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Conference Realignment thread

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Gonzaga fan should be careful what they wish for, however.  There's a difference between a league that doesn't want to work with you...

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/story/2020-05-18/san-diego-state-sdsu-aztecs-basketball-mountain-west-20-game-conference-schedule

“Extremely disappointed that the rest of the league wanted to go to 20 games,” SDSU Athletic Director John David Wicker said Monday. “We’ll just have to figure out how to deal with that.”

The battle goes back to Steve Fisher’s days as SDSU head coach. He regularly advocated for a 16- or even 14-game schedule, which in his mind provided more opportunities to play quality nonconference opponents in November and December. 

 

... and a league that is willing to work with you

Had the Aztecs moved to the Big West in basketball and most other sports in 2013 (while football went to the Big East), the conference had agreed to reduce its schedule to 14 games at Fisher’s behest.

The West Coast Conference shifted from 18 to 16 games in 2018 after Gonzaga threatened to defect to the Mountain West.

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43 minutes ago, jdgaucho said:

Gonzaga fan should be careful what they wish for, however.  There's a difference between a league that doesn't want to work with you...

https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/sports/aztecs/story/2020-05-18/san-diego-state-sdsu-aztecs-basketball-mountain-west-20-game-conference-schedule

“Extremely disappointed that the rest of the league wanted to go to 20 games,” SDSU Athletic Director John David Wicker said Monday. “We’ll just have to figure out how to deal with that.”

The battle goes back to Steve Fisher’s days as SDSU head coach. He regularly advocated for a 16- or even 14-game schedule, which in his mind provided more opportunities to play quality nonconference opponents in November and December. 

 

... and a league that is willing to work with you

Had the Aztecs moved to the Big West in basketball and most other sports in 2013 (while football went to the Big East), the conference had agreed to reduce its schedule to 14 games at Fisher’s behest.

The West Coast Conference shifted from 18 to 16 games in 2018 after Gonzaga threatened to defect to the Mountain West.

To be fair if things were to go to 12 teams things could be different. 

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50 minutes ago, Gonzagafan2021 said:

Speaking of Gonzaga did you guys hear about what John Stockton did last week? Very proud of the university and its stance when it comes to masks and the covid polices. If only more people would adhere to the rules then we could get this covid behind us

John is a Jazz legend. Love him.  But I agree with the school on what they did. To each their own but when you make it public, you are fair game. 

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10 hours ago, AztecSU said:

MWC for Gonzaga

* Worse Travel

* Not a league of similar private schools

* doesn't play D1 football

* Maybe more money

* Slightly better comp

Idk, I wouldn't come if I was Gonzaga, we don't offer enough. Money aside, not having FB would make them like Hawaii...and they can see how they've been treated by the MW...

Yea, not enough motivation for Gonzaga to come to the MWC. Also, not enough motivation for the MWC to make it worth their while. So, like I said several times now, it is not going to happen. 

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15 hours ago, SalinasSpartan said:

I also don’t think there was serious enough desire from the MWC to bring Gonzaga in. It’s pretty clear now that the MWC could afford to bring them in, if they really wanted to. 

I can't repeat it enough times. The problem was never money. If Gonzaga just wanted more money, they would be in the MWC already. The MWC would gladly give them whatever they asked for. The issue is that Gonzaga is a small, private religious school. It is in a conference with other small, private, mostly religious schools that has been more stable than any conference in the country other than the Ivy League. That is a very natural fit for Gonzaga. The MWC, on the other hand, with the exception of Air Force, consists entirely of large public universities. And basically every one of them has dreams of joining a P5 conference some day. Culturally and institutionally Gonzaga would be a fish out of water in the MWC. It's just not happening. I would love to see a scheduling agreement with Gonzaga, but I'm virtually certain that bringing them in as a full member is a pipe dream.

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On 1/28/2022 at 12:29 AM, StanfordAggie said:

I can't repeat it enough times. The problem was never money. If Gonzaga just wanted more money, they would be in the MWC already. The MWC would gladly give them whatever they asked for. The issue is that Gonzaga is a small, private religious school. It is in a conference with other small, private, mostly religious schools that has been more stable than any conference in the country other than the Ivy League. That is a very natural fit for Gonzaga. The MWC, on the other hand, with the exception of Air Force, consists entirely of large public universities. And basically every one of them has dreams of joining a P5 conference some day. Culturally and institutionally Gonzaga would be a fish out of water in the MWC. It's just not happening. I would love to see a scheduling agreement with Gonzaga, but I'm virtually certain that bringing them in as a full member is a pipe dream.

Yea, like I said, it’s not going to happen. 

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On 1/28/2022 at 9:06 AM, trvitmvnz said:

Gonzaga is fine. They built a national brand where they sit currently and Mark Few is content with catching Salmon in his free time lol

Yup. And the MWC seems fine also. I’m guessing both sides are looking at how the Wichita to AAC move, four years in, has really benefited neither party. 
 

Gonzaga looks at Wichita, who has ended up a decent program in the AAC; but the program has not elevated. Yes, losing their coach was a big loss, but the decision makers at Gonzaga know Few is not going to be there forever. In addition, the school that replaced them in the MVC has improved big time and now is headed to the A-10, a conference that could very well be better than the new AAC. Hell, the MVC hasn’t skipped a beat either with the additions of Mercer and Belmont. Sure, Wichita is making more money, but I am guessing they are playing the what-if game wondering if they could have been added to the A-10 instead of, or in addition to Loyola. Gonzaga is probably very worried about jumping to the MWC and then being stuck in a conference that will be a poor fit the second their basketball program is no longer elite.

The MWC looks at the AAC and sees what a post-Few Gonzaga could look like in the MWC. An odd cultural fit that isn’t great from a geographical standpoint, that doesn’t guarantee the conference gets multiple bids, and doesn’t add any TV value (POST-Few). I mean Houston and Cincy haven’t even left yet, and the AAC could still be a one-bid conference this year. 
 

As a fan, I still want Gonzaga. But now I am seeing how, from the MWC perspective, this is not the no-brainer move it looks like to me. 

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On 1/28/2022 at 1:03 PM, SalinasSpartan said:

Yup. And the MWC seems fine also. I’m guessing both sides are looking at how the Wichita to AAC move, four years in, has really benefited neither party. 
 

Gonzaga looks at Wichita, who has ended up a decent program in the AAC; but the program has not elevated. Yes, losing their coach was a big loss, but the decision makers at Gonzaga know Few is not going to be there forever. In addition, the school that replaced them in the MVC has improved big time and now is headed to the A-10, a conference that could very well be better than the new AAC. Hell, the MVC hasn’t skipped a beat either with the additions of Mercer and Belmont. Sure, Wichita is making more money, but I am guessing they are playing the what-if game wondering if they could have been added to the A-10 instead of, or in addition to Loyola. 

The MWC looks at the AAC and sees what a post-Few Gonzaga could look like in the MWC. An odd cultural fit that isn’t great from a geographical standpoint, that doesn’t guarantee the conference gets multiple bids, and doesn’t add any TV value (POST-Few). I mean Houston and Cincy haven’t even left yet, and the AAC could still be a one-bid conference this year. 
 

As a fan, I still want Gonzaga. But now I am seeing how, from the MWC perspective, this is not the no-brainer move it looks like to me. 

Yeah I can see your point. If Gonzaga is still good post Mark Few would you be open to having Gonzaga coming?

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On 1/28/2022 at 10:05 AM, Gonzagafan2021 said:

Yeah I can see your point. If Gonzaga is still good post Mark Few would you be open to having Gonzaga coming?

To me, adding Gonzaga seems like a risk worth taking. I think Few has built up something that can be durable, so I think the program can stay at a high level after he is gone…. as long as they nail the hire of Few’s replacement, of course. 

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On 1/28/2022 at 1:03 PM, SalinasSpartan said:

Yup. And the MWC seems fine also. I’m guessing both sides are looking at how the Wichita to AAC move, four years in, has really benefited neither party. 
 

Gonzaga looks at Wichita, who has ended up a decent program in the AAC; but the program has not elevated. Yes, losing their coach was a big loss, but the decision makers at Gonzaga know Few is not going to be there forever. In addition, the school that replaced them in the MVC has improved big time and now is headed to the A-10, a conference that could very well be better than the new AAC. Hell, the MVC hasn’t skipped a beat either with the additions of Mercer and Belmont. Sure, Wichita is making more money, but I am guessing they are playing the what-if game wondering if they could have been added to the A-10 instead of, or in addition to Loyola. Gonzaga is probably very worried about jumping to the MWC and then being stuck in a conference that will be a poor fit the second their basketball program is no longer elite.

The MWC looks at the AAC and sees what a post-Few Gonzaga could look like in the MWC. An odd cultural fit that isn’t great from a geographical standpoint, that doesn’t guarantee the conference gets multiple bids, and doesn’t add any TV value (POST-Few). I mean Houston and Cincy haven’t even left yet, and the AAC could still be a one-bid conference this year. 
 

As a fan, I still want Gonzaga. But now I am seeing how, from the MWC perspective, this is not the no-brainer move it looks like to me. 

Now that I think about it you make a lot of sense. Wichita State hasn't really elevated their game ever since they made move to AAC. And now the AAC is going to be on the down low for the next few years. And if GU ends up tanking once Mark Few leaves then it'd easier to rebuild in the WCC than in the MW. And gong to the MW could be bad as well depending on what happens if the B12 wants to expand even more. I think we should wait out till our TV contract with ESPN ends in 2027. If at that time the MW is still relevant in basketball and hasn't been poached then we should make the jump. If not then we should stay like you said.  Wichita State should've gone to the A10 tbh even though they are going to be making more money in the AAC the team has lost its relevancy in the college basketball world.

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On 1/28/2022 at 12:40 PM, Gonzagafan2021 said:

Now that I think about it you make a lot of sense. Wichita State hasn't really elevated their game ever since they made move to AAC. And now the AAC is going to be on the down low for the next few years. And if GU ends up tanking once Mark Few leaves then it'd easier to rebuild in the WCC than in the MW. And gong to the MW could be bad as well depending on what happens if the B12 wants to expand even more. I think we should wait out till our TV contract with ESPN ends in 2027. If at that time the MW is still relevant in basketball and hasn't been poached then we should make the jump. If not then we should stay like you said.  Wichita State should've gone to the A10 tbh even though they are going to be making more money in the AAC the team has lost its relevancy in the college basketball world.

that's because Gregg Marshall had an ugly divorce from WSU.

mem skyline sig.jpeg

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On 1/28/2022 at 7:41 AM, Gonzagafan2021 said:

didn't know he liked salmon liked that

 

On 1/28/2022 at 8:19 AM, Wyobraska said:

I know he definitely likes some bottle bass.  

Take it for what its worth lol, we don't have fresh water fish down here so i couldn't tell them apart  

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