How the Mountain West Conference responded to San Diego State’s letter and subsequent asks
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When San Diego State sent a letter to the Mountain West Conference early last week — on Tuesday, June 13, according to reporting by ESPN’s Pete Thamel — asking for a one month extension on a deadline wherein SDSU was required to inform the MWC of its intention to leave the conference or be forced to pay a $34 million exit fee, as opposed to just $16.5 million, it didn’t take long for the MWC long to respond.
By Wednesday, June 14, the conference had answered the letter and didn’t hold back.
The MWC, per Thamel, took SDSU’s letter as the school’s official notice of withdrawal, which brought with it consequences, namely SDSU president Adela de la Torre would lose her seat on the conference’s board of directors and that payments from the conference to SDSU would be withheld.
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SDSU’s response was quick, claiming that the university’s letter was not “an official resignation, just a request for an extension,” Thamel reported on Friday. The school also asked that no payments be withheld, as all Mountain West member schools are expecting a check from the conference for nearly $6 million sometime in the coming weeks.
Well, now the Mountain West has responded again and the conference isn’t ceding any ground to the Aztecs.
Per ESPN sources, as reported by Thamel on Monday, the MWC sent an additional letter to San Diego State — this one was sent on Friday, June 16 — in which the conference informed the school that it will not approve any of the exceptions SDSU asked for, at least “at this time,” including an additional month before departure, a reduced exit fee or the ability to payout the exit fee in installments.
Additionally, the conference does not “accept SDSU’s claim that they have not given formal notice of resignation from the league.”
This isn’t the first time SDSU has attempted to leave the Mountain West, of which it is a charter member.
In 2013, the Aztecs agreed to join the Big East Conference as a football-only member, before ultimately returning to the MW when that move fell apart.
SDSU was welcomed back with open arms on that occasion and has been one of the league’s most successful programs since, particularly in the revenue sports of football and men’s basketball.
The Aztecs have been fairly upfront about their interest in joining the Power Five ranks with de la Torre telling The San Diego Union-Tribune in May that she was confident that the school would one day be in a P5 league.
“I’m really confident about our future in a Power 5 conference,” de la Torre said. “I’m also confident that, when we talk about the Pac-12, they need to get the best deal possible for us to get the pro rata share we deserve.”
During the Women’s College World Series, when SDSU played Utah in Salt Lake City, Aztecs softball coach Stacey Nuveman Deniz expressed a similar sentiment.
“We’re just about to — it’s all cautiously optimistic — but we’re optimistic that we’re going to that Power Five level, and all the things that come with that,” she said. “That comes with different opportunities in recruiting, opportunities in terms of resources and facilities. Seeing what the basketball team did, we’re not in the finals but we were right there. There’s some momentum.”
Her comments echoed those SDSU men’s basketball coach Brian Dutcher made in late March, following the Aztecs’ run to the NCAA title game.
SDSU may still end up in the P5 conference, likely either the Pac-12 or Big 12, but for the moment it does not appear that the Aztecs pending divorce with the MW will be an easy or amicable separation.
