Report: SDSU will not withdraw from Mountain West Conference despite previous decision
San Diego State is expected to stay in the Mountain West Conference after all.
According to a report from Pete Thamel of ESPN, San Diego State is expected to tell the Mountain West Conference later today that it is not withdrawing from the league.
SDSU previously announced that it was planning to leave the Mountain West, and there were rumors that the Aztecs were headed to the PAC 12.
However, the exit turned complicated.
According to On3’s Andy Wittry, San Diego State President Adela de la Torre wrote a letter to the Mountain West Conference and its members dated June 13 “to formally notice that San Diego State University (SDSU) intends to resign from the Mountain West Conference (MWC) effective June 30, 2024 or at an agreed upon later date.”
However, SDSU later asked for a one-month extension “given unforeseen delays involving the other collegiate athletic conferences beyond our control.” A Mountain West bylaw requires notification by June 30 of the year preceding the effective date, according to Wittry.
Wittry reports that Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez responded to de la Torre the following day, informing de la Torre that SDSU would have to pay an exit fee equaling three times the average per-member conference distribution for the preceding year if it was to leave the Mountain West Conference.
Following the letter from Nevarez, SDSU seemed to backtrack.
On June 15, de la Torre wrote to Nevarez the following, according to Wittry:
“Our goal was and has always been to be transparent about our intentions to give the MWC the opportunity to meet before June 30 to consider our requests, especially our request concerning an extension of the resignation window. As you know, there have been delays outside of our control such that we continue to ask for your special consideration on the deadline.”
De la Torre continued in her letter, discussing the exit fee.
“Second, because SDSU has not yet already resigned from the MWC, the formal Notice Date, as defined in Bylaw 1.04(a), has not yet occurred,” de la Torre wrote. “As such, no payments due to SDSU from the conference for the previous year should yet be withheld and applied to any future exit fee at this time.”
Nevarez then responded to de la Torre, stating that she disagreed.
“Please also note that this letter is not intended to express agreement with any interpretation expressed in the Second Notice Letter, including those concerning whether your letter, dated June 13, 2023, constitutes a ‘Notice of Resignation’ under the Bylaws,” Nevarez wrote. “The Conference continues to reserve all rights.”
Ultimately, San Diego State made the decision to remain in the Mountain West Conference rather than attempt to join another league.