The Mountain West is soldiering on with holdovers UNLV, New Mexico, Air Force, Nevada, San Jose State, Hawaii and Wyoming. It has added\u00a0UTEP<\/a>,\u00a0Northern Illinois<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0North Dakota State<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n What the fight was over<\/p>\n Back in the summer of 2023, the \u201cold\u201d Pac-12 literally fell apart overnight. USC and UCLA had already announced their intentions to leave for the Big Ten starting with the 2024-25 academic year. Washington and Oregon announced that they, too, were headed to the Big Ten, while Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah hitched on with the Big 12. Stanford and Cal bolted for the ACC, leaving WSU and OSU as the only teams left.\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2024, the Pac-12 extended invitations to BSU, SDSU, FSU, USU and CSU. Those teams officially joined the Pac-12 on July 1.<\/p>\n The MWC was seeking a total of approximately $155 million. That broke down to about $20 million in exit fees from each of the five schools that bolted to the Pac-12, as well as $55 million in so-called poaching penalties related to a football scheduling deal the conferences signed so that WSU and Oregon State could fill out their schedules for the 2024 season. That agreement was not renewed.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Pac-12 then sued the MW, saying the penalties were anti-competitive.\u00a0<\/p>\n Boise State, Utah State and Colorado State filed a separate lawsuit concerning the exit fees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Moving forward<\/p>\n Having peace between the two major conferences in the West will help rebuild relationships, especially when it comes to filling out schedules for football and basketball. With only eight football-playing members, the Pac-12 has added a \u201cflex\u201d game for each team at the end of the regular season, with the opponent and location to be determined. It\u2019s unclear whether that will continue beyond this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n In basketball, each Pac-12 team will have room on its schedule for 16 non-conference games, so fans shouldn\u2019t be surprised to see games against former MW foes.\u00a0<\/p>\n In fact, SDSU will host UNLV in men\u2019s hoops on Dec. 5, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher said he would like to continue rivalries with MW teams that aren\u2019t located in high-altitude cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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