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Pac-12 Sues Mountain West Conference Over ‘Unlawful’ Poaching Penalty

Law.com
09/24/2024

On behalf of the Pac-12, Keker, Van Nest & Peters has filed an antitrust lawsuit against rival the Mountain West Conference (MWC) in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenging the "poaching penalty" imposed by the MWC in a football scheduling agreement.

The lawsuit claims that the Pac-12 was forced to agree to these terms under duress in December 2023 when it was struggling to schedule football games for its remaining two members, Oregon State University (OSU) and Washington State University (WSU), after 10 of its 12 member schools left for other conferences. The MWC allegedly capitalized on Pac-12's position by charging $14 million for six games and imposing an unprecedented poaching penalty ranging from $10 million to $137.5 million if any schools departed from MWC to join the Pac-12.

The lawsuit also notes that on September 12, MWC charged the Pac-12 $43 million under the poaching penalty provision when four former MWC schools—Boise State University, California State University, Fresno, Colorado State University, and San Diego State University—applied to join the Pac-12 for the 2026-2027 season. Pac-12 argues that such exorbitant penalties would undermine its ability to rebuild and recruit the two additional schools required to maintain NCAA compliance.

“The Mountain West Conference’s attempt to charge the Pac-12 exorbitant poaching penalties as a condition for scheduling football games is unfair, anticompetitive, and unlawful,” said Eric H. MacMichael, a KVP partner representing Pac-12 in the suit. “We’re proud to represent the Pac-12 in standing up for fair competition on and off the field.”

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