The Pac-12 and Mountain West reached a settlement agreement this week.
Seven schools in the new Pac-12 will pay roughly equal shares of the settlement reached earlier this week with the Mountain West Conference, I’ve learned.
Two lawsuits.
A combined settlement.
How big is the pile of cash?
The five departing members of the MW — plus Oregon State and Washington State — are on the hook for a payout that landed at “less than half” of the $155 million total the MW sought, per sources.
Will that windfall be enough to keep UNLV and Air Force happy in the MW? What role did a discovery hearing play in the timing of the settlement? And why didn’t the rival conferences settle a year ago when a retired federal judge conducted joint mediation?