Conference realignment update: Mountain West's pursuit of $55 million poaching penalty from Pac-12 expansion hits new roadblocks

Following the loss of all but two of its teams before last season, Pac-12 expansion is underway. Only two teams played in the Pac-12 last season, Oregon State and Washington State. As a result, there is a need for conference realignment to restore the once-great conference.

The Pac-12 has made significant moves over the past few months to expand the conference and reach the FBS parameters before the 2026 season. Six new teams have been added as part of Pac-12 expansion in college football.

Those teams include five former Mountain West teams: Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Utah State and San Diego State. Additionally, Texas State from the Sun Belt Conference is set to join the Pac-12. All of these teams will play one more season in their respective conferences before joining the Pac-12 for the 2026 season.

This Pac-12 expansion is good for the conference, but with five teams set to join from the Mountain West conference, the Mountain West is seeking a $55 million settlement in poaching fees. The Pac-12 and Mountain West had been undergoing mediation since May. However, they failed to reach an agreement before Tuesday's deadline.

The Pac-12 released a statement about the poaching situation with the Mountain West:

"The Pac-12 remains committed to moving forward with legal action in response to the Mountain West's attempt to impose so-called 'poaching penalties,' provisions we believe are unlawful and intended to obstruct our ability to act in the best interests of our student-athletes and member institutions."

Pac-12 Expansion: The Mountain West releases a statement about possible Pac-12 poaching penalties

Last season, the Pac-12 was in a unique situation with only two teams remaining in its conference. As a result, it signed scheduling agreements with various conferences so that its teams could have normal schedules.

As part of the agreement, there was a poaching clause. This clause would force the Pac-12 to pay the Mountain West $10 million for the first team that left, increasing by $500,000 with each subsequent team. The Mountain West released a statement about the poaching fees it is seeking this week:

"The Mountain West provided the Pac-12 institutions with a lifeline, offering a full football schedule for the 2024 season. The Pac-12 willingly signed the scheduling agreement with full knowledge of the contractual provisions and is attempting to avoid its legal obligations.

"The Mountain West will aggressively protect the interests of our member institutions and is fully prepared to hold the Pac-12 accountable."

In response to Pac-12 expansion, the Mountain West has added UTEP, Hawaii and Northern Illinois, starting in 2026.

About the author

Alexander O'Reilly is a journalist at Sportskeeda from Kingston, Ontario with over seven years in the field at companies including SenShot, RVBlogger, Monarch Media, WordAgents, GSeC LLC, and IGC.

His favorite college team is Duke, and his favorite sporting memory was Duke winning March Madness in 2010. JJ Redick was Alex's favorite college player when he was young but more recently, Caleb Williams gets the nod. As the Chicago Bears are Alex's favorite NFL team, this was a perfect match.

Alex's proudest moment came when he was interviewed by a radio station in Ottawa on his opinion on recent moves by the Ottawa Senators, which gave him a confidence boost and the knowledge that he could succeed as a writer.

Aside from sports, Alex likes to spend his time playing games. He is also very passionate about running and strives to improve at the half and full marathon distances.

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