Pac-12, Mountain West heading to court after failed mediation over exit fees, poaching penalties
The PAC-12 and Mountain West are heading for the court. The conferences could not conclude a settlement in the legal dispute on the exit costs and the poaching penalties linked to the acquisition by the PAC-12 of five mountain schools, and they made a joint deposit on Tuesday to request a hearing on September 9.
After the PAC-12 announced its additions of the state of wood, the state of colorado, the state of Fresno, the state of San Diego and the state of Utah, the Mountain West requested $ 55 million in penalties, claiming that the PAC-12 broke the terms of the planning agreement it signed to help the state of the Oregon and the state of Washington Build 12 games from the ASSAGE football season. The PAC-12 last fall continued legal action to cancel the costs, and the Mountain West filed a request for rejection of the prosecution.
The state of Colorado, the state of Utah and the state of afforestation brought a separate legal action against the Mountain West to challenge their costs of leaving the conference, which start at $ 19 million per school. According to Jon Wilner of Mercury News, this trial was also part of the failure of mediation between the two leagues.
“The PAC-12 conference and the Mountain West conference participated in a mediation initiated by the Mountain West on May 19, 2025, in order to resolve the current legal dispute,” PAC-12 said in a statement. “While the CAP-12 has embarked on the process of good faith, mediation did not lead to a solution. Today, the PAC-12 and Mountain West jointly asked for a hearing on the request awaiting dismissal to take place on September 9, 2025.
“The CAP-12 remains determined to go ahead with a legal action in response to the attempted Mountain West to impose” poaching penalties “, the provisions that we believe are illegal and intended to obstruct our ability to act in the best interest of our students and member institutions. We are confident in the strength of our position and remaining focused on the academic maintenance, Athletic, and to the proud tradition that has defined the greatest experience, the success of excellence, athletic success, and the proud of tradition which defined the Pac-Plus for the greatest experience, academic success, the success of sports, and the proud of tradition which defined the Pac-Plus for an academic examination, an athletic success, and a proud tradition which has defined the acadeck Pac-Sadec
The poaching penalties arise from a clause of the planning agreement between the PAC-12 and Mountain West which asked the first to pay fees of $ 10 million if they had added a school of the second. He also asked for mechanical stairs of $ 500,000 for each additional school. Given that PAC-12 officially voted to admit five schools to its members, the Mountain West totaled the costs of $ 55 million.
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Instead of setting up, however, the leagues will try their luck during the potential hearing of September 9. The CAP-12 could be ordered to pay the costs in full or to be fully deceased.
The five schools will join the CAP-12 in 2026, and in the months following their arrival announced in the imprint of the conference, two others entered the fold. Gonzaga, who does not sponsor a football program, will go from the West Coast conference as the first PAC-12 male basketball school. And earlier this summer, Texas State announced that it would bring its rapidly growing sports department to the League through the solar belt.
