The Mountain West filed a motion Monday to dismiss a Pac-12 lawsuit challenging the millions of dollars of poaching fees that were included in a football-scheduling agreement between Oregon State, Washington State and the MW.
According to the filing, a motion to dismiss hearing is scheduled for March 25 in federal court in the Northern District of California, located in San Jose, Calif.
Earlier this year, the Pac-12 lost 10 members to other power conferences. In September, the conference announced it was adding Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Utah State from the Mountain West in 2026 to the conference as it rebuilds around Oregon State and Washington State.
The departing schools will owe the conference exit fees of upward of $17 million each. The Pac-12 is also on the hook for more than $50 million in fees related to the scheduling deal struck between Oregon State, Washington State and the Mountain West last year.
The Pac-12 filed an antitrust lawsuit in September, claiming that the so-called “Poaching Penalty” was “anticompetitive and unlawful” because it restricts offers the conference could make to Mountain West members.
The Pac-12 also claims the penalties had nothing to do with the scheduling agreement, were forced upon Oregon State and Washington State under a tight deadline to put a 2024 football slate in place and were designed to prevent the Pac-12 from competing with the Mountain West.
The Mountain West says Oregon State and Washington State agreed to the fees freely and raised no objection to them at the time the deal was being done.
“As a preliminary matter, the Pac-12 has no antitrust standing: it fails to allege any harm to competition or to itself,” the Mountain West’s filing said.
Oregon State and Washington State are taking advantage of an NCAA grace period and operating as a two-team league this season and next. To fill out a 12-game football schedule for this season, the schools struck a deal with the Mountain West to play what amounted to seven nonconference games with its teams.
Fearing the Pac-12 schools might try to rebuild the conference by inviting some of the Mountain West’s members, the conference tried to protect itself with the poaching penalties.
Oregon State and Washington State could not come to an agreement for 2025 and a few weeks later the Pac-12 did invite Mountain West schools to join the reconfigured conference. The Pac-12 now contends the poaching penalties are illegal because they have no relation to the purpose of the contract, which was scheduling football games.
The Pac-12 has also added Gonzaga to its rebuild but is in need of at least one more football school to get to the eight required for its champion to be eligible to qualify for a spot in the College Football Playoff.
The Mountain West has subsequently used the incoming exit fees from the Pac-12 to sway UNLV and Air Force to remain in the conference. The Mountain West has also announced the additions of UTEP and Tarleton State as football-playing members and Hawaii moving from being football-only to full membership in 2026.
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