San Diego State may not be going anywhere for the time being.
SDSU notified the Mountain West that it is going to remain in the conference, Pete Thamel of ESPN reported. This is after news broke that San Diego State and the Mountain West could be parting ways as the school told the league of its intentions to move on, though SDSU didn’t have a new destination finalized.
Some had wondered if San Diego State would try to go to the Pac-12. The Dan Patrick Show reported San Diego State still intends on going to the Pac-12, and that SMU, Boise State, and UNLV are possible additions for the conference as well.
The Mountain West reportedly told SDSU the league had considered the Aztecs’ initial message that they left the conference as a formal notification that they were indeed departing.
However, Ross Dellenger of Yahoo Sports reported Tuesday that the Mountain West told SDSU it will still be a member of the league.
Outlets had reported the relationship between SDSU and the Mountain West Conference was strained, especially in light of San Diego State’s desire to move on.
The school needed to provide a year’s notice in order to depart by June 2024. Per ESPN, the exit fee would’ve gone from about $17 million to almost $34 million if the Aztecs had waited until after June 30.
San Diego State has been a strong member of the Mountain West in multiple sports. SDSU just made a run to the men’s college basketball national championship this past season, for example.
In football specifically, the Aztecs haven’t suffered a losing season since 2009. They were Mountain West Championship winners in 2016, 2015, and 2012.
But only time will tell if SDSU will remain with the conference for years to come, if the Mountain West will find a way to move on without the Aztecs eventually, or if an opportunity with a Power Five conference within a year or two will be too enticing for San Diego State to pass up.
