the poaching fees.

Remaining Mountain West members signed a memorandum of understanding to keep the league together for several years. The agreement also offered bonuses to the schools that would be funded through departing members’ exit fees. O’Melveny partner Matt Cowan, Utah State and Colorado State counsel, referred to the memorandum as created through “secret meetings” and “side agreements.”

The league has since announced plans to upgrade Hawai‘i to a full football-playing member, as well as add UTEP, UC Davis, and Grand Canyon University. GCU is embroiled in realignment-related litigation of its own, as the West Coast Conference is going after the school in court to obtain entry and exit fees, the league announced last week.

Disputes over exit fees are common in conference realignment, though schools and conferences usually come to agreements outside of court. This particular wave of realignment, however, has also brought a wave of litigation.