Millions on the Line for UNM Athletics as Pac-12 & MWC Lawsuit Fails to Settle
Mountain West Conference Commissioner Gloria Nevarez speaks to members of the Albuquerque media during a home UNM men’s basketball game..
Eric Draper/Associated Press
Lately, attorneys have been the biggest winners in college athletics.
On Tuesday, lawyers for the Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences scored big again as both leagues filed a Joint Status Report in court announcing that attempts to mediate were unsuccessful.
Excerpt of Joint Status Report filed July 15, 2025 by the Mountain West and Pac-12 Conferences in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California.
“The Mountain West provided the Pac-12 institutions with a lifeline, offering a full football schedule for the 2024 season,” the MWC said in a statement after announcing the mediation had failed. “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.”
On the line is the $55 million in “poaching fees” that were agreed to in the scheduling agreement signed by the Mountain West, Pac-12, Oregon State and Washington State in late 2023.
A separate lawsuit was filed by Boise State, Colorado State, and Utah State against the Mountain West to challenge the exit fees outlined in the Mountain West Conference’s bylaws. The exit fees are separate and apart from the poaching penalties and are believed to start at $19 million per school, according to The Mercury News’ Jon Wilner.
In total, over $145 million could be owed by the Pac-12 and the departing Mountain West schools.
The parties have asked for a hearing on the Mountain West Conference’s Motion to Dismiss the lawsuit to take place on Sept. 9.
How Does the Lawsuit Directly Impact UNM?
In a perfect world, UNM would be entitled to millions of dollars from the poaching penalties and exit fees if the Pac-12 and departing schools’ lawsuits are unsuccessful. In December, the remaining Mountain West schools signed a Grant of Rights Agreement that would payout money obtained by the Mountain West conference to the remaining schools from the exit fees and poaching penalties.
The Grant of Rights Agreement signed by all remaining Mountain West schools includes a distribution of the first $61 million of the collected fees to Mountain West members as follows:
24.5% to UNLV and Air Force
11.5% to UNM, Nevada, San Jose State and Wyoming
5% to Hawaii
The distributions would be paid to the remaining conference members “as soon as practicable.”
According to the Grant of Rights Agreement, the next $18 million collected would be reserved for recruiting new schools. Any unused portion of the $18 million would be distributed to the current members in proportion to the distribution percentages outlined in the first tranche.
The next $21 million of collected fees would be distributed to the remaining schools according to the same percentages. The final amount of fees collected would be distributed to the remaining schools as follows:
15.83% to UNM, Air Force, UNLV, Nevada, San Jose State, Wyoming
5% to Nevada
Chris Murray of the Nevada Sports Net reported that if the entire $145 million were collected by the Mountain West and distributed to the remaining Mountain West Schools, total payouts could be as follows:
UNLV and Air Force ($31.6235 each)
UNM, Nevada, San Jose State, Wyoming ($18.6235 million each)
Hawaii ($7.25 million)
UNM President Garnett Stokes signed the Grant of Rights Agreement on behalf of UNM on Dec. 5, 2024. UNM is not directly represented in the Pac-12 and Mountain West lawsuit.
