Gonzaga’s more than two decades of men’s basketball dominance has long put the school in conference realignment conversations. Never could the right fit be found.
The Big East made sense athletically and institutionally, but not geographically. Not having football made things more complicated with the old Pac-12 or new Big 12. Was the Mountain West enough of a step up? Instead, Gonzaga stayed put in the West Coast Conference, with league policies built largely to keep the Bulldogs happy. They played 16 conference games rather than 18 to give the Zags more flexibility to schedule in the nonconference, gave the top two seeds (essentially a lock for the Zags to be one of the two) byes to the semifinals of the WCC tournament, even gave them a sweetheart deal that allowed the Bulldogs to keep much of the NCAA tournament revenue they generate the league each offseason.
