Is San Diego State going to the Pac-12? Fact-checking the recent turnarounds that have blemished SDSU's future plans

In a dramatic turn of events, San Diego State University has decided to stay in the Mountain West Conference. The university reaffirmed its membership in the conference just hours before the deadline required to give a one-year notice.

SDSU's move marks the most recent development in an ongoing exchange between the school and the conference. It commenced on June 13, when SDSU notified the Mountain West of its intention to depart from the conference.

The decision not to exit put an end to the possibility of the school joining the Pac-12. San Diego State believed it would be invited to the Pac-12. However, with the conference struggling to seal a new media deal, that didn’t become a reality.

For some time, the Pac-12 has maintained a strategy of prioritizing the acquisition of media rights before pursuing expansion efforts. However, the inability of the conference to strike a television broadcast deal with its partners now threatens its future.

Mountain West believes San Diego State had left

The unconventional San Diego State exit attempt has brought the school and Mountain West into a disagreement. While SDSU asserts that it never officially withdrew from the Mountain West, the conference maintains a position that the school has left.

The exchange of letters between the university and the conference continued vigorously over the weekend. With both parties holding a contradictory positions on the issue, the involvement of legal teams has now become an active part of the situation.

The primary source of conflict revolves around a letter sent by San Diego State president Adela de la Torre to the conference on June 13. The letter notified the conference of the school’s intention to depart and asked for an exit deadline extension.

However, the Mountain West interpreted it as an official notice of the Aztecs’ departure from the conference. The school maintains that it was simply an initial communication to initiate discussion and not a definitive announcement of the decision.

Further deepening the contention is the $6.6 million distribution share for the 2022-23 academic year, which the Mountain West is withholding in order to offset SDSU's exit fee. This distribution share is expected held until the board reinstates San Diego State.

The conference has prohibited SDSU officials from participating in board meetings. This is pending the time the league deliberates on whether the Aztecs program can continue as members of the Mountain West Conference. The conference will meet on July 17 to decide the fate of the Aztecs.