While the athletes compete on the field, the adults in the room at Utah Valley University and within the Western Athletic Conference can’t agree on anything.

The league filed a lawsuit against Utah Valley in district court on Monday in Tarrant County, Texas, alleging the university has refused to pay a contractually obligated $1 million dollar exit fee.

Utah Valley announced last June it was leaving the WAC for the Big West for the 2026-27 school year. The WAC, meanwhile, is merging with schools from the Atlantic Sun to form the United Athletic Conference next season.

WAC officials said outgoing UVU President Astrid Tuminez sent a correspondence on Jan. 22 indicating that the University wasn’t going to pay an exit fee.

The refusal causes UVU to be a member institution “not in good standing” according to WAC commissioner Rebekah Ray. Subsequently, UVU would not be allowed to participate in conference championship events, NCAA championship events or appear on conference-sponsored television, radio or other media packages.

“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.”

Requests for a statement from UVU officials on the subject were not answered.

The UVU men’s basketball team, which won the WAC regular season title last season, is tied for first place as of Wednesday. The Wolverines game are generally streamed live on ESPN+.

UVU plays Abilene Christian at the UCCU Center on Thursday. On the game notes provided by UVU Sports Information, there is no reference to ESPN+ or any other video medium. Next to “TV” is just the notation “N/A.”

The WAC is rebranding to the United Athletic Conference in July, merging with the Atlantic Sun. The league will consist of current WAC members Abilene Christian, Tarleton State and UT Arlington along with Atlantic Sun representatives Eastern Kentucky, North Alabama, Austin Peay, Central Arkansas and West Georgia.

Reports are that Southern Utah and Utah Tech, which will leave the WAC for the Big Sky on July 1, were also not paying the WAC’s exit fee. Others who are leaving or have left the league — including Grand Canyon, Cal Baptist, UTRGV and Stephen F. Austin — reportedly did pay exit fees.