Hill: Silence probably a good thing for Mountain West, Pac-12 talks

If you’ve been following the ongoing saga between the Mountain West and the Pac-12 only to feel like everything has gone quiet just as things got interesting, you’re very perceptive.

Information has flowed freely from both sides for months with the conferences making concerted efforts to win the public relations battle. Now, all of a sudden, with both parties locked for hours a day in a California conference room trying to negotiate the fates of both leagues, communication has been locked down.

While that’s not ideal for someone in my profession, it could be a good sign that real progress is being made.

One source indicated the reason is that a gag order was requested by the mystery mediator in the case, which involves multiple lawsuits filed by the Pac-12 and its incoming institutions against the Mountain West over exit and poaching fees.

Even several individuals who should theoretically be in a position to know what’s going on inside those rooms have indicated they are out of the loop on most of the details of the talks — which does allow for more open conversations if every wild idea or speculative thought isn’t going to be shared outside the negotiating walls.

The fact that the gag order is seemingly being followed shows at least some bit of good faith in what has often been a contentious process. The fact that mediation is still ongoing suggests there is also progress being made, which is one of the only bits of information a source with knowledge of the negotiations was willing to somewhat confirm.

What exactly that means remains to be seen, but the lack of firm details does allow for some speculation.

Reading tea leaves

First off, it’s probably fair to say discussions have gone beyond a simple brokering of the fees at this point.

That doesn’t mean any greater solution like a merger or an English-soccer-style promotion-and-relegation system or some other additional movement of teams between the leagues is going to happen or has even been substantively discussed. But one would think all options are on the table and have at least been brought up during a process that has gone on all week.

There are other potential indicators that all options could still be open. The departing Mountain West schools haven’t formally resigned from the league yet. They are also believed to have not formally signed a grant of rights with the Pac-12, though those two steps could also be related with the deadline on the first task approaching June 1.

No media rights deal has been announced for either league for 2026 and beyond, so it’s possible potential network partners are playing some sort of role in these mediations, even indirectly.

The Mountain West’s quick move to expand after the departing schools announced their intentions to leave could put a wrench into potential direct merger talks with more institutions in the mix now. But the dream scenario of a promotion-and-relegation system could be more feasible now.

Some of the breakaway schools are believed to be more open to some sort of reunion with the Mountain West than the others, another potential holdup to any such action. Other schools also have their own agendas, with eyes on bigger leagues for their own programs far beyond those involved in these talks.

Poaching, exit fees

Of course, it’s all about money. At the crux is the Mountain West’s claim it is owed somewhere in the neighborhood of $145 million between the $55 million in poaching fees from the Pac-12 and about $90 million from the five departing schools.

It’s a little more complicated because only three schools — Boise State, Colorado State and Utah State — have sued over their exit fees. Fresno State and San Diego State have not joined that suit because they would technically be suing an entity that includes San Jose State, which is still in the Mountain West and part of the California State University system.

But Fresno State and San Diego State would likely benefit from the same deal the other three schools get in any negotiated settlement.

UNLV and Air Force signed favorable deals to stay in the Mountain West and were promised a hefty share of the payouts, so those schools have a vested interest in how the negotiations play out.

Still, a mediation that strictly involved a negotiation of those fees likely wouldn’t have gone on a full week with what is believed to have included some late sessions and more to come.

The parties and mediator would have either come to a settlement or eventually figured out common ground was going to be impossible to find and decided they’d meet again in the courtroom.

So conversations are happening, and that’s the best news of all. Even if we’re not hearing the details just yet.

Contact Adam Hill at [email protected]. Follow @AdamHillLVRJ on X.