Mountain West Conference will retain San Di..

Conference realignment • Big East falling apart as MWC could add a conference championship.

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Less than a month after Boise State announced it would stay in the Mountain West Conference, San Diego State has followed suit.

The Aztecs, like the Broncos before them, will forgo a move to the Big East in favor of staying in its current conference, the school announced Wednesday afternoon.

Media reports surfaced that morning that San Diego State was preparing to sever ties with the Big East, and the Mountain West presidents voted to approve the Aztecs' inclusion in the afternoon.

San Diego State will not pay an exit fee. Its contract with the Big East allowed it to leave if it had no conference foes West of the Rocky Mountains.

The move brings the MWC to 12 football-playing programs, setting up an opportunity for divisions and a conference championship game. It coincides with the Mountain West getting a new, more flexible television contract to go with its newfound solid footing.

The football membership includes Air Force, Colorado State, Fresno STate, Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV and Wyoming. Hawaii is a football-only member, and Utah State and San Jose State will join next year.

Mountain West Conference will retain San Diego State