Gonzaga in talks to join Big 12

[No Fun Shogun]

Football has been the primary driver of NCAA realignment talk, but Gonzaga is first and foremost a basketball school, so that'd be the overwhelming point of discussion on this conversation. In fact, they don't even have a football program!



Would be a nice profit boost to Gonzaga, but they'd suddenly have a substantially more difficult in-conference schedule than they've grown accustomed to.

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[Big Z Man 1990]

They are not a good fit for any conference that sponsors football.

As an alternative, I've proposed a split of the Big East along geographic lines.

The five Midwestern schools - Butler, Creighton, DePaul, Marquette, Xavier - would form a new conference that would also include current Atlantic 10 members Dayton, Loyola (Chicago) and Saint Louis, Detroit Mercy of the Horizon League, Valparaiso of the MVC, and Gonzaga and Saint Mary's from the WCC. It is an outgrowth of a proposed Big East West Division I had wanted for years.

This new conference would contain quite a lot of good schools in men's basketball. 8 of the 10 Midwestern schools in this conference would be former Horizon League members - all except Creighton and DePaul. 10 of the 12 schools would also be Catholic schools, all except Butler and Valparaiso.

The Big East then re-configures as a Northeast-only conference, adding Duquesne, La Salle, and St. Joseph's from the Atlantic 10 and Iona from the MAAC.

 

[Spydey629]

Football has been the primary driver of NCAA realignment talk, but Gonzaga is first and foremost a basketball school, so that'd be the overwhelming point of discussion on this conversation. In fact, they don't even have a football program!



Would be a nice profit boost to Gonzaga, but they'd suddenly have a substantially more difficult in-conference schedule than they've grown accustomed to.

From some of the things I've read, Gonzaga hasn't made it a secret to the WCC that they want to join a Power 5 league. They've become a whale in that tiny pond, so a jump up makes sense.

Yormark said from Day 1 he wants to make the Big XII a 'four time-zone conference', and this definitely accomplishes that. And their other sports would all fall in pretty easily, as well.

My question is this: Is there another western school (St. Mary's??) that can be a travel partner / evener to keep the conference balanced? Gonzaga checks off a lot of boxes, but I don't know if there is a second school that does the same.

 

[PCSPounder]

From some of the things I've read, Gonzaga hasn't made it a secret to the WCC that they want to join a Power 5 league. They've become a whale in that tiny pond, so a jump up makes sense.

Yormark said from Day 1 he wants to make the Big XII a 'four time-zone conference', and this definitely accomplishes that. And their other sports would all fall in pretty easily, as well.

My question is this: Is there another western school (St. Mary's??) that can be a travel partner / evener to keep the conference balanced? Gonzaga checks off a lot of boxes, but I don't know if there is a second school that does the same.

But they want a little football money and the B12 will only offer basketball money.

The Pac is, theoretically, in a more desperate position and might be willing to arrange a deal. But it’s media that has to pay for that.

Please be reminded that Gonzaga turned a flirtation with the Big East into a better deal with the WCC.