The Pac-12 and Mountain West took a major step Wednesday toward resolving their legal disputes over more than $100 million in poaching penalties and exit fees, disclosing that they will engage in mediation.
The process is scheduled to begin May 19. The mediator is not named in court filings in the Northern District of California, nor is there a date listed for the mediation to conclude. However, the conferences have requested a 60-day extension on the current stay of the poaching penalty lawsuit. (That stay was set to expire May 16.)
The Mountain West initiated the conversation about mediation, according to a source.
“While the Pac-12 is committed to engaging in mediation in good faith,” the conference said in a statement issued Wednesday, “we remain confident in the strength of our position and are fully prepared to move forward with our case if we cannot reach an acceptable resolution. Our priority continues to be the well-being and fair treatment of our student-athletes.” (Full statement below.)
The Pac-12 took the Mountain West to court last fall over $55 million in poaching penalties the Mountain West claimed it was owed following the announced departures of five schools (Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State), which are scheduled to join the Pac-12 in the summer of 2026.
A second lawsuit emerged in late 2024 when Colorado State and Utah State challenged the exit fees owed to the Mountain West as part of their planned departures. The fees are believed to carry a price tag starting at $19 million per school. Boise State eventually joined the lawsuit.
Discussions about possible mediation began months ago. The May 19 meeting will include both the poaching penalty and exit fee lawsuits, per the court filing Wednesday:
“As the Parties previewed for the Court, that mediation will also include parties in a related case filed in December 2024 in Colorado state court.”
How long might the mediation last? The extension on the stay is requested through July 15, but the process could take one day or many weeks. When Washington State and Oregon State took the Pac-12’s former schools to court in the fall of 2023 over control of the conference, mediation required numerous sessions and lasted three months.
The Pac-12 and Mountain West are seeking media rights agreements for their rebuilt conferences that would begin in the summer of 2026. The former just announced a deal for the 2025 season with The CW, CBS and ESPN. All three networks are believed to be interested in a multi-year agreement with the conference.
The degree to which the poaching penalty and exit fee lawsuits have delayed completion of a media deal is not known.
Here’s the full statement from the Pac-12:
Related Articles
College football Top 25 rankings: Clemson is No. 1, then Penn State, Texas
CFB recap: Bill Belichick, the CBS fiasco and bread crumbs to realignment
Mailbag: Big Ten, SEC and the next FBS realignment wave
Stanford AD search: How GM Andrew Luck’s role impacts candidate pool
CFB recruiting: USC sizzles, ASU lands elite JC, Cal’s southern surprise
“The Pac-12 Conference (Pac-12) and the Mountain West Conference (MWC) have submitted a joint filing indicating they will try to mediate their dispute beginning on May 19, 2025. As part of this process, both parties have requested a 60-day extension to stay their ongoing legal proceedings so they can focus on the mediation.
“It is important to note that the Pac-12 initiated this legal action in September 2024, in response to the MWC’s attempt to impose unlawful ‘poaching penalties’ which were designed to hinder our ability to act in the best interests of our student-athletes and member institutions.
“While the Pac-12 is committed to engaging in mediation in good faith, we remain confident in the strength of our position and are fully prepared to move forward with our case if we cannot reach an acceptable resolution. Our priority continues to be the well-being and fair treatment of our student-athletes.”
*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to [email protected] or call 408-920-5716
*** Follow me on the social media platform X: @WilnerHotline