Pac-12 files lawsuit against Mountain West over 'poaching penalty'

The ongoing conference realignment war between the Mountain West and Pac-12 has landed in a lawsuit.

The Pac-12 filed a complaint Tuesday in the U.S. District for the Northern District of California over a poaching penalty. With the scheduling agreement signed by Oregon State and Washington State for the 2024 season, the Pac-12 agreed to a poaching penalty of $10 million for the first Mountain West school acquired.

From there, the penalty would increase by roughly $1 million. The Pac-12 has added Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Colorado State and Utah State in less than two weeks. The Pac-12 all-in now would owe over $50 million.

The conference claims the Mountain West’s rules are unlawful and an antitrust violation. The news was first reported by Yahoo! Sports.

“Knowing that the Pac-12 was running out of time and short on leverage, the MWC not only charged the Pac-12 supra-competitive prices to schedule football games – over $14 million for OSU and WSU to play just six games each – but it also forced the Pac-12 to accept an unprecedented Poaching Penalty provision wholly unrelated to scheduling football games and designed to limit the Pac-12’s ability to compete with the MWC for years into the future,” the Pac-12’s complaint states.

On the same day the Pac-12 added Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State, Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez sent a letter to the Pac-12 informing that it owed $43 million within 30 days of the letter. The complaint includes the letter as an exhibit.

The complaint states the poaching penalty violates federal and state antitrust law, California’s Unfair Competitive Law and the principles of contract law. The Pac-12’s attorneys also argue the penalty is a violation of antitrust law because “it is a naked, horizontal agreement in restraint of trade.” The Pac-12 also argues that the poaching penalty could impact the conference’s ability to continue its rebuild.

Each departing Mountain West school owes the league $17 million. The complaint is not related to these fees.

“There is no legitimate justification for the Poaching Penalty,” the complaint states. “In fact, the MWC already seeks to impose tens of millions of dollars in ‘exit fees’ on MWC schools that depart from the conference. To the extent the MWC would suffer any harm from the departures of its member schools, these exit fees provide more than sufficient compensation to the MWC.”

Where do the Pac-12, Mountain West stand?

Monday was one of the craziest days in college football realignment history.

Memphis, Tulane, USF and UTSA announced they were staying with the American Athletic Conference. But Utah State accepted an invitation to the Pac-12 on Monday night, throwing the Mountain West in flux.

Air Force had already signed a memorandum to stick with the Mountain West, spurning interest from the AAC and Pac-12. UNLV did not sign an agreement but appeared to be on track to stay with the conference. Utah State’s decision, however, forced UNLV officials to step back and evaluate what its next move would be.

As of 2:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday, the Rebels have not announced if they will leave for the Pac-12 or stay in the Mountain West. If they decide to leave, it could throw the Mountain West into a tailspin. Air Force is expected to pursue other options in the AAC if UNLV leaves.

The Mountain West bylaws state support from nine of the 12 football members is necessary to dissolve. In this situation, only two more schools would need to vote to dissolve the league. At that point, would the Pac-12 invite the remaining schools in a fatal strike against the Mountain West?