Gonzaga Basketball: What is the best conference for them to move to?
Talks are heating up again in Spokane, Washington for the Gonzaga Bulldogs about if a move from the West Coast Conference is upcoming in the off season. These talks first started almost five years ago when there were rumors about the Zags moving to the Mountain West Conference.
Back in 2018 during the West Coast Conference Tournament, it was reported that former Mountain West Conference commissioner Craig Thompson was in talks with the Zags as well as multiple universities about a possible expansion.
When these talks were rumored many fans wondered would this make sense for both the Zags and the Mountain West? While the moved seem to make sense for both parties the Zags chose to stay in the West Coast Conference.
Fast forward to 2024 and the talks are heating back up. Especially with the complete elimination of the Pac-12 conference and Washington State choosing to join the West Coast Conference for the 2024-2025 Basketball season.
Even with all this conference realignment the Zags have explored multiple options and are looking to avoid being left behind in this massive chaos. Now talks have included the Big-12 and the Big East that were rumored during the NCAA Tournament this season.
Moving to a conference like the Big-12 or the Big East is not going to be easy for the Zags if they decided to go this route. A big challenge they would face would be Gonzaga University's lack of a Football team as well as multiple financial challenges such as travel and meeting the seating requirements in stadium.
What would be best for the Zags? The best option that has been on the table since 2018 is the move to the Mountain West Conference. Now you might be saying why does this make the most sense?
Well, let's begin with the fact that the MWC is one of the best mid-major conferences ranking 7th out of 33 league's in the NCAA. WCC currently ranks 11th.
The MWC also has had nine of it's eleven universities in the conference finish with a record above .500 and ESPN had projected that the MWC could be a five-bid league for the first time since 2013.
Now let's talk about the NET Rankings of the MWC. In the 2024 season the MWC had five universities that were sitting in the top 35 in the NET Rankings.
What will Mark Few choose to do? Few understands what it means to the team to have an amazing resume in season to present to the NCAA Selection Committee before the Big Dance. This would not be a challenge if the move to MWC were to happen because a move would allow the Zags to have at least four Quad 1 games at home and the possibility of two more on the road if the Zags were to make the move.
A move to the MWC also would eliminate the stress the Zags have faced in the WCC of planning multiple home-and-home series in the years to come. It also would come with a less travel expanse as the majority of the universities in the MWC are on the West Coast of the United States.
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What will the Zags choose to do? We will just have to wait and see what develops in the offseason.