San Diego State' AD confirms the school will join the Pac-12 or Big 12 eventually

San Diego State is joining a Power 5 conference it is just a matter of when

While many people may be well past being invested into what is going on in the Pac-12's expansion and media rights ventures, it is something that is bound to happen eventually.

It may even happen sooner than people realize as Colorado's Chancellor recently expressed that both the media rights deal and expansion could be occurring soon in a recent interview. Even though there is far less clarity on the media rights aspect with potential suitors being in and out, there still is a mystery program in consideration to join the Pac-12, which I tried to identify Friday. 

One program that has been confirmed countless times as the perfect candidate and likely future member, is San Diego State. The school located in sunny Southern California was the program that everyone immediately turned to when news broke that USC and UCLA were leaving, and they clearly plan on departing from the Mountain West as their Athletic Director JD Wicker told The Athletic that the Aztecs will be in a Power 5 whether it's the Pac-12 or Big 12.

SDSU AD JD Wicker to Seth Davis of The Athletic: “One or the other [B12, P12] is going to happen. We’re excited for the opportunity, and we’ve done a lot of work to prepare for that.”

— Dennis Dodd (@dennisdoddcbs) April 29, 2023

San Diego State has made the efforts academically, which is a major factor that the Pac-12 is looking at, and it also helps that their football program is extremely consistent having five 10-win seasons since 2015. Basketball wise the program just made a national championship appearance, and will instantly provide a boost to the conference.

Based on the statement it is evident they are waiting for the Pac-12 to nail down their media rights deal like the rest of the college football world. While they won't bring the revenue lost in USC and UCLA, they give the conference access to the SoCal market again.

They are a must-add for the Pac-12.