Pac-12 announces conference tournament format, Las Vegas location

The path to a conference championship for Mark Few and the Gonzaga Bulldogs will continue to go through Las Vegas - even with the program moving to the Pac-12.

The Pac-12 announced it will play its conference tournament at the MGM Garden Grand Arena in 2027 and 2028, after agreeing to a two-year contract with the venue. The men's and women's tournaments are set to be held March 9-13, a week later than Gonzaga is used to from their time in the WCC.

The two-year deal gives the Pac-12 a chance to negotiate for the far bigger T-Mobile Arena to host the tournament starting in 2029, when their current deal with the Big Ten expires.

The Pac-12 is also adopting a similar tournament structure to the WCC, with the top two seeded teams earning a double-bye into the semifinal round, while the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds will earn a bye into the quarterfinals.

Coming March 2027. 😎🏀 #BackThePac @MGMGrand x @Vegas pic.twitter.com/OpzZ31MoXK
— Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) July 1, 2026

What it means for Gonzaga

The structure is good news for Gonzaga, as it rewards teams who finish top two in the regular season. The new Pac-12, which features Gonzaga, Oregon State, Washington State, Texas State from the Sun Belt, and five former Mountain West schools in San Diego State, Utah State, Boise State, Colorado State, and Fresno State, will play a balanced 16-game schedule - meaning each team will play each other once at home and once on the road.

Gonzaga is projected to finish at or near the top of the new league, in part due to a massive roster overhaul for Brian Dutcher at San Diego State and a new head coach, Ben Jacobson, for Utah State.

Doing so would allow the Zags to bypass potential trap games early in conference tournament play, making it likely they will secure the league's automatic bid and - more importantly - avoid a late-season disaster loss that could impact seeding in the Big Dance.

Viva Las Vegas

Gonzaga Bulldogs forward Graham Ike. | Photo by Myk Crawford

While Gonzaga's longstanding relationship with the Orleans Arena - which hosted the WCC Tournament every year going back to 2009 - will end, they do have a built-in history with the MGM Garden Grand.

Gonzaga played at MGM Garden Grand last season during the Players Era Festival, defeating Alabama and Maryland before getting stomped in the title game by eventual national champion Michigan.

The Zags' first, and only other, game at the Grand Garden Arena was against USC in 2023-24, an 89-76 Zag victory as part of the Legends of Basketball Las Vegas Invitational.

The Pac-12 tournament games will be broadcast on the USA Network up until the championship game, which will be televised on CBS.

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