Squabble over exit fee leaves Utah Valley’s status uncertain for WAC tournaments

By Canadian Press on March 10, 2026.

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The start of the Western Athletic Conference tournaments was thrown into uncertainty Tuesday, the eve of both basketball tournaments, when the league threatened to leave out Utah Valley over a $1 million payment it says the school hasn’t made.

Utah Valley is planning to leave the WAC for the Big West at the end of this school year. WAC officials issued a statement on social media Tuesday saying Utah Valley hadn’t complied with a judge’s order directing the school to place $1 million in escrow with the court, an amount equivalent to its exit fee for leaving the conference.

WAC officials said the league’s board of directors instructed the commissioner to plan for the possibility that Utah Valley wouldn’t play in the league’s men’s or women’s basketball tournament if the fee isn’t paid because “it would be a member not in good standing.”

This creates the possibility the men’s WAC Tournament could begin without its top seed Wednesday at Las Vegas. Utah Valley had earned the top seed by winning the league’s regular-season championship.

Utah Valley was seeded fourth in the women’s tournament beginning Wednesday, also in Las Vegas.

WAC officials said they would release new brackets without Utah Valley if the school doesn’t comply with the court’s directive by 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Utah Valley officials didn’t immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Utah Valley drew national headlines last September when conservative activist Charlie Kirk was shot and killed during an event on the campus in Orem.

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The Associated Press

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