Gonzaga will join the revamped Pac 12 in 2026, it was announced today, leaving a gaping hole in the WCC. It was also reported that the Pac 12 has been talking with St. Mary's about joining.
Zags to leave WCC
- Thread starter colhenrylives
- Start date
As important as basketball is, football is 5x as more lucrative as any basketball program, so I’m surprised by this.
I know Gonzaga basketball is a top 10 program around the country, but without a football team I don’t understand how this makes sense for the Pac 12
It seems like this could be the making of the west coast version of The Big East conference. But, agree...where does this leave football?
I've heard this before, and I think it's true... I heard once, that when Kentucky hoops was in its glory and its football team was barely competitive (if that), football got a similar number, about 5x as much, from donors and other revenue.
I'm sure the Zags will be excellent... I haven't paid any attention to what their recruiting/portal performance been like this year, but I'm pretty sure they are wayyyyyyyy more-than-decent.
And St. Mary's, even without Aidan, look ready to make a good bit of noise again.
And I think both the Zags and the Gaels will remain regulars in the top 25 or higher for years to come in the future; they've laid the groundwork.
But yeah, football. Hmmm...
And St. Mary's, even without Aidan, look ready to make a good bit of noise again.
And I think both the Zags and the Gaels will remain regulars in the top 25 or higher for years to come in the future; they've laid the groundwork.
But yeah, football. Hmmm...
....and, really, in the current chaotic environment, who knows how long any of this will last anyway...
dogg no they can not. st marys is cute but with their rosters it just aint happening... especially night in and out.
UConn was head and shoulders above the rest...The Big East isn't the Big East we remember back in the day. Butler, Creighton, Villanova (not the same team w/o Wright there), and even Providence aren't the same as they were 5 years ago. St. John's is on the uppity up with Pitino at the helm but they're nowhere near where they were when they got something like 7-8 teams in the tourney. SMC and Zags would be the middle or upper part of that conference.
Uconn, Marquette, Creighton, PC were all consistent tournament teams last 4 years.
Sure Gonzaga could compete but they wouldn't be the Gonzaga you know if in the big east cuz they are on the other part of country.
The other teams in the conference are far better than the other teams in the wcc. Top to bottom wcc is not competing. Smc being in the middle when they are at the top of wcc is not the move
I think this moves makes a lot of sense for the Pac-12 for this reason. Who are they going to bring in that has a bigger brand than Gonzaga basketball? Yes, football carries the day financially, but you are selling the whole conference to a TV partner and Gonzaga helps them with that. And this doesn't exclude them adding football schools.
I think Big 12 has a similar philosophy adding schools like Houston and looking toward UCONN. Yes those schools have football but especially in football, UCONN actually hurts the conference. But the basketball product would be the best in the country.
I think Big 12 has a similar philosophy adding schools like Houston and looking toward UCONN. Yes those schools have football but especially in football, UCONN actually hurts the conference. But the basketball product would be the best in the country.
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