UNLV athletic director slams Pac-12, outgoing Mountain West members

UNLV athletic director Erick Harper remains all-in with the Mountain West Conference. 

Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State are all leaving the MWC for the Pac-12 next summer to link up with current members Oregon State and Washington State, Gonzaga of the West Coast Conference and Texas State of the Sun Belt. 

While not among the first group of Pac-12 expansion targets, UNLV was courted by the conference after Memphis and others declined invitations.  The Rebels chose to stick with the MWC after commissioner Gloria Nevarez offered a bigger share of the pie to Air Force and UNLV. 

In a recent interview with Chris Vannini of The Athletic, Harper fired a shot at Pac-12 leadership and the five outgoing MWC schools. 

“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 told Vannini. “Then you have some people that are shady. You have your communications, you move forward and go from there.”

Earlier this week, the deadline passed for the Pac-12 and MWC to reach a settlement agreement in mediation over $150 million-plus in exit fees and poaching penalties. The two sides will instead head back to court in September. 

“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.”

In December 2023, the MWC and remaining Pac-12 members Oregon State and Washington State agreed to a scheduling partnership for the 2024 football season. The scheduling partnership included a poaching penalty if the Pac-12 added members from the MWC. 

Vannini reported that the MWC believes that Oregon State and Washington State “knew what they signed” in the scheduling agreement and is “fully prepared to hold the Pac-12 accountable.”