The San Diego State University athletic department has made no bones about wanting to leave the Mountain West. Earlier this summer, the school announced its intention to flee the conference in favor of the Pac-12, an intention that ultimately did not come to fruition as the school and the MWC came to a "resolution," as commissioner Gloria Nevarez put it.
That may have worked out in SDSU's favor, as the Pac-12 has since lost Pacific Northwest powers Oregon and Washington to the Big Ten and Four Corners schools Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, and Colorado to the Big 12.
New reports indicate, however, that San Diego State was not satisfied with that outcome and is still working behind the scenes to improve its stock. CBS Sports reported on an attempt from SDSU president Adela de la Torre to merge the Mountain West, American Athletic Conference, and Pac-12 remnants (Stanford, California, Washington State, and Oregon State) into a new Power Five conference. There are a lot of questions around that plan, such as how this breakaway conference would obtain P5 designation, but it doesn't seem like it would get off the ground regardless of the veracity of the report.
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According to CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd, an MWC source said San Diego State is the only school talking about this type of move, which makes it sound like the plans aren't making much headway.
SDSU AD John David Wicker has (literally) cried "FAKE NEWS" to this report in a tweet thread, denying any attempt to create said conference.
FAKE NEWS! Disappointed in the number of absolute fake articles that get written these days! #integrityinjournalism https://t.co/SqAlF42qqN
— John David Wicker (@jdwicker) August 8, 2023
Wicker went on to say SDSU has been involved with realignment discussions, but hasn't been talking to the AAC or its schools about a move.
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The NCAA world is a bit of a Jenga tower right now, with schools sitting in staring contests. Washington State and Oregon State reside on islands with their rivals having absconded to the Big Ten, and Cal and Stanford are in limbo themselves.
The Big 12 is finished adding with the Four Corners schools now in tow, Action Network's Brett McMurphy reported.
That report came in response to reports the Big 12 was in preliminary talks to add Oregon State and San Diego State following the Pac-12 exodus. However, the Big 12 could be waiting on the Cal and Stanford dominoes as rumors of them heading to the ACC persist.
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The recently announced changes will be enacted for the 2024-25 season, so the Pac-12 will continue to operate with the same setup in 2023.
It is abundantly clear SDSU doesn't want to be left out in the cold when the dust settles around this round of realignment. Financially, the Pac-12 trying to cannibalize the Mountain West makes some sense so the conference's P5 status doesn't get challenged. Doing that, though, takes leverage, something the Pac-12 sorely lacks, particularly with its media rights deal remaining a giant question mark.
The Mountain West did release a statement reaffirming its commitment to keeping the schools it has in place while potentially adding some of the stragglers to the fold.
Mountain West Statement on Conference Alignment pic.twitter.com/bK9vpluvJY
— Mountain West (@MountainWest) August 9, 2023
SDSU seems to be at the mercy of the Big 12 for the time being. Getting out of the Mountain West is clearly a priority for Wicker, but SDSU is undoubtedly skating on thin ice there with how the summer has panned out. Things as they are don't seem tenable in the NCAA power structure. It just comes down to waiting on the other shoe.
