Conflicting Reports About San Diego State Trying To Form A New Power League
Aztecs wanted to form a new power league
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SDSU really wants to be in a big time league
Conference realignment is in overdrive right now with the Pac-12 going away as we know it. This has left the Mountain West and other leagues to try to figure out what is next.
There has been a lot going on within the Mountain West and its options.
One option that has reportedly been shot down is San Diego State attempting to rally around the best of the Mountain West, AAC, and the four remaining Pac-12 schools with Cal, Stanford, Oregon State, and Washington State.
This is reported by Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports that San Diego State wanted to help create a league out West to still be considered a power conference.
“Everything that is out there is from San Diego State,” a Mountain West source said Monday of the breakaway attempt. “They’ve been wanting to be part of the Pac-12 forever. They have a hope and dream that they can take the best of us, the best of some other leagues, re-form and keep, honestly, the [College Football Playoff] designation, reap the 10s of millions of dollars in distributions and resurrect the Autonomous Five in the West.”
However, San Diego State athletics director John David Wicker shouted “FAKE NEWS!” with Dodd’s reporting and released a statement as well.
Wicker might be upset or something because the odds that a reporter of Dodd’s stature would make up a quote from a source is highly unlikely.
Maybe there is some technicality in the reporting, which could be the case, but Dodd’s record is really good at reporting.
My statement regarding the recent https://t.co/J1aOjNIRFU article:
The first two paragraphs of this article contain numerous false or misleading statements. SDSU has been actively involved in conference realignment discussions before and after the latest round of Pac-12 (1/2)
— John David Wicker (@jdwicker) August 8, 2023
Conference as the conference assesses the best path forward during this turbulent time in our industry.
— John David Wicker (@jdwicker) August 8, 2023
As for the report itself, this seems like a terrible idea and something that if San Diego State is making this push they don’t understand what is going on with buyouts.
The hope of being part of a power league out West and keep those advantages is the right play. However, this is the same school that badly bungled an attempted extension to leave the Mountain West in hopes that the former Pac-12 would invite them.
The problem with this plan is that if just some of the Mountain West members leave then there is that pesky $34 million buyout if the Mountain West still exists.
So, to take a leap of faith with a handful of the best of the non-powers provides no guarantee it will be a big-time league is a risk.
Also, there is not going to be a move to dissolve the Mountain West — which would remove those exit fees — without an agreement on what is next for its members for what is next. That requires a vote of nine of the 12 to do that.
It would be very deceitful if a team or group of teams were to agree to form a new league but then get out in the middle of the night to form a different league to avoid that buyout.
