Sources: Gonzaga in talks with Big 12 about joining conference

BleedGopher

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 11, 2008
Messages
60,575
Reaction score
15,651
Points
113
per ESPN:

Gonzaga's athletic director met in person with the Big 12 commissioner last week as part of broader discussions about the Zags joining the Big 12, sources told ESPN. The discussions are part of the possibility of a seismic move of the basketball powerhouse leaving the West Coast Conference for a power conference.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark met with Gonzaga athletic director Chris Standiford at the Hyatt in Frisco, Texas, while the Zags were in the Dallas area to play Tennessee in a scrimmage, according to sources.

The move backs up Yormark's promises of the Big 12 to be aggressive and "open for business," and it could end up shifting the landscape of college basketball.

Sources indicate that Gonzaga has been exploring its conference options, as it has emerged as one of the premier basketball programs in the country. Both the Pac-12 and the Big East have been engaged with Gonzaga, according to sources, but the extent of those conversations is uncertain.

Gonzaga plays in the West Coast Conference, a mid-major conference it has consistently dominated as it has grown into one of the top programs in the sport. The school has been transparent with the WCC about its conversations.

The Big 12 targeting Gonzaga as a potential addition to bolster its basketball isn't a surprise, as the conference has been regarded in recent seasons as the top basketball league in the country. The Big 12 boasts the past two men's basketball national champions -- Kansas and Baylor -- and was an overtime loss by Texas Tech in 2019 from having three consecutive NCAA champions.


Go Gophers!!
 

For basketball makes total sense, for any other sport? Going to be rough for awhile until those other teams catch up.
 






Bec
Why?

The Big Ten has Notre Dame as a hockey only school and Johns Hopkins as a lacrosse only school.

Plus, Gonzaga might bring something to the table in spring sports.
Because football has such a big impact on TV contracts a conference can negotiate.
 

Huggins chimes in:

Bob Huggins: Gonzaga in for 'awakening' if it joins Big 12​


West Virginia coach Bob Huggins is not convinced that Gonzaga, a powerhouse in recent years, will sustain its success if it makes the move to the Big 12, one of America's premier leagues in men's college basketball.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Wednesday that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Gonzaga athletic director Chris Standiford had met in Texas recently to discuss the possibility, which would make the Big 12 a league that would rival and likely surpass any other in men's basketball.

"I would think it would be a tremendous awakening for Gonzaga [to join the Big 12]," Huggins told reporters on Thursday.

"To get in this league and play who we play day-after-day, I would think it would be a tremendous awakening," Huggins said about Gonzaga. "You don't get to make your own schedule in the Big 12."


Go Gophers!!
 

Screen Shot 2022-11-04 at 12.24.48 AM.png So, Texas and Oklahoma are leaving, right? Rest are staying? Anybody else added? Biggest problem for Huggins is the travel...they are the only East team.
Competition would be a gigantic wakeup for Gonzaga in basketball. I'll be surprised if this happens. It's one sport and if you are Gonzaga, why fix what ain't broken.
 



View attachment 21580 So, Texas and Oklahoma are leaving, right? Rest are staying? Anybody else added? Biggest problem for Huggins is the travel...they are the only East team.
Competition would be a gigantic wakeup for Gonzaga in basketball. I'll be surprised if this happens. It's one sport and if you are Gonzaga, why fix what ain't broken.
Cincinnati, Houston, Central Florida and I believe BYU are going to the B12.
 


View attachment 21580 So, Texas and Oklahoma are leaving, right? Rest are staying? Anybody else added? Biggest problem for Huggins is the travel...they are the only East team.
Competition would be a gigantic wakeup for Gonzaga in basketball. I'll be surprised if this happens. It's one sport and if you are Gonzaga, why fix what ain't broken.
The Gonzaga AD would say they're interested in joining a major conference even if they aren't. To make it seem like they're not afraid of competition. But yeah, the ONLY possible reason would be money. From a purely fan standpoint, they'd be crazy to give up their guaranteed dominance & top seeding.
 

I've been advocating for a different seeding system where a team like Gonzaga wouldn't have such a tremendous advantage.
 

I've been advocating for a different seeding system where a team like Gonzaga wouldn't have such a tremendous advantage.
Never had a problem with seeding. Eventually it gets settled on the court anyway. 2 Final Fours (where they were also good enough to make it to the title game), even though they have made it to the NCAA Tournament every year this century.

Based on that is it really much of an advantage? They usually get to stay in the West Region, as there have not been many Pac 12 teams to challenge them but it's still usually a long drive from Spokane wherever they play.
 



View attachment 21580 So, Texas and Oklahoma are leaving, right? Rest are staying? Anybody else added? Biggest problem for Huggins is the travel...they are the only East team.
Competition would be a gigantic wakeup for Gonzaga in basketball. I'll be surprised if this happens. It's one sport and if you are Gonzaga, why fix what ain't broken.
Texas is also leaving but the addition of Houston more than makes up for that in basketball.
 

Texas is also leaving but the addition of Houston more than makes up for that in basketball.
Currently yes, but there was a pretty long drought between Phi Slama Jama and Kelvin Sampson. Will they circle the drain again when he leaves or retires?

I do not think the Big 12 should stop at Gonzaga. Make a play for Hawaii, to get all 5 US Time Zones covered.
 
Last edited:

Never had a problem with seeding. Eventually it gets settled on the court anyway. 2 Final Fours (where they were also good enough to make it to the title game), even though they have made it to the NCAA Tournament every year this century.

Based on that is it really much of an advantage? They usually get to stay in the West Region, as there have not been many Pac 12 teams to challenge them but it's still usually a long drive from Spokane wherever they play.
Put Clem Haskins' Gopher teams in the NCAA 22 straight times...and I bet they'd at least equal Gonzaga's 2 Final Fours.
 

Gonzaga doesn’t play football so this is likely just nothing. Why would the Big 12 want to share their new TV contact with a non football school, when football makes the most money?
 

Put Clem Haskins' Gopher teams in the NCAA 22 straight times...and I bet they'd at least equal Gonzaga's 2 Final Fours.
I bet the Zags would win the NIT as often as Clem's Gophers if they played in that event instead of the NCAA.
 

Gonzaga doesn’t play football so this is likely just nothing. Why would the Big 12 want to share their new TV contact with a non football school, when football makes the most money?

Can't they do a special deal where Gonzago gets little or no football money?
 



The Gonzaga AD would say they're interested in joining a major conference even if they aren't. To make it seem like they're not afraid of competition. But yeah, the ONLY possible reason would be money. From a purely fan standpoint, they'd be crazy to give up their guaranteed dominance & top seeding.

Well, money is usually the number #1 reason for most decisions of this type but I doubt it's the only one. Gonzaga gets a lot of exposure in non-conference and in postseason but not nearly as much in-between the two. Maybe their fans have had enough of dominating a weaker conference for so many years and are ready for an upgrade in the level of competition coming to Spokane.
 

Huggins chimes in:

Bob Huggins: Gonzaga in for 'awakening' if it joins Big 12​


West Virginia coach Bob Huggins is not convinced that Gonzaga, a powerhouse in recent years, will sustain its success if it makes the move to the Big 12, one of America's premier leagues in men's college basketball.

ESPN's Pete Thamel reported Wednesday that Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark and Gonzaga athletic director Chris Standiford had met in Texas recently to discuss the possibility, which would make the Big 12 a league that would rival and likely surpass any other in men's basketball.

"I would think it would be a tremendous awakening for Gonzaga [to join the Big 12]," Huggins told reporters on Thursday.

"To get in this league and play who we play day-after-day, I would think it would be a tremendous awakening," Huggins said about Gonzaga. "You don't get to make your own schedule in the Big 12."


Go Gophers!!

Gonzaga won't dominate the Big 12 like they have the West Coast Conference but I believe they will do just fine and will be one of the better teams in that conference. Gonzaga has 8 players who have played in NBA games so far in this young season. That doesn't include Chet who is hurt so the Zags have at least 9 players on NBA rosters.

For comparison, the number of players from current Big 12 teams who have played in this NBA season so far:

Baylor: 5
Iowa State: 4
Kansas: 9
Texas: 10
OK State: 3
TCU: 2
West Virginia: 2
Texas Tech: 1
Oklahoma: 4
Kansas State: 2

So, Gonzaga compares quite favorably to the existing Big 12 membership on this dimension.
 

Why?

The Big Ten has Notre Dame as a hockey only school and Johns Hopkins as a lacrosse only school.

Plus, Gonzaga might bring something to the table in spring sports.

I didn't know that. That's kind of fascinating. I didn't know anything about Big Ten lacrosse but I see that the Big Ten is only the Big Six in that sport. Perhaps even weirder is that Denver is in the Big East and Utah is in the Atlantic Sun for that sport!
 





Top Bottom