Pac-12, Mountain West reach settlement to end legal battle over realignment poaching fees

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Tyler McFarland / Getty Images Share articleThe Mountain West and Pac-12 have reached a settlement in principle to end their lawsuits against each other, according to federal court records. Once finalized, the settlement will end a year and a half of litigation between the Football Bowl Subdivision’s two West Coast-based conferences over $55 million in poaching fees. In a joint statement Monday, the leagues said they’ve agreed to pause the cases while they “negotiate and finalize the settlement.” The case is a relic of the last round of conference realignment and centers on a scheduling agreement between the leagues for the 2024 football season. As the Pac-12 splintered into the Pac-2 after 10 schools left for the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC, the Mountain West offered a scheduling lifeline to Oregon State and Washington State. As part of that deal, the Pac-12 agreed to pay poaching fees if it added some (but not all) Mountain West schools. After the conferences failed to agree on a scheduling arrangement for the 2025 season, the Pac-12 added five Mountain West schools: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State. Those programs, along with Gonzaga and Texas State, will formally join the Pac-12 on July 1. In September 2024, the Pac-12 sued the Mountain West over the poaching fees, arguing those terms were forced upon the league at a vulnerable time. The Mountain West filed a counterclaim against the Pac-12 last fall, arguing that both conferences freely approved the terms. Mountain West football restocked by adding UTEP and North Dakota State as full members and Northern Illinois as a football-only member. A hearing about discovery in the case had been scheduled for Tuesday in the U.S. District Court’s Northern District of California. Three incoming Pac-12 schools — Boise State, Colorado State and Utah State — had separately sued the Mountain West in a district court in Colorado. That case has also been paused as they work out the settlement. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms