Feb 22, 2023·edited Feb 22, 2023Liked by John Canzano
In my lifetime Gonzaga went from a team I never heard of growing up (in Medford), ...to a Cinderella sweet sixteener, ...to literally be the best and most popular team to have not won a title.
Simply outstanding.
However, will they become Duke? Or Georgetown? I don't think this is more thank tire kicking at this point.
Wilner summed it up well in his piece on Gonzaga. The big questions you have to ask are how long will Few still be there (he's 60), and can they remain a brand name program once he's gone? It's a gamble given what it would cost to get them. I'm not sure I blame the Pac for passing if it really is a bidding war.
Not sure how the Zags move the needle from a broadcast revenue standpoint, given the location. Also not sure the “brand” will remain valuable for long after Mark Few retires.
Gonzaga makes so much sense to benefit them and the Pac11?, that certainly the bumbling Pac leadership won’t do it because research, prestige, or some stupid reason that will lead to the death of the conference.
" The typical Pac-12 team averages about 200,000 viewers"....any and all Pac-12 basketball teams are encumbered by the ridiculous PAC12 Network availability, which is near zero here in Arizona. Comcast is not a big player here and they are the only AZ provider to carry the PAC12. Charter is not an AZ provider. I personally use Hulu. I can only get the local Pac12 games when some local station buys the broadcast rights for ASU or Arizona
John, like you say with all teams. In this case it's the Pac12. What is there identity? What do they want their identity to be? The feel like the Pac needs to bet on culture and unity. Focus on what's important to the west coast and Pac fans. Who is leading and what is the plan? Show us a vision George or find someone who can.
I get the arguments from an athletics standpoint, and that's all well and good. But have we lost sight of the fact that we're talking about institutions of higher learning? Places whose primary mission is supposed to be education? Or is the tail wagging the dog and we're supposed to nod knowingly and acquiesce to that reality?
I'd like to know how the educational mission of Gonzaga and other institutions will be impacted by any moves made? Shouldn't that be part- perhaps the primary part- of the equation? Or am I just being horribly naïve?
There’s no way Gonzaga gets added to P12 for men’s hoops only. An admission to P12 for Zags means the institution sees the value of improving its entire athletic programs AND the profile of the university. And then would P12 want a non-football school cutting into its new contract?
Gonzaga may not have football - but their baseball programme is solid, in addition to women's hoops. I'd welcome them to the PAC and - though not a graduate I did study there Freshman year before transferring to UO - would hate to see them join the Big12 or any other conference. And for those who fear decline when Few retires - they were a premier programme before he took the reigns.
No guarantee Gonzaga retains its value after Few leaves and has already dropped slightly after Tommy Lloyd left. I avoid buying stocks at the top of their market price and Gonzaga feels like a stock that has little upside left and a ton of downside coming shortly to me.
So, if Boise State, Fresno State, and some others are off the football table for not meeting "academic and research institution criteria," how could Pac presidents rationalize adding Gonzaga basketball?
Notre Dame I believe still plays basketball in the ACC so why can't Gonzaga and St. Mary's play in the Pac? In fact maybe what we need is to add schools like UNR, Hawaii, Boise, Fresno State, etc. just to our football ledger. That way we do not have to deal with academics or a fair share of the money for new schools. If people do not get creative our goose is cooked...beats adding SMU who no one could care about plus I personally do not like getting involved with any entity from TexAss.
Great Stuff as per usual! I can’t blame the Zags for creating a bidding war. That’s life in business. And D1 College sports are now completely a business (I know... a captain obvious statement).
Wait for the big 10 on fox to go south like the wwe on fox, then usc and ucla will be pleading for the pac-12 to return. The whole big 10 expansion was based on wishful thinking on television rights, reality will be different.
In my lifetime Gonzaga went from a team I never heard of growing up (in Medford), ...to a Cinderella sweet sixteener, ...to literally be the best and most popular team to have not won a title.
Simply outstanding.
However, will they become Duke? Or Georgetown? I don't think this is more thank tire kicking at this point.
Wilner summed it up well in his piece on Gonzaga. The big questions you have to ask are how long will Few still be there (he's 60), and can they remain a brand name program once he's gone? It's a gamble given what it would cost to get them. I'm not sure I blame the Pac for passing if it really is a bidding war.
Not sure how the Zags move the needle from a broadcast revenue standpoint, given the location. Also not sure the “brand” will remain valuable for long after Mark Few retires.
Gonzaga makes so much sense to benefit them and the Pac11?, that certainly the bumbling Pac leadership won’t do it because research, prestige, or some stupid reason that will lead to the death of the conference.
" The typical Pac-12 team averages about 200,000 viewers"....any and all Pac-12 basketball teams are encumbered by the ridiculous PAC12 Network availability, which is near zero here in Arizona. Comcast is not a big player here and they are the only AZ provider to carry the PAC12. Charter is not an AZ provider. I personally use Hulu. I can only get the local Pac12 games when some local station buys the broadcast rights for ASU or Arizona
John, like you say with all teams. In this case it's the Pac12. What is there identity? What do they want their identity to be? The feel like the Pac needs to bet on culture and unity. Focus on what's important to the west coast and Pac fans. Who is leading and what is the plan? Show us a vision George or find someone who can.
I get the arguments from an athletics standpoint, and that's all well and good. But have we lost sight of the fact that we're talking about institutions of higher learning? Places whose primary mission is supposed to be education? Or is the tail wagging the dog and we're supposed to nod knowingly and acquiesce to that reality?
I'd like to know how the educational mission of Gonzaga and other institutions will be impacted by any moves made? Shouldn't that be part- perhaps the primary part- of the equation? Or am I just being horribly naïve?
There’s no way Gonzaga gets added to P12 for men’s hoops only. An admission to P12 for Zags means the institution sees the value of improving its entire athletic programs AND the profile of the university. And then would P12 want a non-football school cutting into its new contract?
Gonzaga may not have football - but their baseball programme is solid, in addition to women's hoops. I'd welcome them to the PAC and - though not a graduate I did study there Freshman year before transferring to UO - would hate to see them join the Big12 or any other conference. And for those who fear decline when Few retires - they were a premier programme before he took the reigns.
No guarantee Gonzaga retains its value after Few leaves and has already dropped slightly after Tommy Lloyd left. I avoid buying stocks at the top of their market price and Gonzaga feels like a stock that has little upside left and a ton of downside coming shortly to me.
So, if Boise State, Fresno State, and some others are off the football table for not meeting "academic and research institution criteria," how could Pac presidents rationalize adding Gonzaga basketball?
This isn't the squad to be shopping the BRAND to the highest bidder. Continue to be the Big Fish in the small pond, that underdelivers every March.
Notre Dame I believe still plays basketball in the ACC so why can't Gonzaga and St. Mary's play in the Pac? In fact maybe what we need is to add schools like UNR, Hawaii, Boise, Fresno State, etc. just to our football ledger. That way we do not have to deal with academics or a fair share of the money for new schools. If people do not get creative our goose is cooked...beats adding SMU who no one could care about plus I personally do not like getting involved with any entity from TexAss.
Am I the only one that feels the academics in charge of PAC schools will deliberate to paralysis and watch another opportunity go by?
Great Stuff as per usual! I can’t blame the Zags for creating a bidding war. That’s life in business. And D1 College sports are now completely a business (I know... a captain obvious statement).
Wait for the big 10 on fox to go south like the wwe on fox, then usc and ucla will be pleading for the pac-12 to return. The whole big 10 expansion was based on wishful thinking on television rights, reality will be different.