Pac-12, Mountain West agree in principle to settle poaching, exit fee lawsuits

The Pac-12 and Mountain West Conference, and the five schools departing the latter for the former including Fresno State, have reached an agreement in principle to settle lawsuits over exit and poaching fees that have dragged on for more than a year.

The conferences in a joint statement on Monday said they have agreed to stay lawsuits that were filed in California and Colorado while they work to negotiate and finalize the settlement.

What that means for Fresno State and its bottom line is not yet clear, but schools paying exit fees upon leaving a conference typically negotiate lower exit fees — the schools that ditched the Pac-12, starting with USC and UCLA, did not pay an exit fee with the conference’s media rights contract expiring.

The Pac-12 had filed suit claiming a poaching clause in a scheduling agreement between the conferences for the 2024 football season was invalid. Oregon State and Washington State, in need of a lifeline and football games after the Pac-12 lost 10 of its members, each played six Mountain West schools that season.

That agreement between the conferences included a poaching penalty, through which the Mountain West would receive $10 million if one of its teams were to leave for a rebuilding Pac-12, with that amount increasing by $500,000 with each additional team to bolt.

Fresno State, Boise State, Colorado State and San Diego State were admitted to the Pac-12 in September 2024 and later joined by Utah State, bringing that total to $55 million.

The five schools will officially join the Pac-12 on July 1, along with Texas State from the Sun Belt Conference. Gonzaga is leaving the West Coast Conference to join the Pac-12 in all its sports as a non-football playing full member of the league.

Colorado State and Utah State later filed a separate suit in Colorado that was joined by Boise State, seeking to avoid paying exit fees from the Mountain West of more than $20 million.

The Mountain West added Hawaii and Texas-El Paso as full members, Grand Canyon as a full non-football member and Northern Illinois and North Dakota State as football-only members to the league. Hawaii previously played football in the Mountain West and was in the Big West in its other sports.

The Mountain West schools that did not jump to the Pac-12 were promised significant payouts funded by the poaching penalties and exit fees. UNLV and Air Force are to receive 24.5% of the first $61 million collected by the Mountain West.