Source: SDSU plans to remain in Mountain West

Pete Thamel, ESPNJun 30, 2023, 05:49 PM ET

San Diego State is expected to deliver notice to the Mountain West on Friday that it will not withdraw from the league, a source told ESPN.

The update from the school will be the latest in a back-and-forth between the school and the conference that began on June 13, when SDSU informed the Mountain West it “intends” to leave the conference.

San Diego State now plans to move forward as part of the Mountain West, per sources, as it does not have an invitation from a power conference. The Mountain West had yet to receive any notice as of early Friday afternoon and has yet to comment.

The news emerged on Friday because it marked a significant deadline. If SDSU were to leave the Mountain West for the start of the 2024-25 season after June 30, it would need to pay nearly $34 million, up from about $16.5 million. That means that SDSU is expected be in the Mountain West for the next two seasons, as it’s unlikely it would pay $34 million to leave prior.

It’s uncertain how the Mountain West will react, as it informed SDSU after the June 13 letter that it had accepted the school’s notice of resignation. Included in the process of withdrawing is the removal of SDSU president Adela de la Torre’s seat from the league’s board of directors and the withholding of payment to put toward the exit fee.

The league typically sends out its annual payment — expected to be around $6 million for SDSU — this week. San Diego State’s payment has not been sent, per a source.

San Diego State’s impending decision on Friday comes the day that the Pac-12’s board of directors again met for an update on the league’s television negotiations. Pac-12 commissioner George Kliavkoff gave a more detailed presentation to the Pac-12 board, but sources told ESPN’s Heather Dinich on Friday that no deal is expected to be announced imminently.

San Diego State had asked the Mountain West for a monthlong extension to essentially see if the Pac-12 could figure out a deal, as the initial letter pointed to “unforeseen delays involving other collegiate athletic conferences.” SDSU has been public about the school’s working toward attempting to join the Pac-12 in the wake of the upcoming departures of USC and UCLA to the Big Ten.

In the Mountain West’s second letter to San Diego State, the conference made clear that no exceptions the school asked for, including the extra month, would be granted.

Sources had indicated to ESPN that San Diego State “was exploring all of the options and asking all the questions.”

San Diego State attempted to leave the Mountain West once before, announcing it would join the Big East back in 2011. In 2013, the Mountain West presidents voted to allow SDSU back in the league.

San Diego State has been a Mountain West member since 1999 and raised the league’s profile and revenue significantly with a run to the men’s basketball national title game earlier this year. The football program opened a new $300 million stadium last season, a home for the program that has won at least 10 games five times since 2015.

ESPN’s Heather Dinich contributed to this report.