Late Wednesday night, the Pac-12 Conference came out of nowhere and was set to add San Diego State, Colorado State, Boise State, and Freno State. On Thursday morning, it became official, and the world of conference realignment is back in the forefront.

The Pac-12 now has six teams but they need at least two more to be recognized as an FBS conference, and plenty of options have swirled. On Thursday morning after the news was made official, San Diego State Athletic Director John David Wicker had an emotional reaction, per Adam Rittenberg of ESPN.

‘ San Diego State athletic director John David Wicker gets emotional as he talks about the meaning of the school's Pac-12 move:”We've worked hard for this. We have invested in San Diego State. Our institution has invested,” Wicker stated.'

Aztecs AD is “ecstatic” 

The AD also released a lengthy statement and said they are “ecstatic”, per goaztecs.com.

“We are ecstatic to be joining the Pac-12 Conference,” John David Wicker said. “While we are grateful to be a founding member of the Mountain West with 26 years of success in the conference, we are excited at what lies ahead with these new opportunities. We will continue to compete for conference championships on the field and to graduate leaders in the community.”

It has been a long path to get there for San Diego State. Once USC and UCLA announced their departure for the Big Ten, San Diego State and others were rumored to be headed to the Pac-12. Then, all but two programs decided to leave with four going to the Big 12, four going to the Big Ten, and a pair off to the ACC, ending their dreams of going to the conference.

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Wicker also spoke about that date, which is engraved in his brain, per Brandon Marcello of 247Sports.

“Aug. 4, 2023, is seared into my brain,” says AD John David Wicker. “It took a good six months to get over that. … A lot of people on our staff had worked so hard to position us for that. Here we are with another opportunity.”

Now, at long last, San Diego State is headed for the Pac-12.