The recent letter sent by San Diego State University to the Mountain West Conference has reignited realignment talk.
San Diego State didn’t formally exit the Mountain West, but it made it clear it wants to leave. All eyes are on SDSU, the Mountain West and the Pac-12. Will a fresh round of realignment occur in the coming weeks? It’s now a real possibility since San Diego State has finally made its intentions clear.
With San Diego State wanting out of the Mountain West, people in the college sports industry are turning to SMU as another school that could be on the move. SMU and San Diego State have long been rumored as Pac-12 expansion targets. The obvious and important question: Where do they Mustangs and Aztecs stand within the Pac-12 and its leadership team?
We aren’t paying much attention to the question of whether the Pac-12 will match the Big 12’s “dollars per school per year” number in a media rights deal. That story has been accompanied by endless speculation, with no real way to know who is right (or wrong). We have largely stayed away from each new rumor about the dollar figure or whether Colorado might leave for the Big 12. That’s all smoke.
This new report, however, on San Diego State and SMU, contains more substance.
John Canzano, reporting at his Substack, talked to Pac-12 sources and, more specifically, members of the Pac-12 CEO Group.
This rates as legitimate news, not idle speculation or gossip:
“Speculate all you’d like about No. 3 and No. 4. Colorado State? Gonzaga? I’m not sure it matters at this point. It remains a two-school conversation (with San Diego State and SMU). As a member of the Pac-12’s CEO Group told me on Friday morning: ‘I think it’s fair to say there was a gap to No. 3 and No. 4.’”
So there you have it, folks: It’s San Diego State and SMU well in front of everyone else. If San Diego State does move to the Pac-12, which we’re not guaranteeing, by the way, SMU should be expected to accompany the Aztecs. Whether those moves would be concurrent or sequential (Aztecs first, Mustangs second) remains to be seen.
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