- WAC filed a $1 million lawsuit against Utah Valley University over unpaid exit fees.
- The lawsuit alleges UVU refused to pay the fee for leaving the conference.
- WAC claims non-payment affects UVU's standing impacting student-athletes and media appearances.
OREM — Utah Valley University's final six months in the Western Athletic Conference just got a little more complicated.
The WAC filed a lawsuit Monday in district court in Tarrant County, Texas, alleging the university has refused to pay a "contractually obligated exit fee in the amount of $1 million," according to court documents first reported Tuesday by ESPN.
The league, which will rebrand as the United Athletic Conference in July, says Utah Valley declined to pay the fee associated with its forthcoming departure to the Big West. The Wolverines were scheduled to join the conference of mostly southern California-based public schools July 1.
But the WAC is alleging that Utah Valley has refused to pay the agreed-upon exit fee that is standard of most athletic conferences in the country. In court documents, the conference alleged that Utah Valley president Astrid Tuminez stated "in writing" Jan. 22 that the university "will not pay an exit fee" and "refused to comply with the WAC's bylaws for exiting members.
Tuminez announced Jan. 14 that she would step down from her position with the university, effective May 1.
WAC commissioner Rebekah Ray allegedly responded about a week later with a reminder of the bylaw requirements to exiting member schools and that failing to comply with said bylaws would "cause UVU to be a member institution not in good standing and provided the express language as set forth in the bylaws."
If the university loses good standing with the conference, Utah Valley would not be permitted to participate in conference championship events such as the WAC men's and women's basketball tournaments in Las Vegas, NCAA championship events, or appear on conference-sponsored television, radio and other media packages, according to the conference.
The Wolverines' men's basketball team is currently tied for first place in the WAC with a 6-3 conference record to go along with a 16-6 overall mark. The school's indoor track and field team is also among the favorites to win a WAC title at the conference championship meet Feb. 27-28.
The suit was filed Feb. 2 in district court in Tarrant County in Texas. Per the suit: "UVU did not comply and failed to make the required exit fee payment, which rendered UVU a member institution not in good standing. As a result, among other consequences, UVU is not permitted to…
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) February 3, 2026
"The Western Athletic Conference made several attempts to resolve this matter outside of litigation and will continue to," Ray told KSL.com. "However, Utah Valley University has failed to live up to its contractual obligations in accordance with conference bylaws, which have previously been enforced to UVU's benefit.
"With full knowledge of the consequences, UVU chose not to meet their obligation, resulting in significant impacts to their student-athletes and other innocent parties," she added. "The conference remains committed to working toward a swift resolution and minimizing disruption for those affected."
Other reports indicated that Southern Utah and Utah Tech, which announced their intentions to leave the WAC for the Big Sky on June 25, were also not paying the WAC's exit fee.
The two southern Utah schools, which will join (or re-join, in SUU's case) the Big Sky on July 1, 2026, were receiving typical NCAA distributions from the WAC — which Utah Valley has not, multiple sources confirmed. HERO Sports also first reported that the two schools were also not receiving money from the Big Sky's media contract through the 2030-31 season.
The WAC currently has a media-rights package with ESPN to broadcast its games through the company's ESPN+ streaming service. As of Tuesday afternoon, Utah Valley was still scheduled to appear on the service, including for a men's basketball home game Thursday against Abilene Christian (6 p.m. MST).
Utah Valley announced June 4, 2025 that the Wolverines would join the Big West as a full member beginning with the 2026-27 academic year. it will be the school's third conference since moving from the junior college ranks to NCAA Division I in 2003.
Less than a month later, the WAC — in conjunction with the announcement by the Trailblazers and Thunderbirds — announced its plans to rebrand under the UAC banner. The new conference would then enter into a strategic alliance with the Atlantic Sun, pairing the remaining three schools of Abilene Christian, Tarleton State, Texas-Arlington with Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas and West Georgia.
