San Diego State is on the clock for a Mountain West Conference return.
Under provisions of Boise State’s return to the conference, San Diego State has a 31-day window in which to accept or reject terms that would also bring the Aztecs back to the Mountain West.
The requirement that the conference first make an offer to San Diego State before inviting any other schools was contained in a term sheet signed by the parties Dec. 31, 2012 and obtained by the Idaho Statesman newspaper.
The "right of first option shall expire Jan. 31, 2013," the agreement states. The agreement does not say what offer the conference would make to San Diego State or how much the Aztecs might be required to pay to regain their place in a conference they had announced they were leaving to join the Big East.
The Mountain West will pay up to $3 million of Boise State’s exit fees from the Big East and Big West. Under the agreements that Boise State and San Diego State signed to join the Big West, they were each responsible for a $1.5 million exit fee if they leave before 2014.
The Aztecs, who were to play football in the Big East in 2013 and place most of their other sports in the Big West for 2013-14, have yet to say whether they will remain in those conferences or follow Boise State back to the MWC.
In a statement, San Diego State athletic director Jim Sterk said, "We will continue to evaluate the situation and make decisions based on the best interest of the San Diego State athletic department and the university overall."
Big West Commissioner Dennis Farrell said, "I’ve certainly made it known to them that we highly value their future membership and we would like them to continue on in our direction but we also understand that they have to do what they think is in the interest of the betterment of their program."
Boise State’s return will give the MWC 11 football-playing members in ’13. The MWC-Boise State term sheet says that if the conference has 12 or more members it will be divided into two divisions. A conference championship game will be played at the home of the team with the highest BCS ranking as of a date specified by MWC.
