Utah Valley is the favorite to win the men’s WAC championship and go to the NCAA Tournament, and it nearly didn’t get a chance to after the conference demanded it pay — or get excluded from the conference tournament.
The WAC announced on Tuesday, March 10 that Utah Valley ‘has not complied’ with a Utah judge’s order that the university place $1 million in escrow with the court. As a result, the conference board of directors has instructed commissioner Rebekah Ray to not include the men’s and women’s basketball teams in the WAC tournaments since ‘it would be a member not in good standing.’
It added Utah Valley must comply with the court directive by 7 p.m. ET on Tuesday or it will release new brackets without the Wolverines.
More than an hour after the deadline, the WAC said it was assured the payment was in process and would be completed before the tournament began.
‘The WAC board of directors will allow Utah Valley to compete in the WAC basketball tournaments,’ the statement read.
Utah Valley said in a statement to USA TODAY Sports it was working with the court on ‘the proper way to deposit the requested funds’ and no deadline was established by the court.
‘UVU looks forward to competing in Las Vegas this week,’ it read.
Why did WAC demand Utah Valley pay $1 million?
Utah Valley and the WAC have been at odds with each other ever since the university announced in June it would be leaving the conference to join the Big West beginning with the 2026-27 academic year.
In February, the WAC filed a lawsuit in Texas, alleging Utah Valley refused to pay its contractually obligated exit fee of $1 million. As a result, the WAC barred Wolverines athletics from conference tournaments, NCAA tournaments as well as appearing on conference-sponsored television, radio or other media packages. Utah Valley then sued the WAC seeking an injunction to allow its teams to play in WAC tournaments.
A Utah court granted Utah Valley a temporary restraining order to allow its teams to participate in WAC tournaments, and it was just granted a motion for a preliminary injunction for its basketball teams.
Utah Valley was directed to pay the court $1 million to be held during the dispute. The WAC wanted the university to pay the court ahead of the tournament, even though there wasn’t a court-mandated deadline.
Utah Valley WAC tournament
If the Wolverines were taken out of the WAC tournament, it would have had major ramifications, as they wouldn’t be eligible for the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The men’s basketball team was the regular season champion and the No. 1 seed in the tournament. It is slated to begin play on Friday, March 13 in the semifinals. The Wolverines are projected to be a No. 13 seed in the latest USA TODAY Sports Bracketology.
The women’s basketball team is the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament and is scheduled to play Tarleton State in the quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12.