Gonzaga to the Big 12? Texas and Oklahoma leaving early opens door for Zags
When BYU joined the West Coast Conference in 2012, many expected the men's basketball program to become a major player in a league that Gonzaga had ruled with an iron fist for two decades.
Fast forward 12 years and BYU will be leaving for the Big 12 at the end of the season, potentially without a WCC Tournament title to show for it.
The Cougars, who lost their final conference battle in Spokane on Saturday, haven’t been the perennial league championship contenders they’d hoped. Yet, they’re departing for one of the premier conferences in college basketball.
It’s a move some wish Gonzaga had made a long time ago, as the pressure is growing for the program to upgrade its level of competition by leaving the WCC.
However, money is a driving factor in league realignment discussions, which is noteworthy when basketball brings in only about 20% of the value of any media rights deal. In other words, it’s not hard to understand why none of the Power Five conferences have a basketball-only member.
The Zags could be a rare exception, considering the program’s established reputation as a perennial National Championship contender. Adding Gonzaga was on the agenda when Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark met with conference presidents and athletic directors last week at the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport Grand Hyatt.
With the announcement on Thursday that Texas and Oklahoma have reached a deal to leave the Big 12 one year earlier than expected, the door is wide open for Gonzaga. And Yormark and the conference are expected to aggressively pursue further expansion, a source told Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger on Friday.
According to Dellenger, the Big 12 is aggressively pursuing Gonzaga and multiple Pac-12 schools. Yormark reportedly sees value in a national, basketball-only brand like Gonzaga, especially when it comes to streaming which will only increase in value.
The addition of Gonzaga would likely solidify the Big 12 as the top conference in college basketball, a title some argue it has already earned. It would also be a devastating loss for the WCC.
Six Big 12 schools were named in Monday’s Associated Press Top 25 poll, tying the Big East for the most nationally-ranked teams in a conference.
The past two NCAA Championships were won by Big 12 programs - Baylor in 2021 and Kansas in 2022.
