According to a person with direct knowledge of the situation, San Diego State University (SDSU) has informed the Mountain West conference that it is not withdrawing from the conference. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. SDSU faced a deadline to give a one-year notice of withdrawal, and by not withdrawing, it avoids having its exit fee doubled from approximately $17 million to about $34 million.
SDSU has expressed its desire to join either the Pac-12 or the Big 12 conferences, but it has not received a formal invitation. Speculation about SDSU potentially moving to the Pac-12 increased after Southern California and UCLA announced their move to the Big Ten starting in August 2024. However, the Pac-12 is not expected to announce any expansion plans until it finalizes a TV contract, which is anticipated to happen sometime in the summer. The Big 12 Conference, as of this past midnight, has ballooned to a 14 school league with the additions of UCF, BYU, Houston, and Cincinnati, with next year’s departures of Oklahoma and Texas to the SEC shrinking the conference back to 12.
San Diego State, a founding member of the Mountain West, has not released a copy of the letter it sent to the conference. This letter marks the fifth in an exchange between the two parties. Initially, SDSU President Adela de la Torre sent a letter on June 13 to the conference and its member schools, indicating the school’s intention to resign. The conference interpreted the letter as a notice of departure and withheld the school’s 2022-23 distribution, estimated at $6 million, to apply it toward the exit fee. However, de la Torre responded that the first letter was not an official notice of resignation, leading to further discussions between SDSU and the Mountain West.
SDSU has highlighted its success in reaching the men’s NCAA Tournament national championship game and the financial benefits it brings to the conference. The school argues that its participation in March Madness will generate an estimated $10 million in distributions for the Mountain West over the next six years, which SDSU would not share if it moved to another conference.