SPOKANE, Wash. — The Big Ten's decision to approve Oregon and Washington as the conference's 17th and 18th members is a devastating blow to the Pac-12 conference, who already lost Colorado to the Big-12 last week.
Assuming Oregon and Washington apply and are accepted, the Pac-12 will be down to seven schools with most believing Arizona, Arizona State, and Utah will eventually follow Colorado to the Big-12 and will leave the Pac-12 a shell of its former self.
For the Gonzaga Bulldogs, this could have significant ramifications - and Locked on Zags host Andy Patton breaks down a few of them on a recent episode, including what a merger could look like between the remaining Pac-12 schools, the Mountain West, and the AAC.
Patton presented a case for Gonzaga getting invited to this new fictional (as of now) conference, called the Pac West, which includes the following programs: Washington State, Oregon State, Stanford, Cal, San Diego State, Boise State, UNLV, Colorado State, Memphis, and SMU.
Of course, a lot of factors would have to align for this exact scenario to come to fruition, but it is certainly not impossible to imagine Gonzaga getting approached by a new-look Pac-12 that looks like this, perhaps with a few alterations.
For the Zags, this conference would be an improvement over the WCC top to bottom, with highlights including a budding rivalry against San Diego State, regional battles with Washington State and Boise State, and a chance to play Memphis and get exposure in Tennessee, as well as the Dallas area with SMU.
Gonzaga would be the only non-football member, although perhaps another addition (Saint Mary's? Dayton?) could sweeten the pot.
Gonzaga's dream of the Big 12 is probably on hold for now, and may not be back, although the Big East could certainly come into play and would represent an extremely appealing option for Mark Few, Athletic Director Chris Standiford, and President Thayne McCulloh, despite obvious hurdles with travel.
This realignment saga is far from over, and Gonzaga will remain a name to watch in the conversations ahead.