West Coast Conference announces joint basketball media day with Mountain West Conference in Las Vegas
For the first time, the West Coast Conference announced it will hold a joint men's and women's basketball media day with the Mountain West Conference at Resorts World in Las Vegas.
From Oct. 11-12, student-athletes from member schools of both conferences will answer questions from media members. It's unknown which Gonzaga men's basketball players will be in attendance.
Speculation around expansion and realignment has made its way to the WCC and MWC ever since the Pac-12 conference's demise over the summer. MWC commissioner Gloria Nevarez, who was WCC commissioner from March 2018 to November 2022, has met with officials from both Washington State and Oregon State in recent weeks to discuss the idea of adding both schools to the MWC. The two schools have stated their intentions to rebuild the Power 5 conference by going after MWC schools, though Nevarez hasn't backed down from the opportunity to strengthen her conference.
Nevarez also hasn't ruled out the idea of merging the Pac-12 and MWC.
Meanwhile, the WCC has a big void to fill after BYU officially departed for the Big 12. And with Gonzaga seemingly staying put for now, commissioner Stu Jackson can focus on schools that fit the conference's identity while boosting its basketball product.
"With respect to the health of our conference, it is incumbent upon us that as a conference we continue to grow and strengthen our conference," Jackson said on a recent episode of the Gonzaga Nation podcast.
Jackson added that the WCC is "actively pursuing" options to add basketball-centric schools as a way to increase revenue and competition for men's and women's basketball.
The joint media day between the WCC and MWC will be streamed live on the WCC's website.
