Air Force hasn’t been invited to go to another conference, and in fact, no team has officially bolted from its conference this summer. But with Texas A&M flirting with the SEC and reports that Air Force would be on a list of possible replacements, the Mountain West’s new buyout policy could become an issue at some point.

If a team resigns after June 30, the penalty is $5 million and forfeiture of revenue from the conference from its last year in the Mountain West, or double the conference revenue, whatever is greater. If a team resigns on or before June 30, the $5 million buyout is not in effect, but it must forfeit its revenue from its final year and remain in the Mountain West for the upcoming school year. That wasn’t in place when BYU, Utah and TCU left in the past year. (So if a school wanted to leave the MW now and join a new conference for the 2012-13 school year, it would have to pay the $5 million buyout. Or it would have to wait until the 2013-14 school year to join its new conference if it wanted to avoid that $5 million penalty.)

Here is the important passage from the Mountain West’s handbook, and I put the key part in bold:

(a) Any Member Institution may resign from membership in the Conference effective June 30 of each year (the “Effective Date”) by delivering written notice to the Conference and the other Members on or before the preceding June 30th (the “Notice Date”). The period from a Notice Date to an Effective Date is referred to herein as the “Interim Period.” The resignation of a Member Institution does not relieve the Member Institution from any obligations such Member Institution may have to the Conference as a result of obligations incurred or commitments made prior to resignation. (Revised June 2011)
(b) Effective June 6, 2011 and thereafter any notice of resignation given by any member shall be subject to the notice dates referenced in subparagraph (a) above and the following: (a) the resigning member shall forfeit its final year of revenue payable no later than the Effective Date; (b) if the resigning member gives notice after the established “Notice Date”, the resigning member shall forfeit its final year of revenue and shall pay to the Conference a sum of five million dollars ($5,000,000) OR double the amount of the final year’s revenue, whichever is greater. All monies shall be paid no later than the Notice Date. (Revised June 2011)

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