San Diego State University playing football in the Big East Conference sounds about as natural as Aztecs quarterback Ryan Lindley standing on his hands to complete a pass with his feet. That is exactly what will happen, however, thanks to yet another seismic college conference realignment that was announced on Wednesday.

SDSU, Boise State, Houston, SMU and Central Florida will all join the Big East in 2013. It’s a marriage that has far reaching ramifications and is more about money than honoring the storied traditions of these schools.

“I am extremely excited about our prospects for joining the Big East in football,” said SDSU President Dr. Elliot Hirshman.“This new conference affiliation will provide extraordinary opportunities for our student-athletes, our coaches and staff, our alumni and supporters and the entire University.”

Athletic director Jim Sterk echoed Hirshman’s sentiment. “This is a very important day in the history of the San Diego State athletic department,” said Sterk. “This affiliation with the Big East Conference allows us to compete at the highest level in college football. This will give the athletic department and University attention on a national stage that we have not had before.”

Chargers offensive lineman and former Aztec Brandyn Dombrowski said he was surprised by the move and he did not quite share in Hirshman and Sterk’s enthusiasm. “As a player, it kind of sucks to fly out (east) all the time,” Dombrowski said. “You do what you have to do to be BCS eligible.”

The Big East is one of the six conferences whose conference champion is guaranteed an automatic berth to one of the five Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games. An appearance in a BCS game brings a payout sometimes in excess of $20 million that is often shared among conference members. In comparison, the Aztecs (8-4) will receive $500,000 for their appearance in this year’s New Orleans Bowl with a commitment to buy 9,500 tickets.

Future big BCS bowl payouts are far from a sure bet for the Aztecs. The Big East automatic bid to the BCS is only guaranteed through the 2013 season. “There would be no reason to go (to the Big East) if it’s not going to be BCS,” Dombrowski said.

Whether SDSU will have a legitimate shot at playing in a BCS game or not, there is guaranteed additional revenue. SDSU currently is earning approximately $1.5 million for their television rights in the Mountain West. By joining the Big East that figure will immediately boost to at least $3.5 million.

The Big East hopes to increase that by inking a television deal on par with larger conferences that have new multi-year deals in excess of $1 billion.

“We have ambitious plans, and this expansion is a great stride toward reaching them,” said commissioner John Marinatto on Wednesday when explaining his expectations for a new contract, according to the Associated Press. “The Big East Conference is the first truly national college football conference.”

Despite their large geographical reach that would now spans over 3,000 miles, a television contract equivalent to the larger conferences may be far too ambitious.

SDSU and the other four schools were recruited because the conference is being depleted with Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia departing after this season. The Big East has only five remaining football members committed to play in 2012: Connecticut, Cincinnati, Louisville, Rutgers and USF.

It’s unclear if the addition of the new schools will make the conference as appealing to television networks.

Marinatto would like to add two more schools to the conference to bring the total to 12. This would allow for eastern and western divisions consisting of six teams each. The winner of each division would then meet in a conference championship game.

Air Force and Navy are among the schools the Big East is actively recruiting, but neither has yet to commit and Air Force has voiced a commitment to stay in the Mountain West.

More unknowns persist for SDSU. The rest of the athletic program will be impacted by the football program in the Big East. For example SDSU Basketball will now have to depart the Mountain West and will be joining the Big West in 2013.

That could be problematic for Steve Fisher’s squad who made the Sweetsixteen for the first time in school history last season. In the Big West typically only the conference champion receives a bid to the NCAA tournament.

Meanwhile, the future of conference alignment for the rest of SDSU’s athletic programs appears to be murky.

However it is sorted out, the tradition of old Aztec rivalries are now gone forever. SDSU’s athletic programs will be fractured into several different alliances so the school can generate needed additional revenue. Naturally, that is all that matters in the end.