San Diego State to stay in the Mountain West
If San Diego State was trying to pick the ideal time to announce it was staying in the Mountain West without anyone realizing it, the school did well to do it while the Internet was in full Manti Te'o mode.
San Diego State made it official Wednesday night and told the Big East that it would rather stay in the Mountain West than switch conferences. That's not too big of a surprise considering the Big East has almost nothing to offer anymore, especially to a school on the West Coast that is a long plane ride from any of its conference mates.
The Big East's television contract negotiations have to be a nightmare, especially since once upon a time it looked like each school would be making about $8 million per year in TV money. That was when the Big East was much healthier.
Like the Boise State return, San Diego State staying is a good thing for the stability and health of the Mountain West. San Diego State doesn't have the national cache of Boise State, but it is turning into a solid football program with three straight bowl appearances, and the basketball program under Steve Fisher has become nationally relevant.
This was the best option for the Aztecs. Not only was the Big East looking like an unstable option for the football program with almost no upside, the basketball program has become too valuable to put in the Big West, which was the Aztecs' plan for the Olympic sports.
So San Diego State and the Mountain West seem to be the winners in this move. The Big East needs some good news, and fast.
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