The Gonzaga Thread... with Poll...

[billyjack]

As I wrote in the other thread, after being on the fence a while and hesitant, I've become more certain recently that the Big East should expand to 11 teams by adding Gonzaga for next season.

11 teams. Round robin maintained. NO DIVISIONS. The goal, besides adding a great household name that is committed to hoops and is an institutional fit, is to lock us permanently as a top-tier conference, top 3 for sure, and look to re-take our spot as the #1 conference in the country. Go from 7 bids in 2017, to adding the national finalist the following season.

Assume that the Zags will play all 10 Big East games downtown at the 12k seat Veterans Arena, except that 2 or 3 Big East games would be played in Seattle each year.

Poll allows users to change their vote, and is active for 2 weeks.

Note that the previous Gonzaga poll finished as 50% Yes, 40% No, and 10% Not Sure.

[JohnW22]

If both parties could find a way to make it work this is a team I'd love to have in the conference.

[milksteak]

Logistically, I just don't see it working out. East Coasters aren't gonna be happy about tip times unless they are 6:00pm local time in Spokane.

[cujaysfan]

the Big East should pay 50% of moving expenses to relocate Gonzaga to Minneapolis

that way we pickup a solid new member in a good media market.

otherwise:

[Bill Marsh]

Logistically, I just don't see it working out. East Coasters aren't gonna be happy about tip times unless they are 6:00pm local time in Spokane.

Look up Gonzaga's schedule. You can find it with start times on Wikipedia. There normal tip time for a weekday night game is in fact 6:00.

[EMT]

Here's the thing on the BillyJack's proposal....

Seattle is over 4 hrs away from Spokane so that's not happening.

Zags currently play all their games at a 6k arena. Can they sell out a 12k arena on a consistent basis? How come they don't play any games their now?

In 2017, their best 4 non-conference games were neutral site games.

In 2016, they got Zona and UCLA to play in Spokane and the game was on campus. These appear to the 2nd of home/home games.

In looking at 2015-2017, the vast majority of their quality games were neutral site games.

[Xudash]

As I wrote in the other thread, after being on the fence a while and hesitant, I've become more certain recently that the Big East should expand to 11 teams by adding Gonzaga for next season.

11 teams. Round robin maintained. The goal, besides adding a great household name that is committed to hoops and is an institutional fit, is to lock us permanently as a top-tier conference, top 3 for sure, and look to re-take our spot as the #1 conference in the country. Go from 7 bids in 2017, to adding the national finalist the following season.

Assume that the Zags will play all 10 Big East games downtown at the 12k seat Veterans Arena, except that 2 or 3 Big East games would be played in Seattle each year.

Poll allows users to change their vote, and is active for 2 weeks.

Note that the previous Gonzaga poll finished as 50% Yes, 40% No, and 10% Not Sure.

I was going to start yet another thread on the expansion topic, but one focused on RATIONALE FOR EXPANSION, rather than continuing to toil with some of the more reactive thoughts that occur around naming specific names. You've touched on it. I'll simply add my two cents here.

Again, forgetting CANDIDATES for a moment, why entertain expansion at all?

The apparent reasons include, and possibly in the following order:

1. Improve television ratings to be better positioned for the next media rights negotiation with Fox.
2. "Acquire" best candidate(s) now to further strengthen the Big East.
3. "Acquire" best candidate(s) now to preclude other conferences from strengthening their relative positions by doing the same.
4. Increase bids to the NCAAT (?) - in part to negate the effect of increasing the denominator from 10 to 11, or 12.

11 or 12? How valuable is the Round Robin format? Would Fox true-up the existing agreement for 11? For 12? Those are important questions to answer before pursuing expansion in any form, though, assuming Fox would true-up for 11 with the right candidate, expanding by 1 becomes a much easier thing to do - we would get a perceived solid program and keep the round robin, as pointed out by billyjack.

The elephant in the room for me is reason/criterion #1: what on God's earth will media rights agreements look like 5+ years out? Chances are that they'll be under more pressure than under less pressure. But uncertainty makes for difficult decision-making and planning. Brand management will be huge in all this, both at the conference level and at the individual school level.

With all that noted, when it comes to the question of Gonzaga, it isn't for me to opine on a kid's ability to knock out a lot of homework while flying in a chartered jet at 32,000 feet. That concept really didn't exist until fairly recent time. If all the affected parties want to do and believe they can do it, then I'm good with it.

Where I am particularly in favor of the idea is this: I want Gonzaga to enjoy the death march that comes with playing a Big East Round Robin schedule. No more sleep walking through most of a season. I don't care about what they have done in their OOC, as most of our programs do that already. Let's see if they can take it. As a fan of a team that once played in a stronger version of the A10 and now resides in this wonderful version of a hoops torture chamber, I believe it would be a fabulous opportunity to make the Big East even stronger, and while adding a like-minded institution, while we otherwise enjoy beating the life out of them over the course of the BE season. We'll all win.

Gonzaga is an interesting proposition. Too far away by most logical arguments. Small gym by our standards. A devoted coach, but one who won't be there forever. The counterpoint to that is that they've built their brand; the program seems to certainly now be bigger than the coach that leads it.

Were the Big East to announce the addition of Gonzaga, it would make a ton of noise. How much of that noise would be good and how much of it would be bad is anyone's guess at this point.

[Bill Marsh]

Here's the thing on the BillyJack's proposal....

Seattle is over 4 hrs away from Spokane.

Not for all the Gonzaga alums who live in Seattle. For those who live in Spokane, it's a 40 minute flight.

[Bill Marsh]

Zags currently play all their games at a 6k arena. Can they sell out a 12k arena on a consistent basis? How come they don't play any games their now?

For 13 consecutive seasons, Gonzaga played an annual game in Seattle. The 13 games. Averaged almost 14,000 in attendance. The last one in 2015-16 sold out (16,770). Even against an inferior opponent, Cal Poly, the year before they drew almost 11,000.

[SJU1987]

It's only 1 west coast trip for the current schools. Gonzaga could easily cut the trips to the East Coast in half if they played an East Coast team on Friday and another on Sunday. But only basketball.