Mountain West commissioner: ‘We are better’ with SDSU in the league

Las Vegas — Mountain West Commissioner Gloria Nevarez finally broke her silence about the monthlong spat involving San Diego State’s status in the conference and Tuesday’s resolution that likely keeps the Aztecs around at least two more years.
She sung their praises at football media days in Las Vegas, saying: “San Diego State is a positive for the Mountain West, we are better with San Diego State in the league.”
But she never fully explained, if the Aztecs are such a valued member, why the Mountain West repeatedly insisted they were leaving the conference and imposed strict conditions — including reimbursement of $96,000 in legal fees — on their reinstatement.
The most common phrase uttered by Nevarez, at least a half-dozen times between a morning news conference and informal interview sessions: “I’m not going to comment on details of the resolution.”
A journalist from Fresno asked why the conference continually claimed SDSU had given formal notice of departure — and withheld a $6.6 million distribution share as the initial payment of an estimated $17 million exit fee — despite multiple letters from President Adela de la Torre clarifying that it had not.
Nevarez: “Again, I’m not going to talk to the details.”
Journalist: “It’s not a detail. I’m wondering, your gut reaction is, ‘You’re out.’”
Nevarez: “Again, I’m not going to talk to the steps that got us to where we are.”
SDSU did not make anyone available to comment, instead issuing a lengthy statement noting that the university “never formally exited” and paid “no exit or entry fee.”
It continued: “It has been and remains within our best interest to entertain ongoing national conversations around conference realignment given the rising success of our institution, growing economic impact and the achievements of our student-athletes and coaches across all sports.”
The stalemate began at a Mountain West board meeting in Hawaii in early June, when de la Torre reportedly informed fellow presidents of SDSU’s plans to leave the conference for the Pac-12. A week later, she put it in writing, and Nevarez responded that “I hearby confirm receipt … of your notice of resignation from the Mountain West.”
SDSU sent at least three subsequent letters contending it had never formally withdrawn. The Mountain West wouldn’t budge, initiating separation procedures that included removing de la Torre from the board and freezing the $6.6 million distribution due SDSU in early July.
It required a special board meeting — Nevarez and the presidents minus de la Torre — to reverse that, and summer vacations precluded them from convening until Monday.
The resolution: SDSU continues as a “member in good standing” if it covers the conference’s legal expenses from the past month and agrees not to retroactively use the letters as a way to leave in 2024-25 with a reduced exit fee. Conference bylaws require an estimated $17 million exit fee with one year’s notice by June 30, and double with less than a year.
The legal fees will be deducted from the $6.6 million distribution now released to SDSU.
“These dollars will not be paid with state, tuition or student fee dollars, nor federal dollars,” SDSU’s statement said. “Instead, the payment source will be the university’s TV and conference revenue distribution funds, from which the total owed to SDSU continues to be the largest allocation to date as a direct result of its national Final Four run. There is no net loss or cost after the legal expense is paid.”
The statement did not explain how SDSU will account for receiving $96,000 less than expected in an athletic department budget that, according to the latest available records, operated at a $1.35 million deficit in 2022.
SDSU officials have said they can’t afford a doubled $34 million exit fee, which likely binds them to the Mountain West for 2023-24 and 2024-25. The hope was that the Pac-12 would finalize a new media rights deal and vote on expansion before June 30, allowing them to leave in time for 2024-25 for $17 million.
That didn’t happen, and SDSU agreed to the Mountain West’s terms for resolution.
“I think that’s just the nature of these things,” said Nevarez, who replaced longtime Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson in January. “It’s my job to protect the league. It’s the president’s and the (athletic director’s) job to look out for the best interests of the school. Sometimes, most times, those things align, and sometimes they don’t. And I think our policies worked like they’re supposed to work.”
In what ways?
“I’m not going to comment on the machinations that got us here,” Nevarez said. “But I will say that conference movement was an anomaly. Now it seems to be a regular part of business. What I’ve found is that we have very strong conference policies that are designed to not completely prevent schools from leaving, because we acknowledge that movement is going to happen, but that protect the conference when those things happen.
“I’m really pleased where we ended up.”
In Nevarez’s remarks, she said SDSU was a member in good standing “through 2023-24” but made no mention of 2024-25.
“In this environment, there’s nothing concrete about where anyone’s aligned these days,” Nevarez said when asked why. “The landscape is changing day today, which is why I just mentioned 2023-24, because nobody knows what the future looks like.”