College athletics is always about the money and trying to stay afloat, especially when it concerns schools from outside of the BCS leagues. Even though San Diego State just dug itself out of a $2 million budget deficit in only two years the school is getting a cash grab by moving their 2012 football season opener to play at Washington Huskies instead of at Cincinnati. The game against Cincinnati is a return game that is owed by the Aztecs for when Cincinnati played at San Diego State in 2007. The Cincinnati game has been pushed back to 2016.
For making this move the Aztecs are set to net $850,000 to travel to Seattle and play the Huskies:
"We reached out to ESPN a few months ago about trying to schedule a national-caliber game that would likely be on national television and we were able to accomplish that with this game,"SDSU Athletic Director Jim Sterk said in a statement.
SDSU will receive $850,000 from Washington for playing the game, continuing the Aztecs' willingness to play big-name non-conference teams on the road for big cash.
While getting money is great but since 2000 the Aztecs are 0-16 against road non-conference games from BCS leagues and Notre Dame. During that time they have made $8 million.
The Aztecs do have one paid one-and-done game where they will get $1 million to take on Michigan against former Aztec head coach Brady Hoke.
So to recap, the Aztecs get a nice pay check, get to be on one of the ESPN networks and against a team that the Aztecs have a realistic shot at winning; assuming the Aztecs do not fall back to the Mountain West celllar in year two of the Rocky Long era.
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