Gonzaga recently had rumors linking the Bulldogs to a move to either the Big East or the Big 12 quashed. College basketball reporter Matt Norlander on Monday shared on CBS Sports’ “Eye on College Basketball™ podcast with Gary Parrish some recent developments about the two- time runners-up’s future, saying that the program isn’t a candidate for the Big 12 or the Big East:
“Gonzaga … it’s not a candidate at all for the Big 12, and it remains not a candidate to go to the Big East. So its future still remains an intriguing one moving forward,” Norlander said.
(from 34:50 mark onwards)
The Bulldogs and back-to-back national champions UConn were initially linked to reports of transferring to the Big 12 Conference as part of league commissioner Brett Yormack’s grand plan to establish the best men’s college basketball conference in Division I.
With the latest development, however, Gonzaga is set to stay put in the West Coast Conference where they have been successful since joining the group in 1979.
Gonzaga supports WCC expansion
One of the possible reasons for Gonzaga’s continued stay with the WCC is the league’s expansion plan.
Last December, the WCC announced the addition of Washington State and Oregon State as affiliate members for the next two seasons.
League commissioner Stu Jackson disclosed that Gonzaga fully supported the move.
Aside from this, the Bulldogs won’t entertain such a move due to its recent success in the WCC. The Mark Few-coached team has appeared in nine straight Sweet 16s and fought for the national championship twice over the last seven years.
The conference is also highly rated on KenPom.com from 2019-2023 despite its challenges concerning the power gap between FBS and non-FBS conferences, the NIL and third-party collectives.
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