College basketball powerhouse Gonzaga set to join rebuilt Pac-12
Basketball powerhouse Gonzaga will become the latest member of the rebuilt Pac-12 Conference, the school announced Tuesday.
Gonzaga will move from the West Coast Conference where it has dominated for most of the last quarter century into a conference that is being rebuilt around football, but should be pretty stout on the basketball court. Gonzaga will become the eighth member along with holdovers Washington State and Oregon State, and fellow newcomers Boise State, San Diego State, Fresno State, Utah State and Colorado State.
Adding Gonzaga still leaves the Pac-12 in need of another football-playing member for CFP purposes. Gonzaga does not have a football program.
Last year, Washington State, Boise State, San Diego State, Colorado State, Utah State and Gonzaga all reached the NCAA Tournament in men’s basketball. Two seasons ago, San Diego State reached the national championship game.
The Pac-12 began to restock for a 2026 relaunch last month by nabbing the five schools from the Mountain West to join Washington State and Oregon State, the only two Pac-12 schools left after a dramatic round of realignment took effect this summer.
Gonzaga athletic director Chris Standiford said talks with the Pac-12 progressed "earnestly" last weekend and the school formally applied for membership Monday night — it was unanimously approved.
"We are excited to join a conference with great tradition and a commitment to innovating during this evolving time in collegiate athletics," Standiford said.
The Pac-12 began to restock for a 2026 relaunch last month by nabbing the five schools from the Mountain West to join Washington State and Oregon State, the only two Pac-12 schools left after a dramatic round of realignment took effect this summer.
The Bulldogs have thrived in the WCC, reaching the NCAA Tournament every year it has been played since 1998, with two Final Four appearances and eight seasons of at least 30 victories.
The school has in the past talked to the Big East about conference affiliation, and the Big 12 had discussed adding Gonzaga to its strong men’s basketball lineup, as it did with UConn earlier this year.
The Zags have also become a perennial tournament team in women’s basketball.
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