Pac-12 sues Mountain West over 'poaching penalty' as conferences battle during latest round of realignment

The Pac-12 could owe more than $50 million to the MWC before exit fees

The Pac-12 filed a lawsuit against the Mountain West on Tuesday taking aim at a pricey "poaching fee," sources confirmed to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd. The suit, filed in the Northern District of California, alleges that the potential penalty is unenforceable under antitrust law.

When the Pac-12 entered a scheduling agreement with the Mountain West last year, the MWC added the poaching fee as a poison pill should the Pac-12 try and take schools from the league. As part of the agreement, the Pac-12 is required to pay more than $10 million per school in damages, which are separate from the $17 million exit fee that schools must pay. 

In previous weeks, the league has added five schools from the Mountain West: Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Fresno State and Utah State. Under this agreement, the Pac-12 would owe more than $50 million before even taking into account exit fees from each schools. 

"There is no legitimate justification for the 'poaching penalty,'" the complaint said, according to Yahoo Sports. "In fact, the MWC already seeks to impose tens of millions of dollars in 'exit fees' on MWC schools that depart from the conference. To the extent the MWC would suffer any harm from the departures of its member schools, these exit fees provide more than sufficient compensation to the MWC."

The remaining Pac-12 schools -- Oregon State and Washington State --  and the Mountain West entered into a scheduling agreement before the 2024 season in order to help create a slate for the two stragglers. The other 10 legacy members of the Pac-12 ultimately joined power conference leagues. As part of the agreement, the Pac-12 schools paid the Mountain West $14 million for 12 games. 

The agreement had a second-year option available, but both schools had to opt into the agreement. Ultimately, it passed without getting extended. The lawsuit alleges that Oregon State and Washington State essentially signed the agreement under duress despite believing that the "poaching fee" was unenforceable because it had such little time to pull together a full schedule.