Boise State University joins lawsuit against Mountain West Conference

The reordering of conference participation in the world of college athletics continues to bring about numerous legal challenges.

The litigious realignment wave now includes Boise State University, which was added this week as a plaintiff, along with Colorado State and Utah State, in a lawsuit filed against the Mountain West Conference (MWC) over exit fees for their impending departure to the Pac-12 Conference in 2026.

The amended complaint adding BSU to the suit follows the initial claim filed December 16 in Colorado state court alleging the conference and Commissioner Gloria Nevarez, are imposing millions of dollars of “invalid and unenforceable” exit fees on the five MWC schools making the shift to the Pac-12 in two years.

The Idaho State Board of Education granted BSU its request to join the suit on Wednesday.

Fresno State University and San Diego State University are also set to move to the Pac-12 but have yet to join the other three schools in the suit. Currently, the Pac-12 consists of only two schools, Washington State and Oregon State.

The Los Angeles-based law firm of O’Melveny and Myers, which represented both Stanford University and UCLA on their conference moves out of the Pac-12 – Stanford to the ACC, and UCLA to the Big Ten – will also represent BSU, Colorado State and Utah State in the joint filing against the MWC.

“The Conference is threatening to withhold tens of millions of dollars due to these universities — including millions due to Boise State for earning the third seed and a first-round bye in this season’s College Football Playoff — and refusing to reimburse them for postseason football costs, leaving little choice but to seek judicial relief,” O’Melveny partner Steve Olson, co-chair of the firm’s litigation department, said in a news release.

According to the original filing, the MWC is seeking between $19 million and $38 million per school. The suit also alleges that the conference “secretly” amended its bylaws this past September within a day of several of the universities declaring their intentions to shift to the Pac-12.

Other complaints levied in the filing claim the conference denied the five schools departing the MWC access to board meetings, while promising the seven remaining institutions – UNLV, San Jose State, New Mexico, the University of Hawaii, Air Force, Wyoming and Nevada – monies “owed” to the departing schools.

“The college athletics landscape is changing rapidly and dynamically, bringing new and exciting opportunities for student-athletes,” said attorney Matt Cowan. “Our clients are proud of their contributions to the Mountain West Conference over the years, but they have been left with no choice but to take legal action to protect the rights and interests of their institutions, student-athletes and fans.”

With this year’s College Football Playoff (CFP) expanded to 12 teams, the financial benefits directed to football programs will be even more concentrated. At most Division I schools, college football remains the major source of funding for other men’s and women’s college athletic programs.