Canzano: Mountain West exit-fee mediation "ended up on different planets"
The latest in an ongoing skirmish.
The Mountain West entered mediation last month, requesting nearly $22 million in exit fees from each of the five departing schools, per sources. That was the conference’s hardline stance out of the gates.
Boise State, Colorado State, Utah State, San Diego State, and Fresno State will join the new-world Pac-12 in 2026. The objective of the settlement talks was to get the parties together, hash out the exit-fee leverage, and reach an agreement that mitigated the risks and expense associated with going to court.
The sides may have started mediation in the same room, but as one source told me, “We ended up on different planets.”
The departing schools expected to pay somewhere between $8 million and $12 million per school in exit fees. The MW’s best offer never dipped below $18 million, I’m told.
There are bad feelings on both sides of the ongoing legal dispute. Those who work at MW headquarters will tell you the conference felt undermined by the departing members who will officially join the Pac-12 in the summer of 2026.
The departing schools say it’s just business. They cite long-standing frustrations and believe MW Commissioner Gloria Nevarez is retaliating against them by withholding millions in revenue while operating outside the scope of the league’s bylaws and handbook. They say Nevarez is taking their defections personally.