College Sports Chaos: Mountain West close to new media rights deal

Mountain West commissioner Gloria Nevarez said it could be a matter of weeks before her conference agrees to a new media rights deal.

“Things are moving pretty quickly now,” she told the Review-Journal this week. “Near the end, things get a lot more detailed. You really get into the nuances of (the deal). You really drill down into the details of the contract.”

The development comes after the Pac-12 — which will include five Mountain West defectors beginning with the 2026-27 school year — announced a media rights deal this week.

That deal, ironically, seems eerily similar to the Mountain West’s for the past six years. Maybe because it is.

CBS will be the primary broadcast partner of the Pac-12 and will televise the league’s football and men’s basketball championships. CBS Sports Network, as with the Mountain West, will also televise games.

“I only know what I’ve read, so you’d have to ask them about the details,” Nevarez said.

Pac-12 commissioner Teresa Gould referred to the league’s media rights deals as “transformational,” but that doesn’t really jibe with how it translates.

Talking money

CBS also shows football and basketball regular-season games for the Mountain West, along with the league’s conference title game in basketball. Fox has its championship football game.

Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State will be departing the Mountain West for the Pac-12. The league didn’t announce how much its media right deal is worth to each team.

All but Boise State have received $3.5 million annually under the Mountain West deal. The Broncos make $5.3 million, an agreement struck eight years ago when they almost left for the Big East.

Nevarez has always advocated for a single entity in the region, but now there are two with the formation of the new Pac-12. It hasn’t, however, downplayed any positive thoughts she has for whatever deal her league is about to strike.

“We’re really excited about the new-look Mountain West and certainly have surfed these challenges before and continue to help schools elevate and get better,” she said. “I’m optimistic about our (new media rights deal). Obviously, everyone wants more, but I think what we’re going to end up with is going to be very good for the Mountain West.”

Nevarez has for some time pushed the envelope when it comes to the bottom teams in her league improving their products.

The more competitive programs a conference has, the better a media rights deal is sure to be.

“The presidents have asked us about that very recently, and we’re dusting all that work off and bringing it forward the next couple months,” Nevarez said. “It’s a competitive business by nature. We know that things that propel a league forward have to do with competitive success on the field, which translates into media dollars and the College Football Playoff and NCAA Tournament units. Everyone needs to be in the same mind space about the level of commitment.

“Certainly, teams are going to have bad years or low years or rebuilding years, but you don’t want the bottom of the league to get so far away from the top that you’re holding back the top from any kind of success.”

A weird feeling?

The Mountain West has added Hawaii and UTEP as full-time members beginning in 2026. Northern Illinois will join for football only, with Grand Canyon and UC Davis joining for all sports except football.

But the league still has the upcoming school year to deal with, and the five defectors are still very much part of things.

“I was at the West Coast Conference when BYU got its invite to the Big 12, but what we do at our core is serve the student-athlete,” Nevarez said. “We have a mantra on our staff — ‘Stay in the moment.’ We’re celebrating a ton of student-athletes in 2025 who have started or ended their careers under the Mountain West umbrella. We want to do right by them and give them the best experience possible, so for us it’s business as usual.

“The sooner we get to playing (football) and getting on the field, the better. We’re hearing some really good stuff out of UNLV from our football people. I’m excited.”

Meanwhile, a conference source confirmed that mediation between the Mountain West and Pac-12 continues over lawsuits related to the five defectors.

The mediation centers on exit fees owed by the schools for leaving and so-called “poaching fees.”

The Mountain West believes the fees — the Pac-12 would pay $10 million per school with escalators that would total $55 million — should remain.

The Pac-12 has filed a federal lawsuit in the case while challenging the poaching fees.

Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.