San Diego State is intending on leaving the Mountain West Conference, according to multiple reports.
Pete Thamel of ESPN tweeted Friday that the Aztecs notified the league this week that they want to resign from the conference.
Speculation has swirled whether San Diego State would jump to the Pac-12 with USC and UCLA going to the Big Ten. But Thamel added San Diego State does not have an invitation from the Pac-12 as of yet and is exploring its options.
The time table for SDSU’s departure is unclear, but this doesn’t appear to affect the Aztecs’ 2023 football regular season. The timeline might also depend on factors like the Pac-12’s television deal.
The school would need to provide a year’s notice in order to depart by June 2024. Per ESPN, the exit fee would go from about $16.5 million to almost $34 million if the Aztecs wait until after June 30.
This could open the door for other programs to join the Mountain West, including other Group of Five schools or FCS programs.
New Mexico State, which recently moved to Conference USA, or UC Davis, North Dakota State, South Dakota State, Montana State, and/or Montana of the FCS are just a few of the programs which would make sense strictly in terms of geography and/or recent history of talent level, but countless other factors would be at play for any of those schools.
