The Super Secret Plot To Blow Up The Mountain West Revealed

We just have a few more days until the start of the college football season. Sports sites, newsletters, message boards, and sports radio platforms are all churning out content regarding who will play what position and how teams are looking during summer practices. 

However, the hottest action is the off-the-field speculation concerning the future of the four left-behind schools that currently make up the Pac-4. California, Stanford, Washington State, and Oregon State are trying to figure out if it's better to save the decimated Conference of Champions or join another league like the ACC, AAC, or the Mountain West. 

The story changes daily, although the story from CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd is an exclusive insight into what the university presidents, athletic directors, and prominent donors are working behind the scenes to secure their favorite school's future. 

According to Mr. Dodd, San Diego State did its best to orchestrate the end of the Mountain West. If nine teams voted to leave the Mountain West, the league would dissolve, allowing those teams to escape the massive thirty-four million dollar exit fees. 

The attempt failed as the Mountain West said they would welcome the remaining teams from the Pac-12. The challenge is the payouts in the Pac are around twenty million dollars while the Mountain West pays its football teams four million, except Boise State, which has a special deal due to its successful national brand.

If the Pac can survive, the conference can keep its automatic qualifier for the college football playoff. 

The Deseret News reports that San Diego State did issue a denial of the report. 

Washington State and Oregon State are the two losers during this current round of realignment. Both schools have recently invested in renovations to their athletic facilities and coaching staffs. Washington State tells ESPN that they will find the money to compete in whichever conference they end up in.