By Luke Johnson @Scoop_Johnson
Gonzaga flirted with the Mountain West Conference, but decided to swipe left.
The Bulldogs chose to stay put in their long-standing home of the West Coast Conference, athletic director Mike Roth confirmed Monday.
“Our decision is to remain in the WCC, where we’ve had a great relationship for 39 years going on 40,” Roth said to The Spokesman-Review.
“We appreciate the Mountain West pursuing us. However, for a number of reasons, maintaining our status in the WCC is the right thing for Gonzaga University.”
Roth met with university president Thayne McCulloh to finalize the decision earlier that day, according to the newspaper.
The Mountain West was interested in adding all of Gonzaga’s athletic teams. However, men’s basketball was the draw.
The Zags have been one of the most consistent, highly-ranked teams in the country during the past two decades.
They have produced at least a share of 18 regular–season conference championships, nine Sweet 16 appearances and were the 2017 National Championship runner-ups.
However, teams in the Mountain West combine for six Sweet 16 appearances and have never progressed deeper into the NCAA Tournament.
Gonzaga has received NCAA Tournament bids for 20–straight years — including two No. 1 seeds.
Meanwhile, San Jose State has not received a bid since 1996. The other times the Spartans received bids were in 1980 and 1951.
The Mountain West’s perusal of the Zags were made public late–February. It was several changes the WCC made recently — which happened to work in favor of Gonzaga — that convinced its most revered team to stay.
This included a shortened conference schedule from 18 to 16 games, more conference tournament byes and adjusted revenue distribution.
The WCC approved measures in its Men’s Basketball Enhancement Plan, providing teams that advance further in the NCAA Tournament to keep a larger percentage of the income.
Gonzaga will also collect roughly $1 million per year in NCAA Tournament back shares, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune.
The Mountain West gives teams a $100,000 bonus for making the NCAA Tournament. That figure is expected to double in future years.
“You look at what the West Coast Conference did to accommodate them,” Mountain West Commissioner Craig Thompson said to the newspaper Saturday. “Congratulations, that’s a good deal for them. There are just some things in there that I don’t think our membership would have accepted.
“They’re offering some things that probably don’t make sense for our league. Most conferences are adding games. They’re going to fewer games. We’ve increased our [NCAA Tournament] unit bonus, but what I’m hearing they’re doing, we’re not going to do that.”