CSU, Utah State file lawsuit against Mountain West Conference

DENVER (KDVR) — A lawsuit was filed Monday against the Colorado Springs-based Mountain West Conference on behalf of Colorado State University and Utah State University, according to a release by the firm O'Melveny.

The lawsuit, filed in Colorado state court, alleged that the schools felt that they, along with Boise State University, Fresno State University, and San Diego State University, were mistreated after announcing their intent to leave the conference when their current media deal expired.

The five have elected to join the Pac-12 Conference, which currently only contains Washington State University and Oregon State University after 10 of its schools, including the University of Colorado Boulder, opted to leave the conference.

CSU announced its decision to join the Pac-12 on Sept. 12. The other schools followed suit and all five will officially join the conference on July 1, 2026.

The lawsuit alleged that these announcements led to the conference mistreating the departing schools, including CSU. It accused the conference and its commissioner, Gloria Nevarez, of willfully disregarding conference bylaws and governance procedures, freezing the five schools out of board meetings and operating secretly to violate their rights as members.

It also alleged that the conference is threatening to withhold tens of millions of dollars of post-season revenue and will not provide reimbursement for the team's post-season travel costs.

Additionally, the lawsuit claimed that the conference was hosting secret meetings where it promised the remaining Mountain West schools the millions owed to and earned by the departing schools.

“While it is unfortunate that the conference and its commissioner have taken actions designed to penalize the departing members, all five departing members stand united in their duty to protect the rights and interests of their institutions, student-athletes, and fans,” said Steve Olson, co-chair of the firm’s Litigation Department.

The lawsuit also reported that, in violation of Colorado law, the conference has not provided board meeting minutes and other corporate records.

The firm that filed the lawsuit said it recently supported the University of California Los Angeles and Stanford University when they left the Pac-12 to join the Big Ten Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference respectively.