In the upcoming 2024 college football season, teams from the Pac-12 will compete against teams from the Mountain West Conference on the field multiple times.

However, the two conferences are now entering a legal battle as a result of the Pac-12 filing a lawsuit on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, according to a report by Ross Dellenger from Yahoo! Sports. The Pac-12 is requesting a judge’s ruling on millions in penalties that the Mountain West Conference (MWC) claims it is owed for the Pac-12’s acquisition of five MWC schools.

The Pac-12 labels these penalties in its lawsuit as “illegal, unenforceable, and contrary to antitrust laws.” Following the exit of several teams to the Big Ten and Atlantic Coast Conferences during the recent shift in collegiate athletics, the Pac-12 recently revealed it will welcome Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Fresno State, and Utah State from the Mountain West into their ranks. An offer is also extended to UNLV for joining. This lawsuit marks the first public acknowledgment from the Pac-12 regarding the incorporation of Utah State.

As reported by Dellenger, the lawsuit revolves around a “poaching fee” that MWC commissioner Gloria Nevarez included in a scheduling agreement signed between the conferences last year. This situation is separate from the more than $17 million exit fees each school is liable to pay.

The alleged poaching fee is set at $10 million for each school that joins, with an increase of $1 million for every new addition. The MWC has demanded $43 million in “liquidated damages” from the Pac-12 due to the recent additions of Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Colorado State. With Utah State’s addition this week, the total now surpasses $50 million, as reported by Yahoo!

“There is no sound reason for the ‘poaching penalty,'” the lawsuit claims, based on Yahoo! “In fact, the MWC is already pursuing tens of millions of dollars in ‘exit fees’ from schools that leave their conference. If the MWC experiences any repercussions from the departure of its member institutions, these exit fees provide more than adequate compensation.”

During the summer, Oregon State and Washington State, the last two remaining members of the original Pac-12, reached a deal to pay MWC schools approximately $14 million to arrange six games. However, there was no consensus on a second year of games for 2025, with the MWC requesting $30 million for the same schedule, resulting in a breakdown of negotiations.

Following the departures of USC, UCLA, and Oregon to the Big Ten and ACC, Oregon State and Washington State were compelled to proactively seek scheduling agreements to ensure their operations continued for the athletes committed to their programs. The Pac-12’s complaint alleges that the MWC exploited the situation of a “vulnerable and needy conference.” Throughout the discussions, the participating schools did not regard the “poaching fee” as lawful or enforceable.