College football expansion: Major tension as MWC claims SDSU left league, owes $17 million

College football realignment has taken an odd turn now as the Mountain West Conference claims that San Diego State actually did leave, and owes an eight-figure exit fee

The latest phase of college football expansion has taken an awkward turn, as San Diego State and the Mountain West Conference are in conflict as the school tries to move past its short-lived attempt to leave the league. Now, in response, the conference says the school did leave, and is asking for some serious money.

Mountain West officials claim that San Diego State made its departure from the league official and now owes almost $17 million, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.

The conference is already withholding a $6.6 million distribution fee from the 2022 season as part of that exit fee, and is keeping SDSU officials from attending conference meetings until if decides whether the Aztecs can be members of the conference going forward. Meanwhile, the school says it never did actually exit the conference, is still a member, and doesn't owe a dime.

This all started back in mid-June when reports emerged that San Diego State sent a letter to the Mountain West Conference announcing the school's intention to resign from the league, along with a request to extend the time needed to make the decision official in order to avoid paying an exit fee of around $34 million after June 30.

At the time, SDSU maintained that its letter was not a formal notice of resignation, but only a note that it "intends to resign," amid intense speculation that the Pac-12 was about to offer the school membership in its conference instead, although a formal invitation never came. The request for extra time likely came as the school hoped the Pac-12 would be able to clarify its media position within the next few weeks.

About two weeks later, San Diego State reversed course and decided to not leave after all, with no Pac-12 media deal in sight and the final deadline approaching, electing to stay at home in the Mountain West. 

But as the official letter from MWC commissioner Gloria Nevarez showed, the league holds that the school did give formal notice that it was leaving, hence its request for the nearly $17 million exit fee.

The interest around San Diego State is palpable given the school's recent success in the two major revenue sports: recently opening up a new football stadium for a team that has been a winner in recent seasons, and its men's basketball team just played in the NCAA National Championship Game.

(Union-Tribune)

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