Mountain West Vs. Pac-12: Mediation Collapses As $150M Dispute Moves Toward Trial

The Mountain West Conference and the new Pac-12 have gone to mediation, and it did not provide any kind of settlement between the two conferences. It looks like these two entities will find themselves in court in the near future, likely this October, based on court filings that suggest the hearing would take place about 30 days after the Mountain West's September 9 hearing of a motion to dismiss. It's unlikely the Mountain West gets that, and if they don't, then we move onto a hearing approximately 30 days later. 

The key issue at hand here is that the Mountain West is claiming that they are owed more than $150 million in exit and poaching fees by the five teams leaving for the Pac-12. Those five teams are Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State, Fresno State, and Utah State. 

The Pac-12 has released a statement on this matter:

“While the Pac-12 engaged in the process in good faith, the mediation did not result in a resolution. 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. We are confident in the strength of our position and remain focused on upholding the academic excellence, athletic success and proud tradition that have defined the Pac-12 for more than a century.”

We expect to hear more from the Mountain West's side of things this week during their media days. However, it does not look like this is going to be an amicable divorce between the conference and the exiting teams heading to the Pac-12. The surprise, sudden addition of Grand Canyon University earlier this month has only further complicated things between the teams and the conference.