Pac-12 files lawsuit against MWC over pricy ‘poaching penalty’

The Pac-12 has filed a legal complaint against the MWC over a “poaching penalty” agreement. (Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images)

The battle between the Mountain West and the Pac-12 is now moving into the courthouse.

The Pac-12 filed a legal complaint on Tuesday over millions of dollars in penalties that the Mountain West believes it is owed for the acquisition of five MWC schools, describing the penalties as unlawful, unenforceable and a violation of antitrust law.

The league made the filing Tuesday morning in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, seeking declaratory relief from a judge.

Mired now in a realignment struggle for members, the Pac-12 and Mountain West, often thought of as sister leagues, are at the center of the latest conference realignment shakeup. In a rebuilding effort, the Pac-12 has already acquired five schools from the Mountain West and has an offer out for at least one more, UNLV, which as of noon ET has not made a decision on its future.

The suit filed Tuesday is related to a “poaching penalty” that was included in a scheduling agreement that the two conferences entered last year. Aware of the Pac-12’s possible plans to rebuild with Mountain West members, the league’s commissioner, Gloria Nevarez, included the penalty in the agreement as a disincentive.

The suit is not related to the Mountain West exit fees of more than $17 million per school.

The poaching penalty is $10 million for the first school acquired from the Mountain West and then increases by about $1 million for each additional school that the Pac-12 acquires. After the Pac-12’s additions of Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State, the Mountain West demanded that the Pac-12 pay $43 million in “liquidated damages” from the poaching penalty, according to the suit. That figure, with…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/pac-12-files-lawsuit-against-mwc-over-pricy-poaching-penalty-172306036.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-24 17:23:06

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