Aztecs May Shuffle Football Dates for Padres for Third Year in a Row

For the third consecutive season, a conflict with the Padres likely will force San Diego State to alter its home football schedule.

The Aztecs were scheduled to play Texas El Paso Sept. 22 at San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium in the third game of the 1990 season. But the Padres have taken that Saturday night for the second game of a three-game weekend series against the Cincinnati Reds.

The Aztecs would prefer to eliminate the conflict by arranging a three-way swap of home states with UTEP and Wyoming. SDSU Athletic Director Fred Miller said Tuesday night. Instead of playing host to UTEP Sept. 22, the Aztecs would travel to El Paso, and instead of playing at Wyoming Oct. 6, the Cowboys would come to San Diego. The Aztecs would complete the switch in 1991 by playing at Wyoming and playing host to UTEP, the opposite of how the games originally were scheduled.

But the plan has hit a snag because of Wyoming’s objection to playing the Aztecs in San Diego three years in a row. Wyoming also is concerned that the switch could affect its home football revenue for 1990, said Bill Lamberty, Wyoming’s assistant sports information director.

The swap also would mean that the Aztecs would play at UTEP for three consecutive seasons, but Miller said SDSU had no objection to that arrangement. He said the matter would be discussed further at the Western Athletic Conference meetings later this month. But Lamberty said Wyoming was firming its objections to the proposed swap.

Miller said the schedule conflict is the result of football schedules being set years in advance before the Padres’ schedule is known.

The Padres have scheduling priority over the Aztecs in the stadium.

This conflict comes after a season in which the Aztecs were fored to move what was a planned Sept. 9 game against Cal State Long Beach to Oct. 14. Last year, the Aztecs moved their 1988 home opener with Air Fore from Saturday night to a Sunday night to accommodate the Padres.