OT: Gonzaga in Talks to Join the MWC

[Bill Marsh]

Gonzaga needs to do something. Their big fish in a crap conference strategy isn't sustainable.

What is their NCAA tournament streak, approaching 20 straight? Gonzaga's beef is with the WCC sharing the tournament credit evenly with every school. It makes sense, since they earn like 90% of it. Potentially working out a better TV deal by the MWC is bonus. On the opposite end of the spectrum, VCU and Dayton are probably very cozy in A10, since they have a 75-25 split of tournament credits.

This is really the issue. Gonzaga has gone to the tournament 19 years in a row under 2 different coaches. This year will make it 20. They have made a big time financial commitment to the program, investing in facilities, paying to keep a great coach and his staff, and flying charter to all road games. Attendance and community support are both strong.

How frustrating must it be for them to bring all of this tournament into the conference, only to see it dissipated among the other teams in the league who are not making the same commitment? Occasionally St Mary’s or BYU have gotten a bid, but for most of those 20 years it’s been a 1-bid league. Financially they’d be better off as an independent.

They really want to be in a multi-bid league where other programs are contributing to the pool of money being shared. As they should.

[gtmoBlue]

FYI Bill.

BYU is a recent addition to the WCC. They parked football as an independent and joined SMC and the Zags. BYU was MWC for years.
The drain on Gonzaga are the remainder of the conference. Perhaps they (BYU) will return along with the Zags joining. Just saying.

They were a member of the Mountain West Conference from 1999 to 2011 and before the formation of the MWC, the Cougars competed in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the Mountain States Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference.

[kayako]

They really want to be in a multi-bid league where other programs are contributing to the pool of money being shared. As they should.

And this is the part that prevents me from calling this move a slam dunk scenario. A 2-3 bid conference with harder schedule doesn't scream an ideal solution, if wcc does cave in and let gonzaga keep more of their tournament credit money.

[Bill Marsh]

FYI Bill.

BYU is a recent addition to the WCC. They parked football as an independent and joined SMC and the Zags. BYU was MWC for years.
The drain on Gonzaga are the remainder of the conference. Perhaps they (BYU) will return along with the Zags joining. Just saying.

They were a member of the Mountain West Conference from 1999 to 2011 and before the formation of the MWC, the Cougars competed in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, the Mountain States Conference, and the Western Athletic Conference.

Yes, absolutely correct.

Since joining the WCC, BYU has been to the tournament 3 times in 6 years. They are not likely to go this year, which would mean missing the tournament 3 years in a row. Even with BYU in the conference, the WCC has received 12 bids in the past 6 years, or a 2-bid conference.

So, it’s not like the addition of BYU has turned the WCC into even a 2-bid league automatically. It’s taken BYU in combination with the recent St Mary’s hot streak, something that is not likely sustainable.

Regardless of what can be said about BYU pro or con, even with BYU in the conference, Gonzaga is seeing the money it brings in annually distributed among the rest of the members with very little coming back to GU from them collectively. That financial drain is essentially what motivates them to seek another conference. It’s why they were willing to take on the rigors of cross country travel to pursue membership in the Big East.

[Bill Marsh]

They really want to be in a multi-bid league where other programs are contributing to the pool of money being shared. As they should.

And this is the part that prevents me from calling this move a slam dunk scenario. A 2-3 bid conference with harder schedule doesn't scream an ideal solution, if wcc does cave in and let gonzaga keep more of their tournament credit money.

What choice do they have?

[alduflux]

It’s why they were willing to take on the rigors of cross country travel to pursue membership in the Big East.

Is it known Gonzaga would join the Big East if invited/accepted? If so does joining the MWC change that?

[kayako]

What choice do they have?

Continue being the best mid-major program in the country.

[kayako]

Is it known Gonzaga would join the Big East if invited/accepted? If so does joining the MWC change that?

http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2017/d ... ed-or-the/

They sound willing, if we added more western schools. In other words, they're not coming.

[JPSchmack]

Since joining the WCC, BYU has been to the tournament 3 times in 6 years. They are not likely to go this year, which would mean missing the tournament 3 years in a row. Even with BYU in the conference, the WCC has received 12 bids in the past 6 years, or a 2-bid conference.

So, it’s not like the addition of BYU has turned the WCC into even a 2-bid league automatically. It’s taken BYU in combination with the recent St Mary’s hot streak, something that is not likely sustainable.

Not sustainable for Saint Mary's?

2017-18 27-4
2016-17 29-5 NCAA
2015-16 29-6 (26-5 Selection Sunday. RPI 38. Snubbed)
2014-15 21-10
2013-14 23-12
2012-13 28-7 NCAA
2011-12 27-6 NCAA
2010-11 25-9 (23-8 Selection Sunday. RPI 46. Snubbed)
2009-10 28-6 NCAA
2008-09 28-7 (24-6 Selection Sunday. RPI 48. Snubbed)
2007-08 25-7 NCAA
2006-07 17-15
2005-06 17-12
2004-05 25-9 NCAA
2003-04 19-12

They'd have made the NCAA's 10 times in 15 years if they didn't keep getting hosed by the committee.

The WCC's problem isn't that there's "no one else besides Gonzaga." They've got SMC, BYU and Pacific's been historically pretty good. Rebuilding but on the right track now that they have Damon Stoudamire.

But their other six teams have played .434 basketball over the last 15 years. That's 90 team seasons and only 27 winning years. 58 losing seasons.

[JPSchmack]

And I’ll tell you a root cause of their bottom being bad… Geography.

There’s 72 schools total in the Pacific/Mountain time zones, and the other 279 are in the Central/Eastern time zone.

There’s a TON of small bad conferences to buy guarantee games against and rack up OOC wins. You can’t do that in the west.

Here’s the bottom 10 conferences around Big East schools:
23. America East
24. Ivy
25. Big South
26. Horion
27. Northeast
28. Patriot
29. A-Sun
31. MEAC

The WCC has none:
9. Mountain West
14. Western Athletic
19. Big Sky
22. Big West
(And of course, the Pac-12).


Against the bottom 10 conferences in college basketball:
BE: 38-0
WCC: 20-1

If they could afford to fly out more teams from small bad conferences, the bottom of the league would be better.