NCAA Basketball: Examining 10 potential moves in conference realignment

Gonzaga to Big East

Football is the driving force of conference realignment. With all due respect, you aren’t seeing UCF join the Big 12 because of their basketball prowess. That being said, football is not the only force that leads to conference changes, and this is especially true when we consider Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are an elite program that plays in a mid-major league, to this point refusing chances to join a major conference, but perhaps that day has come.

Without a football program, it leaves you to wonder how Gonzaga would work in a conference like the Big 12 or Pac-12, meaning the football-free Big East makes perfect sense. The immediate issue is geography, as the Big East’s current westernmost team is still hundreds of miles away in Creighton. However, the Bulldogs would join and bolster up one of the best basketball conferences, especially if the Big East adds anyone else (perhaps Wichita State or some of the A-10 teams).

A reason for this sudden move is the departure of BYU from the WCC, stealing one of Gonzaga’s only true competitive teams in the league. The current state of the WCC is less than stellar, with Gonzaga basically loading up on easy wins every January and February before the true challenge in March. Gonzaga’s national brand has never been stronger, having just played in another basketball title game, and their addition to the Big East cannot be understated. The one issue is how the Big East would handle having a member so geographically distant.