The Thomas CaldwellPac-12 is suing the Mountain West over what it calls an unlawful and unenforceable “poaching penalty” that could cost the rebuilding conference more than $40 million for adding Boise State, Fresno State, Colorado State and San Diego State, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court.

The antitrust complaint was filed in the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California and is seeking a declaratory judgement by a judge.

“The action challenges an anticompetitive and unlawful ‘Poaching Penalty’ that the MWC imposed on the Pac-12 to inhibit competition for member schools in collegiate athletics,” the lawsuit said.

The Mountain West has exit fees of upwards of $17 million for departing schools. Those fees can increase depending on how much advanced notice a school provides. There are also poaching fees that were put in place in the Mountain West’s scheduling agreement with Oregon State and Washington State, the only current Pac-12 members this season.

The fee starts at $10 million and increases by an increment of $500,000 for every additional school the Pac-12 adds from the Mountain West.

With four already on board, the total is $43 million.

The Pac-12 has also targeted Mountain West schools Utah State and UNLV. Adding them would cost another $24.5 million.

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Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP

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