Realignment revisited: A timeline of key events and dates that led to Gonzaga’s move to the Pac-12 Conference

Oct. 1—Gonzaga was at the epicenter of the conference realignment world on Tuesday, formally joining the reconstructed Pac-12 Conference as its eighth member, and only nonfootball member. With its future secured, it could be a while before Gonzaga’s name resurfaces in conference realignment and expansion conversations — a drastic change from the past decade-plus, when the Spokane school and its powerhouse men’s basketball program were frequently in the middle of realignment rumors, courted by multiple conferences in different time zones.

Beginning in 2012, we revisit the timeline of key events that led up to Tuesday’s announcement.

2012: Before the Big East Conference launched a new 10-team conference in 2013, ESPN reported there was mutual interest between the conference and Gonzaga, suggesting the Spokane school would “love” to join a “national, branded basketball conference.” The Big East made three additions — Creighton, Butler and Xavier — but tabled discussions with Gonzaga .

2017: Discussions between GU and the Big East resurface after the Bulldogs’ nonconference games against Villanova and Creighton. Mike Roth, Gonzaga’s athletic director from 1998-2021, acknowledged the school’s interest in a potential move to the Big East while also citing the biggest hurdle. “We’re very much alike when you think about it,” Roth said. “The thing that hasn’t changed is we haven’t moved and they haven’t invented teleporting.”

2017: San Diego State, Boise State, Colorado State and Fresno State will be conference foes for Gonzaga two years from now, but in an alternate world, many of those rivalries could have started taking shape much sooner. Former Mountain West Conference Commissioner Craig Thompson made a strong push to bring the Zags into the conference, but after months of contemplation, GU declined an invitation, opting to remain in the WCC.

2022: After the Pac-12’s first two defectors, USC and UCLA, left to join the Big Ten Conference, strategic advisors working for the…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/realignment-revisited-timeline-key-events-020300123.html

Author : The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.

Publish date : 2024-10-02 02:03:00

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