By Keith Antigiovanni
The San Diego State Aztecs football program is back in the Mountain West Conference despite never leaving in the first place. In a whirlwind one and a half months the Aztecs announced their intentions of leaving the MWC without joining a new conference, sent an intention letter to the MWC that they would leaving effective June 30, 2024 then later announced they never left in the first place leading to the MWC to announce the Aztecs were back in the conference.
There was a difference of opinion on whether the school left the conference or not after the intention letter. The MWC believed it was the Aztecs intention to leave the conference so they withheld annual fees that are distributed to each member conference as a down payment on an exit fee. The exit fee amounts to around $16 million. SDSU argued that the letter was an intention but not an official notice of leaving the MWC.
The confusion can be partially blamed on the ongoing conference expansion and reshuffling in college football as high profile programs such as Texas and Oklahoma are moving from the BIG 12 to the SEC and USC/UCLA shifting to the BIG 10 from the PAC-12. New TV contracts for each conference are in place with the exception of the PAC-12. There have been rumors circulating that the PAC-12 hopes to have SDSU join the conference to fill the void in Southern California left behind by USC and UCLA however without a TV contract the long term future of the PAC-12 is in doubt as more programs might leave the conference in the near future.
On Juy 21 at the PAC-12 Media Day there was no announcement of a new TV contract for the conference meanwhile the MWC announced the Aztecs were back in the conference for the 2023-24 season and probably 2024-2025 and will have to pay a double exit fee if SDSU plans to leave the conference with less than 12 months notice.
