College football realignment: Pac-12 target San Diego State intends to resign from Mountain West conference, per report

A bombshell on the college football realignment front as San Diego State, considered a target for the Pac-12, says it intends to leave the Mountain West conference

San Diego State has informed the Mountain West conference that it intends to resign from that league in a bombshell development amid continued college football conference realignment speculation, according to ESPN insider Pete Thamel.

The school asked the Mountain West for a “one-month extension given unforeseen delays involving other collegiate athletic conferences beyond our control.”

While the letter apparently makes clear what SDSU's intentions are, it does not count as a formal letter of resignation.

Should it leave the Mountain West conference, San Diego State would need to give the league a one-year notice in order to withdraw by next June. 

But should it wait past June 30, the school's exit fee would increase from $16.5 million to almost $34 million, according to the report.

Notable timing

The news comes as San Diego State has emerged as a potential target for the Pac-12 to add after that conference loses USC and UCLA in time for the 2024 football season and clamoring for some stability as it scouts a new media contract and potential new members.

However, the Pac-12 is not believed to have extended a formal invitation to San Diego State or any other school at this time, according to media reports.

Pac-12 has been trying to expand

If it were to move into San Diego, the Pac-12 would still not be able to recover its lost territory in the highly-coveted Los Angeles media market, the second-largest in the country after New York.

But the league would add a school that makes geographic sense and has performed well in the major revenue sports in recent years.

SDSU opened a new football stadium last season and won the Mountain West football title in three years recently, and the school's basketball team just posted a 32-6 record and played for the NCAA national championship, losing to UConn.

(Thamel)

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