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Gonzaga Basketball

‘Never take it for granted:’ Perfect NCAA Tournament attendance for Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Mike Roth

Gonzaga coach Mark Few watches his team during Wednesday's practice at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City, where the Zags will face McNeese State on Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament. (Tyler Tjomsland/The Spokesman-Review)
By Jim Meehan jimm@spokesman.com(509) 459-5585

SALT LAKE CITY – There are two people, outside of Gonzaga’s fan base, who have been in the building for every one of Gonzaga’s 69 NCAA Tournament games. They were the last two to stick around after the team’s watch party ended on Selection Sunday.

That would be former Gonzaga Athletic Director Mike Roth and head coach Mark Few, an assistant on GU’s first NCAA Tournament foray in 1995 and the Elite Eight squad in 1999.

“Mark and I talked about it after the Selection Show,” Roth said. “Everybody was gone. We both looked at each other and said, ‘Never take it for granted.’ ”

Roth retired after 24 years as athletic director in August 2021, but he’s grateful successor Chris Standiford has extended invites to attend March Madness the past three seasons. Standiford might be third on the attendance list behind Roth and Few.

“Chris missed the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight in 1999 because Thomas, his oldest son, was born,” Roth said. “That’s the only games Chris has missed. Shannon (Strahl, assistant athletic director in her 23rd year in the athletic department) was still in school.”

Standiford said Thomas was born on the day between GU’s games vs. Florida and UConn in Phoenix. They were still in the hospital when Gonzaga lined up against UConn, so they watched the contest on television with the doctor, a Gonzaga grad who assisted with Thomas’ delivery.

The list of fans to attend every Gonzaga tournament game might be a short one, considering the school’s first appearance was 29 years ago and attendance was limited at the 2021 tournament in Indianapolis due to the pandemic.

Roth called GU’s 25-year run of NCAA Tournament appearances “completely mind-boggling” and reinforces “that I might have made the right decision” to promote Few after Dan Monson accepted the head coaching position at Minnesota.

“If you lived to 100, that’s a quarter of your life,” Roth said. “Our coaching staff (other than Few), some of them might have been in grade school. It’s pretty cool.”