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San Diego State plans to notify the Mountain West Conference that it’s no longer intending withdraw from the league, sources confirmed to CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodd. This decision is a sharp turnaround just weeks after the Aztecs had sent a letter to the conference outlining their intentions to depart the league while asking for an extension to give official notice. The Mountain West rejected the extension request, meaning June 30 was the last day the school could submit an official notice of withdrawal.
If the Aztecs did not meet that June 30 deadline, their exit fee would increase from $16.5 million to $34 million. Since the Mountain West denied an extension and San Diego State could not find a suitable new home, the Aztecs are seemingly content with sticking around. SDSU initially cited “unforeseen delays involving other collegiate athletic conferences” as its reason for an extension request.
Prior to news breaking that San Diego State plans to remain with the Mountain West, sources told Dodd that SDSU officials were willing to “ride out the current realignment tsunami.” Dodd notes that the school’s lawyers wanted to get on record that San Diego State intends to leave the Mountain West — at some point.
San Diego State was long considered a top candidate for Pac-12 expansion; however, the Pac-12 has had problems securing a new television rights deal. The league’s current agreement with ESPN ends on July 1, 2024, and the uncertainty has Colorado, Arizona and Arizona State weighing all their future options, according to Dodd. The Pac-12 also has a hole to fill in Southern California with both USC and UCLA set to leave for the Big Ten in 2024.
Until the conference can get that sorted, expansion is off the table. The Big 12 is actively looking for expansion teams, though San Diego State’s latest move seems to indicate that an invite never came.
