Dave Boling: Gonzaga’s move to the Pac-12 is a big win now, and potentially even bigger win later
This was about basketball and money. And the opportunity to maximize and stabilize both in the evolving ecosystem of college sports.
Gonzaga joining the Pacific-12 Conference is a win for both.
In the high-stakes musical chairs game of conference realignment, the stripped-down Pac-12 landed a globally recognized jewel in Zags hoops, an anchor program in the region, and a long-standing national brand.
A conference with a proud history, now rebuilding after mass defections fueled by the chase for media money, the Pac, with the Zags, is immediately a powerhouse hoops league once again.
GU is a guaranteed arena-filler, a proven collector of NCAA tournament payouts, and a drawing card for other possible additions.
Leaving the West Coast Conference seemed inevitable, and the time was right for the Zags.
This was a matter of finding firm footing for a leap upward.
We may guess that the false-start announcement of the nuptials last week was a function of late leveraging in the fiscal arrangements.
The key to this, of course, is Gonzaga’s status as a blue-ribbon basketball factory. But the ancillary benefits across campus are welcomed, too.
GU president Thayne McCulloh applauded the way the new alignment will assist in student recruitment and enrollment efforts. And will give GU the opportunity to “participate in building a conference that imagines new, forward-thinking ways to support student-athletes in a rapidly changing collegiate sports landscape.”
The roots of this run deep.
A lot of people made this happen – over decades, improbably and against all odds and precedent – who contributed to making Gonzaga such an appealing partner. Especially when they bring no football team to the equation.
Untold coaches, staff, administrators and athletes laid the groundwork. Coach Mark Few stayed despite incessant get-richer offers to move on. Former athletic director Mike Roth helped create an environment to keep Few rooted, and Board members must have bought in along the way.
Few apprenticed a series of talented assistants that fledged and nested elsewhere. And great players lured generations of more great players to Spokane.
Coaches and athletes in the other sports buttressed their programs, too, to make them appealing and equal to the challenges of stepping up.
And current AD Chris Standiford presumably negotiated a deal that met GU’s expectations across the board. A round of applause to all.
The risks to this seem dwarfed by the rewards.
Fans could expect a few more conference losses, which also could sharpen the team for March competition.
The Zags’ rivalry with Saint Mary’s developed into one of the best in the West. But San Diego State, a recent national finalist, should take over the role as the Zags’ most prominent foil.
Surely, though, this statutorily enforces an annual rivalry with nearby Washington State, and adds accelerant to it. WSU won a game in the NCAAs last spring, and is retooling under new coach David Riley.
Home and home against the Zags should lead to a full Beasley Coliseum as well as RPI-building possibilities for the Cougars.
The current Pac lineup of eight teams includes WSU, Oregon State, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State is much stronger, top to bottom, than the West Coast Conference.
And when this collection gathers for competition in 2026, the lineup will allow the Zags room to schedule their usual array of top-flight non-conference opponents.
It seems appropriate to consider GU history to gauge the significance of this move. There was a time when it would have been impossible to imagine the Pac-12 antecedent memberships embracing Gonzaga – without a football team – as a member.
Someday, maybe, the absurdity of bicoastal conference affiliation will force a return to sensible regionality, prodigal programs will return, and GU will be in a better position to join a Pacific Coast Conference that more closely resembles its historic alignment.
Even as it is, this is a big step, a very positive move, and as Standiford said in the school’s press release, “this is a good day for Gonzaga University.”
Absolutely. A good day. One that will lead to many exciting winter nights in McCarthey Athletic Center.