Here is what I found out today through the people I know....

SDSU was given a proposal, take-it-or-leave-it. Its a non-negotiable offer. As far as not having the votes to get back into the conference, they do, and they don't. It was a 6-2 vote in favor of the proposal sent out to San Diego St. All 6 in favor of SDSU told commissioner Thompson that they will vote no if their are any changes.

I asked if SDSU's proposal was the same as Boise St, it is not. But their is an incentive in there, which is believed to be the Big West exit fee.

They do want 12 schools for next year, but even with 12 there is no guarantee for a championship game for 2013. If it is not SDSU, there will be another added for next year.

Commission Thompson has talked with commissioner Slive from the SEC about 14 schools. They have reached a consensus that if they go beyond 12, 16 is the number. That's not to say they wouldn't stop at 14, that they all agree that 16 is an easier number scheduling wise.

Talks with BYU have heated up. One day things look good for the 2 re-joining, the next not so much. But the MWC has been aggressive with BYU. ESPN has been in the middle of these discussions as well. I am told they would only accept BYU on an all sports membership, not a deal like Notre Dame.

Here is the kicker. When Thompson said he was talking with 5-6 with San Diego St being one of them, anyone with half a brain knew BYU was one. So that left 3-4 schools he was talking to (according to him). They have a deal in place for the 12th school for next year if SDSU does not join and they can not persuade BYU to join for 2013.

The problem they are having right now is going beyond 12. The schools they are talking all agree the MWC is the more stable conference between them and the Big East (Thanks Boise), and the money is going to be a wash at this point. The Big East will end up with a little money right now. Its the exposure of being in the East (looking right at you Houston) and actually being in the same conference as schools they have been playing for a while. (Who would have thought that???)

With that being said, if BYU were to re-join, they have the schools committed to going to 16 right this second.

I asked about time frame on all this. All 4 guys I talked to told me the exact same thing. First, now they are trying to get the SDSU thing figured out one way or another. Within the next week, expect the MWC to put the pressure on SDSU to make a decision one way or another. After that it will be full press on BYU, especially now that the Big East is not even on BYU's radar anymore.

While all of this is going on, they are still trying to work on adding those other schools. By the middle of February the MWC should have their membership in line for 2013 and beyond.

One thing of note, once the SDSU things gets completed, expect things to move very fast, all within 2 weeks.

Feel bad for the "12th school" if SDSU does join. Here they are thinking they have a chance to move on to the MWC, but if SDSU stays in the MWC, they are stuck and might not get a chance to get in for a while.