Gonzaga Notes

UP24 wrote:Maybe we have a chance to make the tournament for the first time in 30 years!

Coach Meek might be silently pumping his fists now since the two juggernauts of the women's basketball side are now gone (Zags and BYU)

It's objectively funny that they're bolting immediately after the first year in forever where neither of their basketball teams won the WCC Tournament.

The Pac-12 may not be finished adding schools without football programs. The conference has had discussions with Saint Mary’s and Grand Canyon, which is slated to join the WCC next year. But the focus is likely to shift to adding an eighth full member to become an NCAA-recognized FBS conference.

https://www.oregonlive.com/beavers/2024/10/gonzaga-joins-the-pac-12-beginning-in-2026-becomes-conferences-eighth-school.html

ESPN wrote:Gonzaga has been a member of the WCC since the 1989-90 season, and the departure is a significant blow to that league.

https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/41550151/gonzaga-join-pac-12-basketball-school-sources-say

up7587 wrote:Are OSU and WSU paying the WCC for giving their non-football sports a home for two years?  Hope so, since they thanked the WCC by poaching the marque school.

My understanding from a reliable source is those schools are committed to paying the WCC for two years whether they compete both years or not.

The Zags announcement:

https://gozags.com/news/2024/10/1/gonzaga-athletics-gonzaga-accepts-invitation-to-join-pac-12-conference.aspx

Gonzaga fans have been happy to tell us for the last decade-plus how lucky we are to be graced with their presence. I guess now we'll see what the impact is.

Some are saying that ESPN will pull out, but why would they? I think the A10 is a good comparable for a Gonzaga-less WCC. Dayton = SMC, and a rotating cast of 2-3 schools that in any given year can jump into the top 100. ESPN happily works with the A10 each season (11 regular season games + tourney final last year), I don't see why the WCC won't continue to be attractive to ESPN despite the loss of Gonzaga and BYU.

Congrats to them for what they've been able to accomplish up there, but I won't miss them. I'll watch the new Pac-12 hoops league with interest, and look forward to the possibilities that this opens up for the rest of the WCC.

‘It’s bittersweet’: Gonzaga’s conference move means leaving fellow faith-based schools behind...

https://d31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net/20241009/fd/00/db/4a/28c9d3e8dd09424b07c003d3/Gonzaga_leaves_WCC.pdf

DoubleDipper wrote:‘It’s bittersweet’: Gonzaga’s conference move means leaving fellow faith-based schools behind...

https://d31hzlhk6di2h5.cloudfront.net/20241009/fd/00/db/4a/28c9d3e8dd09424b07c003d3/Gonzaga_leaves_WCC.pdf

A whole article about the WCC and shared Catholic values and UP is never mentioned, although the other WCC schools past, present, and future all are….

Several years ago, over a beer after a basketball game, the President of St. Mary's, a Christian Brother, said of the Jesuit's, "if you're not going to be a Catholic, being a Jesuit is pretty close."

That comment resonated again while reading this article that stated, "the WCC is one of few major or mid-major conferences home to multiple Catholic AND Jesuit universities..."

(The emphasis on AND is mine)

up7587 wrote:It's a pretty Jesuit centered article. St. Mary's was also not mentioned, and "Jesuit" was referenced nine times.

Another Catholic, but not Jesuit, school that did NOT make the article was San Diego.