Mountain West Basketball: Examining 8 potential candidates for expansion

Gonzaga

The eight teams in this article are listed in alphabetical order, so it’s a complete coincidence that we start with the most polarizing potential addition. We’ll start with the good: Gonzaga literally just came one game away from a perfect season in basketball, dropping the title game to a very good Baylor team. They’ve completely dominated the WCC for two decades and are without doubt the best college basketball program on the west coast.

There’s no questioning that Gonzaga basketball would greatly elevate the Mountain West, plus it would give the Bulldogs slightly more of a challenge in January and February when they are accustomed to running amok over teams like Pacific and Portland. However, the Bulldogs have had plenty of opportunities to move to a conference like the Mountain West, and it’s clear that this program is waiting for a bigger invitation, whether that be the Big East or Pac-12 or some other power conference.

Not to pile on, but Gonzaga also doesn’t have a football program. Replacing what this conference might lose in basketball would be great, but this is no replacement for what Boise State football brings to the conference. Additionally, you have to wonder if Gonzaga would even be interested in a Mountain West without Colorado State or San Diego State; it might actually be a worse basketball conference than the current WCC.