Mountain West, Pac-12 Opt to Continue Divorce Proceedings in Poaching Fee Lawsuit

The Pac-12 and Mountain West, who have been embroiled in a messy breakup since last fall, will continue their divorce proceedings in court.

On Tuesday, the conferences filed a joint motion in federal court stating they were unable to reach a settlement during mediation to resolve a multimillion-dollar lawsuit over poaching fees the Mountain West required the Pac-12 to pay as part of the 2024-25 football scheduling partnership. 

The case will now proceed with a motion to dismiss hearing on Sept. 9—but ultimately, the parties could end up at trial.

“The Pac-12 remains committed to moving forward with legal action in response to the Mountain West’s attempt to impose so-called ‘poaching penalties,’ provisions we believe are unlawful and intend to obstruct our ability to act in the best interests of our student-athletes and member institutions,” the conference wrote in a statement Tuesday.

The Mountain West will argue that the case should be dismissed in a hearing on Sept. 9.  “The Mountain West provided the Pac-12 institutions with a lifeline, offering a full football schedule for the 2024 season,” the Mountain West said in a statement. “The Pac-12 willingly signed the scheduling agreement with full knowledge of the contractual provisions and is attempting to avoid its legal obligations.”

The lawsuit was first filed last September, in the middle of a wave of conference realignment, which saw five Mountain West programs decide to join the Pac-12—causing a rocky split for the two conferences that appeared, at one point, to be considering a union.

The Pac-12 and Mountain West had agreed to a scheduling partnership for the 2024-25 season that added Washington State and Oregon State, the two remaining members of the Pac-12, to the Mountain West’s conference football schedule. The agreement was heralded as mutually beneficial, bolstering the Mountain West’s schedule while helping the two-member Pac-12 regain its footing. But the agreement had a key benefit for the Mountain West: a stipulation that the Pac-12 would owe “poaching fees” to the Mountain West if it was successful in taking schools. 

Then, in September, the Pac-12 announced it would add five Mountain West schools: Utah State, Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, and Colorado State. As a result, the Mountain West requested the Pac-12 pay $55 million in exit poaching fees as stipulated in the scheduling partnership. The Pac-12 ultimately sued the Mountain West to get out of those payments, arguing that they were not legally enforceable. 

This past May, the two conferences agreed to enter mediation—though it did not bear fruit. In its statement, the Pac-12 said it engaged “in good faith,” but that the two-months-long mediation “did not result in a resolution.”

Now, the Mountain West will argue to dismiss the lawsuit in a hearing on Sept. 9.