Pac-12 And Mountain West Legal Battle Brews Over Poaching Penalties & Realignment

The bad blood between the Mountain West Conference and the teams that will remain in 2026, as well as the Pac-12 and the teams in the Mountain West leaving for the Pac-12 in 2026, continues to grow. It seems to be both getting personal and heading for court. Recently, UNLV Rebels athletic director Erick Harper continued to question the integrity of the Pac-12 and the departing teams. 

“At the end of the day, you’re having a conversation and you feel you can trust that person and what they believe in,” Harper said. “Then you have some people that are shady. You have your communications, you move forward and go from there.”

The Mountain West is moving forward with "poaching penalties" against the Pac-12 for adding Mountain West Conference teams, which they believe goes against a scheduling agreement they made with Oregon State and Washington State for the 2024 football season. The Pac-12 has held firm that they are willing to let this process play out in court. 

The Pac-12 released a statement:

“The Pac-12 and the Mountain West participated in a mediation initiated by the Mountain West … in an effort to resolve the ongoing legal dispute,” the Pac-12 said in a statement. “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.”