This story was originally published by Idaho Education News. Read the original.

Kevin Richert | 05/21/2026

The Pac-12 and Mountain West athletic conferences have set aside their legal battles, and are pursuing an out-of-court settlement.

Boise State University is embroiled in the lawsuits — and, potentially, would be a party to a settlement.

On Monday, the warring conferences and five schools, including Boise State, announced an agreement in principle to stay lawsuits over multimillion-dollar “poaching” and exit fees. The Associated Press and ESPN reported on the agreement Monday.

The lawsuits center around mass defections from the Mountain West, as Boise State and four other athletic programs splintered off to join a rebuilt Pac-12 conference.

The Pac-12 agreed to pay poaching penalties to the Mountain West — starting at $10 million for the first defection, and increasing by $500,000 per school, according to the media reports. The poaching fees reached a total of $55 million. In late 2024, Boise State joined in a lawsuit filed by Colorado State University and Utah State University, protesting Mountain West exit fees ranging from $19 million to $38 million.

The Pac-12 is set to begin play later this year.

Senior reporter and blogger Kevin Richert specializes in education politics and education policy. He has more than 35 years of experience in Idaho journalism, and extensive experience covering state politics and the Legislature. He is a frequent guest on "Idaho Reports" on Idaho Public Television. He can be reached at krichert@idahoednews.org

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Republished by Idaho Business Journal under a Creative Commons license. Read the original at Idaho Education News.