Pac-12, MW pause suit, work toward settlement
Kyle BonaguraMay 18, 2026, 05:16 PM ET Close Covers college football. Joined ESPN in 2014. Attended Washington State University. Multiple Authors The Pac-12 and Mountain West have reached an agreement in principle to resolve their legal battle related to the former’s rebuilding efforts. In a joint statement, the conferences — along with Boise State, Utah…
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Kyle Bonagura
Multiple Authors
The Pac-12 and Mountain West have reached an agreement in principle to resolve their legal battle related to the former’s rebuilding efforts.
In a joint statement, the conferences — along with Boise State, Utah State, Colorado State, Fresno State and San Diego State — said the parties had agreed to formally pause the lawsuits filed in California and Colorado while they work to negotiate and finalize a settlement.
In September 2024, the Pac-12 filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the legality of “poaching penalties” included in a football scheduling agreement it signed with the Mountain West in December 2023. As part of the agreement, the Mountain West included language that called for the Pac-12 to pay a fee of $10 million if one of its schools left for the Pac-12, with escalators of $500,000 for each additional school.
The total penalty for the five schools that jumped to the Pac-12 totaled $55 million.
Colorado State and Utah State later filed a separate lawsuit against the Mountain West, seeking to avoid having to pay exit fees that could range from $19 million to $38 million, with Boise State later joining the lawsuit.
A formal settlement to resolve all the outstanding issues is expected to come soon.
The new-look Pac-12 is set to begin play this fall, with Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State set to join longtime members Oregon State and Washington State.
After the departure of five members to the Pac-12, Mountain West membership for football now includes Air Force, Hawai’i, Nevada, New Mexico, Northern Illinois, North Dakota State, San Jose State, UNLV, UTEP and Wyoming.
