Pac-12 expansion speculation swirls around San Diego State after Aztecs' March Madness run

Should the Pac-12 expand by adding San Diego State?

Speculation has been swirling around the conference and the Aztecs, who impressed during the NCAA Tournament with a national runner-up finish in the Final Four of March Madness.

With UCLA and USC leaving the conference for the Big Ten in 2024, many college insiders think the conference should expand with some Mountain West teams, with San Diego State at the forefront of the discussion.

Check out what some college writers are saying about the Aztecs' potential fit in the Pac-12 Conference in recent stories.

San Jose Mercury News: San Diego State’s epic run leaves Pac-12 with no choice but to expand

Jon Wilner writes: "Not since UCLA’s loss to Florida in 2006 has a Pac-12 team played on the last Monday of the season. (It has been nine years since the conference produced a participant in the football championship game: Oregon lost to Ohio State at the end of the 2014 season.) Given Kliavkoff’s stated desire for rings in the revenue sports — and everything else in the Aztecs’ favor (more on that in a moment) — a formal invitation for Pac-12 membership seemingly will be delivered to SDSU president Adela de la Torre in a matter of days or weeks. If the Pac-12 presidents and chancellors decide not to invite the Aztecs, well, the conference might as well fold up shop and send each school on its merry way. The Aztecs are an offering from the basketball gods. And if you haven’t been paying attention lately, know this: The Pac-12 could use a gift or two."

Big 12 expansion with Pac-12 teams?: Arizona State, Arizona president refute speculation

Yahoo Sports: The time is now for the Pac-12 to poach San Diego State

Dan Wetzel writes: "It shouldn’t take a great run of basketball under head coach Brian Dutcher to finally push the Aztecs into a major conference, but sometimes this is how it works. With victory comes attention and with attention comes appreciation. For decades SDSU has wanted to join the Pac-12, but the Pac-12 has never been interested. The conference could cite poor facilities and/or meager fan support."

Sports Illustrated: San Diego State loses, but Pac-12 wins

Jake Curtis writes: "San Diego State did not win the national championship, but by getting to the title game of the NCAA tournament, the Aztecs made it a whole lot easier for the Pac-12 to add San Diego State. Although basketball is not nearly the financial-driver that football is, the prestige and exposure San Diego State achieved the past few weeks would deliver the same prestige and exposure to the Pac-12 if the Aztecs became a member. And that should not be ignored, because image is a major factor for conferences when it comes to any number of issues, including media rights deals."

New York Times: San Diego State’s deep run plays right into conference realignment

Billy Witz writes: "When the Chargers left San Diego for Los Angeles in 2017, it left a void in the city that the Aztecs’ basketball and football teams have eagerly filled. And when Southern California and U.C.L.A. announced last June that they were bolting the Pac-12 Conference for the Big Ten, it opened up another lane for San Diego State. Suddenly, the Pac-12, with its next television rights deal up for negotiation, needed a toe hold in Southern California, and the two schools that were unlikely to allow the Aztecs entry were no longer part of the equation."

Santa Fe New Mexican: Time for Mountain West to say farewell to San Diego State

James Barron writes: "It was nice knowing you, San Diego State. Good luck with your future athletic endeavors — whether they take you to the barely alive Pac-12 Conference or a more practical move to the basketball behemoth that is the Big 12 Conference. Sure, no announcement has been made about any potential move by the school, but the handwriting is on the wall. Even more telling, no one has not denied that San Diego State has one foot out the door as the conference realignment game evolves."

More: Big 12 expansion with Arizona, Arizona State, Utah, Colorado? Pac-12 AD responds to report

Trojans Wire: San Diego State now waits to see what Pac-12, George Kliavkoff will do

Matt Zemek writes: "San Diego State has dramatically raised the profile of the university. The Aztecs have increased the value of their national brand. They are poised to grow as a school and as an athletic program on the basis of this run. We have seen it at other schools such as Gonzaga and Butler and Wichita State. Now we will wait and see when — and how — George Kliavkoff tries to line up his media rights deal, his invitation to San Diego State, and his larger overall vision for the Pac-12 Conference. It’s very likely SDSU will receive an invitation. How the Aztecs are incorporated into a larger plan is the real question mark."

CBS Sports: San Diego State's run to the Final Four adds fuel to fire for promotion to Power Five conference

Dennis Dodd writes: "Put San Diego State in the Pac-12 -- or the Big 12. It doesn't matter. The school has earned a promotion. Its athletic fortunes have never been more … fortunate. Its brand has never been brighter. It's no longer a question for suddenly the shiniest realignment jewel on the West Coast. Just deliver an entry date. With SDSU's basketball team advancing to its first Final Four, there has been side action to the accomplishment. Basketball excellence, sure, but the 2023 NCAA Tournament run is the kind of realignment advertising you can't buy -- particularly when there may be an opening in a major conference."

Trojans Wire: The Pac-12’s case for adding San Diego State

Matt Wadleigh writes: "There are a lot of reasons why SDSU moving to the Pac-12 makes a lot of sense, and if those reasons weren’t substantial enough already, seeing the Aztecs run through the brackets should be the biggest of them all now."

Big 12 expansion speculation: Arizona, Colorado 'odds-on candidates' to leave Pac-12 first

Deseret.com: Is adding San Diego State to the Pac-12 a ‘no-brainer’?

Jeff Call writes: "With USC and UCLA bolting the Pac-12 next year, leaving the league with just 10 members, it seems that the conference would be wise to add SDSU to its fold to help offset the loss of the Trojans and the Bruins. The league has been exploring expansion and San Diego State checks all the boxes of what it needs."

Cronkite News: San Diego State’s loss to UConn in NCAA National Championship game does little to quiet Pac-12 rumors

Hayden Cilley writes: "The consistency and strength of San Diego State’s football and basketball programs looks to be a selling point for a conference move, especially with UCLA and USC moving to the Big Ten Conference in 2024. The Aztecs (32-7) strengthened their case for Pac-12 entry with this year’s championship run, but the program’s campaign started long before this season. In basketball, the men’s team has made the NCAA tournament 10 times in the last 13 years while winning the Mountain West Conference championship five times in that span."

Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Pac-12 expansion, realignment speculation swirls with San Diego State