Realignment revisited: A timeline of key events and dates that led to Gonzaga’s move to the Pac-12 Conference
Gonzaga was at the epicenter of the conference realignment world on Tuesday, formally joining the reconstructed Pac-12 Conference as its eighth member, and only nonfootball member. With its future secured, it could be a while before Gonzaga’s name resurfaces in conference realignment and expansion conversations – a drastic change from the past decade-plus, when the Spokane school and its powerhouse men’s basketball program were frequently in the middle of realignment rumors, courted by multiple conferences in different time zones.
Beginning in 2012, we revisit the timeline of key events that led up to Tuesday’s announcement.
2012: Before the Big East Conference launched a new 10-team conference in 2013, ESPN reported there was mutual interest between the conference and Gonzaga, suggesting the Spokane school would “love” to join a “national, branded basketball conference.” The Big East made three additions – Creighton, Butler and Xavier – but tabled discussions with Gonzaga .
2017: Discussions between GU and the Big East resurface after the Bulldogs’ nonconference games against Villanova and Creighton. Mike Roth, Gonzaga’s athletic director from 1998-2021, acknowledged the school’s interest in a potential move to the Big East while also citing the biggest hurdle. “We’re very much alike when you think about it,” Roth said. “The thing that hasn’t changed is we haven’t moved and they haven’t invented teleporting.”
2017: San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State and Fresno State will be conference foes for Gonzaga two years from now, but in an alternate world, many of those rivalries could have started taking shape much sooner. Former Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson made a strong push to bring the Zags into the conference, but after months of contemplation, GU declined an invitation, opting to remain in the WCC.
2022: After the Pac-12’s first two defectors, USC and UCLA, left to join the Big Ten Conference, strategic advisers working for the Pac-12 recommended the conference act quickly and offer invitations to Gonzaga and San Diego State, according to Jon Wilner of The Mercury News. Presidents and ADs opposed the idea and eight more Pac-12 programs announced plans to leave the conference for the Big Ten, Big 12 and ACC approximately one year later.
2022: Looking to further cement the Big 12 as the country’s premier basketball conference, Commissioner Brett Yormark held “exploratory” conversations with Gonzaga AD Chris Standiford prior to the program’s preseason exhibition against Tennessee not far from Big 12 offices in Frisco, Texas. The two met in person again during GU’s visit to Texas for a nonconference game in Austin. Despite Yormark’s reported interest in Gonzaga and UConn, Big 12 athletic directors and presidents didn’t show the same appetite, particularly after the conference expanded to 16 teams with the addition of Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah.
2023: Maybe the Big East dream isn’t dead after all? Following UConn’s 76-63 win over Gonzaga at Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena, Huskies coach Dan Hurley, months before capturing the program’s second consecutive national championship, floats the idea in a postgame news conference. “Maybe Gonzaga will want to join a really good basketball league,” Hurley said. “I know (Big East) commissioner Val Ackerman was here tonight.”
2024: Eight days before Gonzaga and the Pac-12 formalized their new partnership, the Action Network’s Brett McMurphy reported that the sides had reached a deal and the Zags would be receiving a full revenue share in the new conference. Gonzaga formally applied for membership on Monday, with the Pac-12 accepting less than 24 hours later.