Pac-12 sues Mountain West over $43 million in poaching penalties in conference realignment dispute

The Pac-12 Conference has filed a lawsuit against the Mountain West Conference (MWC), seeking a declaratory judgment that a “poaching penalty” imposed by the MWC is invalid and unenforceable.

The lawsuit, filed Tuesday, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, challenges a clause in the agreement between the two athletic conferences that penalizes the Pac-12 for recruiting Mountain West schools.

The legal dispute centers on a provision included in a football scheduling agreement signed in December 2023, following the departure of 10 Pac-12 member schools.

The Pac-12, left with only Oregon State University and Washington State University, negotiated with the MWC to arrange a football schedule for the 2024-2025 season.

During these negotiations, the MWC imposed a “poaching penalty” that would force the Pac-12 to pay significant monetary penalties if any Mountain West schools were recruited to join the Pac-12.

According to the court documents, the Pac-12 argues that the penalty is anti-competitive and was designed to stifle competition between the two conferences.

The complaint asserts that the penalty, which ranges from $10 million to over $137 million depending on how many schools the Pac-12 recruits, unlawfully restricts the Pac-12 from competing for member schools.

The lawsuit claims that the penalty violates federal antitrust laws and seeks to have it declared unenforceable.

The Pac-12 maintains that this penalty hinders its ability to rebuild after the exodus of 10 schools and threatens its status as a top-tier collegiate athletic conference.

The lawsuit also notes that the MWC already imposes significant exit fees on schools leaving the conference, rendering the poaching penalty unnecessary and punitive.

This legal challenge comes after the Pac-12 admitted five Mountain West schools to begin competing in the conference in the 2026-2027 season.

The MWC responded by demanding $43 million in penalties from the Pac-12.

©2024 Cox Media Group