Pac-12, Mountain West conferences agree to settlement in lawsuits over poaching and exit fees

The Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences have reached an agreement in principle to resolve pending lawsuits over “poaching” and exit fees.

The conferences issued a joint statement along with five schools on Monday saying the parties agreed to stay lawsuits in California and Colorado while they “work to negotiate and finalize the settlement.”

Boise State, Utah State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Fresno State joined the conferences in the statement.

The settlement agreement comes a day before a discovery hearing in the case was set to take place in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.

The Pac-12 and some of the schools joining the conference filed a lawsuit in California in 2024, claiming the poaching clause the league agreed to when it signed a scheduling agreement for its football teams was invalid. The clause called for payments to the Mountain West of $10 million for the first team that left, with the amount increasing by $500,000 for every additional team — to a total of $55 million.

The scheduling agreement with the Mountain West allowed Oregon State and Washington State to piece together football schedules after 10 schools left the Pac-12 in 2024, leaving the conference's future in doubt.

The Pac-12 had its motion to dismiss denied by Judge Claudia Wilken in November after the sides failed to reach an agreement in mediation last summer.

Colorado State and Utah State filed a separate lawsuit — later joined by Boise State — against the Mountain West seeking to avoid exit fees ranging from $19 million to $38 million.

Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Boise State are set to leave the Mountain West and join the Pac-12 this fall. The conference added Texas State in June to reach the eight-team minimum to be eligible for an automatic bid for its champion in the College Football Playoff.

Gonzaga also is leaving the West Coast Conference to join the Pac-12 as a non-football member this fall.

The Mountain West has added UTEP, Hawaii and Northern Illinois for football starting this fall.

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