Report: Big 12 presidents expected to meet this week, could vote to add Gonzaga
Big 12 presidents are expected to meet this week to discuss further expansion — and Gonzaga‘s name is once again expected to be thrown into the hat, per Front Office Sports.
It was over a year ago that Gonzaga, a college basketball powerhouse with no football program, met with Big 12 brass to discuss a potential invitation to the conference. While those talks ultimately went cold for a while, the Houston Chronicle has reported that the conference’s group of presidents could vote to add Gonzaga. Some reports note that there has been some “positive momentum,” surrounding the move on both sides but isn’t a “slam dunk.”
Even Big 12 commissioner Brett Yorkmark has expressed “overwhelming support” for the Bulldogs’ potential to join the conference — but it isn’t up to just him.
75 percent of the presidents, or nine of the 12 (excluding Texas and Oklahoma) will need to approve the vote for it to pass. Or, if you factor in the incoming schools from the Pac-12, 12 of 16 presidents would need to approve if they were not to add the Bulldogs this week.
It’s not farfetched to see Gonzaga join the conference. After all, the Big 12 has already accepted Houston, another noted powerhouse under Kelvin Sampson. Other teams in outside conferences such as UConn — the reigning NCAA Champions — are another option to explore. Adding a 17th and 18th team, at least to their basketball ranks, has the potential to make the Big 12 one of the most must-see conferences in college hoops while the SEC and Big Ten are focused on the gridiron.
Mark Few, who has been Gonzaga’s head coach since 1999, has been one of the most dominating head coaches in college basketball history. His teams have won at least 30 games in seven of the last nine years — and in the other two, they came up just short with 29. The 2010-2011 campaign was the last time the Bulldogs lost at least 10 games in a single season as well.
Still, the Bulldogs have never been able to claim a national championship under their longtime head coach — or ever for that matter. They’re 2-0 all-time in Final Four games but have fallen just short in both subsequent national championship games in 2017 and 2021, respectively.
Whether a change of conference scenery would aid Gonzaga in their quest to claim their first NCAA Championship remains to be seen, but a bump in weekly competition coupled with the legitimacy of playing in what will be one of the strongest conferences in the country should be enough to get any Bulldog fan excited for what the future may hold.