The West Coast Conference has filed a lawsuit against Grand Canyon for breach of contract following the university's decision last month to back out of its commitment to the WCC and join the Mountain West.
“This is clearly a breach of contract,” WCC commissioner Stu Jackson told ESPN. “Our conference bylaws state that all financial obligations must be satisfied within 30 days of written notification of withdrawal from the conference. They submitted a notice of withdrawal on November 1 and failed to meet those financial obligations to pay the rest of the entry. “We intend to recover the fee at the WCC, as well as the withdrawal fee.”
The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages, interest and other fees. It does not specify how much money the WCC believes it is owed, and Jackson declined to provide those details to ESPN.
In May, GCU announced it would be leaving the Western Athletic Conference to join the WCC as a full-time member beginning in 2025.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, GCU made one of two scheduled participation payments to WCC, with the second due in January. The lawsuit says GCU, under the terms of its contract with WCC, was required to make a withdrawal payment within 30 days of notifying WCC that it was joining the Mountain West.
GCU has communicated to WCC that it has no intention of making those payments, Jackson said.
A GCU spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“We want to better position ourselves to be competitive on a national level and are excited about the vision and future of the Mountain West,” GCU athletic director Jamie Boggs said in a statement last month. “We are joining a conference that has enjoyed national success, developed a rich tradition in its 26 years, and has positioned us financially for competitive success in this changing collegiate landscape.”
GCU was the second school to announce it was leaving the WCC, following Gonzaga's decision to leave the conference for the Pac-12.
