Canzano: UNLV or Texas State? Amid that, Pac-12 and Mountain West squabble on
Sides are expected to file an extension of "stay" in court.
The Pac-12 Conference’s expansion plan is moving along, but the conference’s mediation with the Mountain West remains in the starting blocks.
Will UNLV join the Pac-12?
Or maybe Texas State?
Or Memphis — in football-only?
I have information and thoughts on the expansion front, but first, a quick dive into the court proceedings.
The Pac-12 is suing the MW for allegedly imposing a $55 million “poaching penalty” to inhibit competition. Susan van Keulen, a federal judge in the Northern District of California, issued a stay order that ends on May 16.
No mediation has taken place.
The Pac-12 and MW are expected to ask the judge for an extension of the stay in the next 72 hours, per sources. A date for a one-day mediation session will be set. A retired federal judge is the likely mediator. I’m told if the first session goes well, the sides will schedule a second one. If not, it’s off to court for a trial.
Said a source: “It could get real ugly, real fast.”
(Update: the Pac-12 and MW agreed to a settlement date — May 19 — and requested a second 60-day “stay” in court on Wednesday.)
What else I’ve learned: