The Gonzaga Thread... with Poll...

[Bill Marsh]

The problem is that NCAA rules prohibit adding a team for basketball only.

You're right. A school can't be added to a conference only for basketball.

Football is the only sport that can be added as an "only" sport.

Any sport can be added as an "only" if that sport is not sponsored by the conference in which that school plays basketball. It's not uncommon to see schools join a conference only for sports like hockey and LAX in addition to football. [/quote]

If Gonzaga basketball comes, that means baseball, volleyball, tennis, soccer, cross country, etc all come along too. While we could probably make it viable for basketball I just can't see it for the rest of their sports. Sure, it's one trip west for us in basketball season, and could be limited to 5 trips east for Gonzaga, but it's all the other sports.

Nope. Gonzaga competes in 16 sports. Only 5 of them require a regular schedule of travel. The rest do not. Sports like track, x-country, swimming, tennis, golf, etc only compete in a single conference tournament or meet.

If they could park their non-revenue sports in the WAC, the MWC, or some other conference, sure. But I'm pretty sure that's not an option unless we turn this into a football league and scrap this whole basketball thing.

So they really don't need to park their non-revenue sports anywhere else. In addition, men's and women's sports like basketball could be scheduled together, saving money on travel. It's a problem. But not as big a one as it's made out to be.

[HoosierPal]

Comments from the Gonzaga AD.

Even Gonzaga AD Mike Roth addressed the interest in his school over the weekend the Final Four.

“If someday the Big East and their financial partners come together and say, ‘You know what we’ll call it the Big East but we’ll be in all four time zones and really get after that four-letter monster [ESPN] that lives in Bristol, Connecticut,” Roth said. “In that case, can other schools in the West join Gonzaga and split into two [divisions].”

[Bill Marsh]

Do we know the Gonzaga message board or do any Gonzaga fans lurk here?

I've never read their take on things.

http://www.guboards.spokesmanreview.com

[billyjack]

Do we know the Gonzaga message board or do any Gonzaga fans lurk here?

I've never read their take on things.

http://www.guboards.spokesmanreview.com

Even more specific:

http://guboards.spokesmanreview.com/sho ... idence-fan

We started a thread there in Sept 2013.
Back then the Zags poll results were:
Yes 53%.
No 36%.
Not sure 11%.
131 voters.

[NJRedman]

I'd love to have them but I doubt it will work due to the travel distance. If something can be worked out then of course take them. Right now, Gonzaga plays in an absolute joke of a conference. The only teams in their conference that have a pulse are BYU and St. Mary's. This is why they always have these crazy 30 win seasons...they feast on the weak. If they came to the Big East, they would be good but not great IMO. I could see them being a Butler or Xavier type...floating around the top 15 and sometimes dropping from the rankings but still receiving votes. There are literally no gimme games in this conference. No Santa Clara's or Portland's. Even terrible DePaul will give you a scare and make you earn the W.

One thing that has always fascinated me with Gonzaga is their ability to find overseas talent that translates as top notch talent here. We have gotten guys like Amar, Mussini, Freudenberg, Bourgault, etc. and the only one that can even be a decent role player is Mussini. Basically, our Euro experiments routinely blow up in our face at SJ and they look totally overmatched and slow. If Freudenberg does not improve significantly next year I would encourage him to transfer instead of wasting a roster spot.

I love how you take a thread about Gonzaga and spin it into a critique of St. John's and it's players. You are a true blue fan for sure. Keep calling out kids who don't live up to your expectations. A 27 year old psychiatrist who drives a BMW.

[NJRedman]

Comments from the Gonzaga AD.

Even Gonzaga AD Mike Roth addressed the interest in his school over the weekend the Final Four.

“If someday the Big East and their financial partners come together and say, ‘You know what we’ll call it the Big East but we’ll be in all four time zones and really get after that four-letter monster [ESPN] that lives in Bristol, Connecticut,” Roth said. “In that case, can other schools in the West join Gonzaga and split into two [divisions].”

If adding Gonzaga means splitting into divisions then i'm even more against the move. I am the biggest advocate for no divisions in basketball. They make no sense whatsoever.

[Bill Marsh]

Comments from the Gonzaga AD.

Even Gonzaga AD Mike Roth addressed the interest in his school over the weekend the Final Four.

“If someday the Big East and their financial partners come together and say, ‘You know what we’ll call it the Big East but we’ll be in all four time zones and really get after that four-letter monster [ESPN] that lives in Bristol, Connecticut,” Roth said. “In that case, can other schools in the West join Gonzaga and split into two [divisions].”

If adding Gonzaga means splitting into divisions then i'm even more against the move. I am the biggest advocate for no divisions in basketball. They make no sense whatsoever.

Agree.

[SJHooper]

I'd love to have them but I doubt it will work due to the travel distance. If something can be worked out then of course take them. Right now, Gonzaga plays in an absolute joke of a conference. The only teams in their conference that have a pulse are BYU and St. Mary's. This is why they always have these crazy 30 win seasons...they feast on the weak. If they came to the Big East, they would be good but not great IMO. I could see them being a Butler or Xavier type...floating around the top 15 and sometimes dropping from the rankings but still receiving votes. There are literally no gimme games in this conference. No Santa Clara's or Portland's. Even terrible DePaul will give you a scare and make you earn the W.

One thing that has always fascinated me with Gonzaga is their ability to find overseas talent that translates as top notch talent here. We have gotten guys like Amar, Mussini, Freudenberg, Bourgault, etc. and the only one that can even be a decent role player is Mussini. Basically, our Euro experiments routinely blow up in our face at SJ and they look totally overmatched and slow. If Freudenberg does not improve significantly next year I would encourage him to transfer instead of wasting a roster spot.

I love how you take a thread about Gonzaga and spin it into a critique of St. John's and it's players. You are a true blue fan for sure. Keep calling out kids who don't live up to your expectations. A 27 year old psychiatrist who drives a BMW.

But am I wrong? Freudenberg just transferred and we have been very poor at developing overseas talent. Zags the opposite.

[GoldenWarrior11]

No to full membership. Yes to a scheduling alliance for men's basketball only. Provide Gonzaga a home/home with two Big East schools every year (potentially the two schools that are left out of the Gavitt Games). It guarantees every Big East program at least one major OOC game through scheduling alliances each year.

This saves Gonzaga from sending Olympics out East (which would be awful for their soccer, baseball, volleyball, etc.) consistently. This also saves the entire Big East from sending its Olympics out West.

It's a win/win for all parties involved. If you want to include St. Mary's in that arrangement, go for it.

[Toronto Rapture]

Comments from the Gonzaga AD.

Even Gonzaga AD Mike Roth addressed the interest in his school over the weekend the Final Four.

“If someday the Big East and their financial partners come together and say, ‘You know what we’ll call it the Big East but we’ll be in all four time zones and really get after that four-letter monster [ESPN] that lives in Bristol, Connecticut,” Roth said. “In that case, can other schools in the West join Gonzaga and split into two [divisions].”

If adding Gonzaga means splitting into divisions then i'm even more against the move. I am the biggest advocate for no divisions in basketball. They make no sense whatsoever.

What is the drawback to having divisions, and specifically for the BE? I'm just curious.

I voted yes.

While I don't think any expansion candidate currently checks all of the boxes, I also don't think the conference should wait until it has to expand out of necessity. By that time, the pool of expansion candidates may be even shallower, even if some think schools like Wichita (and Dayton and VCU) would leave the AAC or whatever conference they are in at that time in a heartbeat to join the BE. It may not be that simple. I also wouldn't count on other schools from current P5 conferences becoming available during the next P5 realignment. So, while I agree that the BE in a good position right now and does not need to expand, I think this might actually still be the best time to expand. There is no guarantee the expansion climate will be better down the line. At least at this time, there are some reasonable choices for expansion, if not ideal. And down the line, the BE can consider a Duquesne or similar schools. I wouldn't even be opposed to the addition of an SLU right now; their addition to the conference might help them along faster.