LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The Mountain West conference is pumping the brakes on adding any new schools due to ongoing lawsuits with the Pac-12.
That was announced by Commissioner Gloria Nevarez at Mountain West Media Days in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
"We're going to pause right now as far as additional membership," she said. "Never say never, but we really want to get through our media rights negotiation, take a deep breath and then we'll readdress the issue."
The Mountain West conference will be made up of at least eight teams, starting in July 2026, including:
- UNLV
- Air Force
- Nevada
- New Mexico
- San Jose State
- Wyoming
- Hawai'i
- UTEP
You may remember that five schools will leave the Mountain West for the Pac-12 in July 2026, which includes:
- Colorado State
- Boise State
- California State University - Fresno
- San Diego State
- Utah State
Each school leaving the Mountain West will pay exit and withdrawal fees that equate to $17 million to $18 million per school. In September, the Pac-12 filed a lawsuit against the Mountain West for imposing a "poaching penalty". Those fees, which would be in addition to the exit and withdrawal fees, start at $10 million and increase by an increment of $500,000 for every additional school the Pac-12 adds from the Mountain West.
The United States District Court in the Northern District of California stayed the case so officials from both conferences could try to mediate the matter.
On Tuesday, a new court filing state both parties "participated in mediation on May 19, 2025, and were unable to resolve the case."
Attorneys for the Mountain West conference have filed a motion to dismiss the case and a hearing to discuss the motion is set for Sept. 9.
"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," Pac-12 officials said in a statement.
The Pac-12 claim the poaching clause it agreed to when signing scheduling agreements for football teams last season was invalid.
"The Mountain West provided the Pac-12 institutions with a lifeline, offering a full football schedule for the 2024 season," the Mountain West said in a statement. "The Pac-12 willingly signed the scheduling agreement with full knowledge of the contractual provisions and is attempting to avoid its legal obligations. The Mountain West will aggressively protect the interests of our member institutions and is fully prepared to hold the Pac-12 accountable."
Meantime, plans are still on track for the Mountain West to move their conference offices from Colorado Springs to Las Vegas.
Conference officials previously told me they picked Las Vegas because they wanted to have a central footprint. As part of the previously released Memorandum Of Understanding, the Mountain West Conference's basketball championships will be played in Las Vegas.
On Wednesday, Nevarez said the plan is to relocate to Las Vegas in July 2026.
