Mountain West Reached Revenue High Ahead of Pac-12 Showdown
According to the conference's latest tax filings obtained by Sportico, commissioner Gloria Nevarez earned $1.02 million in base compensation during her first year on the job. Nevarez, who took over in January 2023 from long-serving predecessor Craig Thompson, has since presided over a volatile period for the league.
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Total expenditures for the year hit $96.2 million, resulting in a year-over-year decline in net assets. A Mountain West spokesperson attributed much of the shortfall to an atypical distribution to San Diego State, which received both its FY23 and FY24 payments—totaling $12.9 million—within the same fiscal period. Most other member institutions received over $6 million, with Boise State ($8.7 million) and Hawaii ($2.1 million) serving as financial outliers.
The league's legal expenses for the fiscal year totaled $756,741—costs incurred before it began litigating with the Pac-12. Among the conference's highest-paid independent contractors in FY24 were Wasserman Media Group ($1.08 million for media rights consulting), law firm Wilkie Farr & Gallagher ($748,516) and Huron Consulting ($346,105).
The past fiscal cycle closed just before Washington State and Oregon State commenced a temporary football scheduling agreement with Mountain West schools for the 2024–25 season—a move that sparked further conflict when five MWC programs, including Boise State and San Diego State, later announced plans to join the Pac-12. In response, the Mountain West invoked its so-called 'poaching penalties,' a clause in the scheduling pact that imposed $10 million damages on the Pac-12 for bringing aboard a MWC school, with escalating charges for each additional member.
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This led to a federal antitrust lawsuit filed by the Pac-12 last September, alleging the penalties violated antitrust laws and that the conference had been unfairly preyed upon in its 'weakened state.' The two sides are now in mediation over a financial dispute that, on paper, could total as much as $145 million in obligations from the Pac-12 to the MWC.
Amid last year's upheaval, the Mountain West awarded full membership to both Hawaii and UTEP, added Northern Illinois as a football-only member starting in 2026, and welcomed UC Davis as a full, non-football member for the 2026–27 academic year. The newly configured conference also retained Air Force, UNLV, New Mexico, Nevada, San Jose State and Wyoming, each of which committed to remain last year.
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