MWC Withholds $6.6 Million Payment To San Diego State, Claims The Aztecs Left The Conference
It appears the Mountain West Conference and San Diego State are gearing up for a major war.
The MWC has decided to withhold a $6.6 million payment due to the Aztecs claiming SDSU left the conference and owes a $17 million exit fee, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The issue all stems from a letter sent from SDSU to the MWC in June "to formally notice that San Diego State University intends to resign" its membership in anticipation of a PAC-12 invite that never came.
The Mountain West Conference has withheld a $6.6 million payment from San Diego State. (Photo by Tom Hauck/Getty Images)
MWC goes to war with San Diego State.
That would automatically incur a $17 million exit fee. However, SDSU attempted to walk the letter back and claim it wasn't an official notice of anything. Well, the MWC feels different and is now not handing SDSU $6.6 million in distribution money citing the conference's bylaws.
The San Diego Union-Tribune reported the conference could be signaling to the Aztecs they're gone after this year and it's time to pay up, or it could be a negotiating tactic to gain leverage.
Either way, it appears the two sides are gearing up for a lengthy battle that could end up in court. San Diego State isn't going to let the MWC take $6.6 million without a huge fight.
It appears the opening salvo of that fight has officially arrived.
SDSU can blame the PAC-12 for this disaster.
If San Diego State needs anyone to blame for the disaster it's now in, it can point directly at the PAC-12.
The West Coast conference appeared to tease and drag the Aztecs along that a PAC-12 invite was inevitable. It's why SDSU sent the letter notifying the MWC of its intention to leave.
Instead, no invite from the PAC-12 came, SDSU had to retreat back into the MWC after indicating it was cutting and running and the conference doesn't seem so eager to just let everything pass.
Will San Diego State leave the MWC? (Photo by David Becker/Getty Images)
This could all be a part of an attempt to lock in SDSU for a very long time (seems unlikely the Aztecs agree to any long deal) or this is war with malicious intent. You can bank on lawyers battling it for a long time if it's the latter. Enjoy the chaos of college football!