Getting Boise State football was the first crown jewel for the Pac12. Getting Gonzaga for MBB was the second. It's all coming together for the Pac12. Looking forward to part 3.
Part III is OSU baseball. Everyone of these teams and universities brings something to the table and I am excited for the future of this new iteration of the PAC.
John, thanks for expanding your scope for part 2 of this series. Part one was very campus-centric, exploring what joining the Pac-12 meant to Boise State University, but not the city at large. In part 2, you expanded the parameters a bit by talking with the mayor. But what's still missing, in my opinion, is the point of view of the guy in the bar stool, the season ticket-holder, the long-term Spokane resident. How do the FANS feel about moving to the Pac-12? What are they excited about? What are their expectations, or fears? Am I the only one that cares about more than what the university or politicians think?
Spokane is decidedly not blue nor is Washington Red. Like a lot of medium to large cities, there are pockets of blue and red. Spokane County leans more red than blue
Washington is by no means a red state. It's a lot like Oregon: It probably would be a red state if its largest metropolis, which is overwhelmingly blue, did not overpower everyone else.
So the places where nobody lives should hold the political power? Most Washingtonians live in the Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia area. They should dictate state policy, with respect to the minority.
Actually, no -- that's the whole reason why America has the electoral college, so that only a few more populous cities/regions don't dominate presidential elections and leave rural states/cities at their mercy. Other states should follow that model. Just because a city is larger doesn't mean it's right.
Tyranny of the Majority is when a majority represses a minority. That is happening today in deep blue states on the West Coast where conservatives have no voice in state or city political processes. A Tyranny of the minority has another name, and that is apartheid. America has mostly avoided this problem by its design of equal rights and equal votes. American democracy, as designed as a Federal Republic, is intended to solve both problems, providing separate sovereign regions (states) to address the political preferences of different groups of people, and has done so well through most of its history, the exceptions being the Civil War period, the 1930s New Deal and now.
That is exactly what I said. But it should only be citizens who have the right to vote for their own governance. Non-citizens should NOT be able to vote for laws that restrict citizens and taxes that take citizens money. Trump just authored an EO to do exactly that, require ID proving citizenship, and expects that EO to be codified through Congress. As for your reference to "half the states", we do have a 10th amendment which states only issues not addressed by the Constitution are given to the states. That means that all issues that ARE addressed by the Constitution, including the 14th and 19th Amendments, are Federal. And that is the genius of the Constitution
You must be a US citizen to vote. Not sure where you people are finding all these "non-citizens" voting.
If what you say is true, then why did we need voting rights acts in the 1960s to give Blacks the right to vote, which had been stripped from them by various "legal" shenanigans by the former Confederate states?
that is college football personified, which ultimately is led by the Tory-Brit-Venetian nobility that Trump is ridding from power. 4-2-2025 a day of reckoning.
America has the EC because that was the only way to get the southern states into the United States. They feared a popular vote would outlaw slavery.
Every single election in this country is determined by the popular vote. The person with the most votes wins. The presidential election should be no different.
The Constitution provides for equal representation for the smaller states in the Senate
Its not just Portland, 7 of the 8 largest cities in Oregon voted Democratic in the last presidential election, including the largest city east of the mountains, Bend. Same spread holds for Washington State.
I've been to Spokane a handful of time, it's a great place to visit and stay. Davenport Hotel was incredible. Not made a basketball game but it would be nice. Once again, nice piece John.
So I'm working on a project where we have been dicussing "the circle" surrounding someone that contributes and builds success and continuity. Mark Few will tell you his circle has played a very important part in all this success for himself and the school. Think Jud Heathcoat-Marv and Dave Harshman-Don Monson-Dan Monson-Doug Orton (Creswell HS)-Billy Grier-Leon Rice.
Plus, Gonzaga has taken advantage of success and invested in soccer-baseball-women's hoops-etc. There's a healthy circle within that athletic department.
1) gotta love the revisionist history narrative that the Pac-12 office keeps pushing through friendly media in regards to Memphis and Tulane. The reporting at the time said the offer had a hard deadline on it. Only weeks and weeks later did this “oh we wanted a negotiation” story come out - and that only came through the Pac-12 friendly media, not national reporters
2) Gonzaga getting a full media share is a steal for them and a joke for the rest of the football playing members. Good for them for getting it of course but it smacks of desperation at the time from the conference
3) with Gonzaga basketball’s recent slide over the last couple years, Few’s sooner rather than later retirement, and the new world of college athletics, one wonders if the Pac-12 will be regretting adding the Zags come 5 years from now. Will be interesting to watch play out
"1) gotta love the revisionist history narrative that the Pac-12 office keeps pushing through friendly media in regards to Memphis and Tulane. The reporting at the time said the offer had a hard deadline on it."
I ask again, do you have a link for this assertion?
Scott said that officials had “only hours to make a decision on the Pac-12's offer when it came” and there was “no time to counter.” The Pac-12 reportedly offered only $2.5M to help Memphis -- and other AAC schools -- pay conference exit fees. Scott mentioned that the report “was accurate.” Scott said that he was in “close contact” with officials from Tulane, UTSA and South Florida and that Memphis
• Leaders of the trio of American Athletic Conference schools have the terms needed to make a decision. Included are media-rights contract projections for what would be a nine-member conference. A decision is expected on Monday.
There’s more. Google them
Every report st the time all said the same thing: that the schools were put on a short deadline to make a decision.
The first mention of the Pac-12 wanting to “receive a counteroffer and negotiate” didn’t come for over a month (maybe more) and they came from “pac-12 sources” and were fed directly to John and Jon
Gonzaga made the Sweet 16 or beyond in nine consecutive NCAA tournament before this year, when it won its first game and then was barely beaten by a #1 seed.
100% it can go fast see- Butler, Villanova, heck even Stanford women, Wichita State, etc etc etc. Gonzaga will need to make sure it’s not Mark Few that is the one joining the new pac 12. Notice nobody is trying to hire away Michelson…
I love Gonzaga and was really happy when the school joined the Pac12. I also enjoyed your column (as I do all your columns) on the school. But was surprised you failed to mention the fact that Bing Crosby was a Gonzaga grad, and his family home is a museum attached to the school where his Oscar for Going My Way resides. I don't know if he ever played sports at his alma mater, but he definitely made his mark in the world (although not sure many except those of a certain age, such as myself, would remember him).
Nice article/column. The only disappointment is you didn't mention Jack & Dan's (Formerly Joey's)...once owned by the late Jack Stockton, father of John. The building is still owned by John and it is THE PLACE TO BE on Gonzaga game nights. Rather than me lauding its merits, here is a wiki link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_and_Dan%27s. IF you didn't stop in during this trip, you must go back to Spokane soon! #Go Zags DMM
Years ago I thought the Pac-12 should have added Gonzaga. This is before conference implosion. Everyone said they couldn't add GU because he didn't have football. That's the backward/inside the boxthinking of the last two Commissioners that got the conference in this place. I still don't care if they have football or not. I'm glad Gonzaga is on board. Like St Mary's, however, Mark Few isn't going to coach forever. The next coach in waiting may or may not be good. It's going to be hard to follow Few's legacy.
John, great article. Love “ After basketball, rowing is the next biggest sport in Gonzaga’s athletic department”! I would have never guessed it. Gonzaga’s women’s basketball is top notch as well and they have a very good baseball team.
I am so happy that Gonzaga will be part of the Pac12 in 2026!
Getting Boise State football was the first crown jewel for the Pac12. Getting Gonzaga for MBB was the second. It's all coming together for the Pac12. Looking forward to part 3.
Part III is OSU baseball. Everyone of these teams and universities brings something to the table and I am excited for the future of this new iteration of the PAC.
John, thanks for expanding your scope for part 2 of this series. Part one was very campus-centric, exploring what joining the Pac-12 meant to Boise State University, but not the city at large. In part 2, you expanded the parameters a bit by talking with the mayor. But what's still missing, in my opinion, is the point of view of the guy in the bar stool, the season ticket-holder, the long-term Spokane resident. How do the FANS feel about moving to the Pac-12? What are they excited about? What are their expectations, or fears? Am I the only one that cares about more than what the university or politicians think?
Thanks for this.
Spokane is decidedly not blue nor is Washington Red. Like a lot of medium to large cities, there are pockets of blue and red. Spokane County leans more red than blue
A “blue island in a red state”?
Washington is by no means a red state. It's a lot like Oregon: It probably would be a red state if its largest metropolis, which is overwhelmingly blue, did not overpower everyone else.
Maybe a blue island on the red side of the state.
So the places where nobody lives should hold the political power? Most Washingtonians live in the Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia area. They should dictate state policy, with respect to the minority.
Actually, no -- that's the whole reason why America has the electoral college, so that only a few more populous cities/regions don't dominate presidential elections and leave rural states/cities at their mercy. Other states should follow that model. Just because a city is larger doesn't mean it's right.
Tyranny of the Majority is when a majority represses a minority. That is happening today in deep blue states on the West Coast where conservatives have no voice in state or city political processes. A Tyranny of the minority has another name, and that is apartheid. America has mostly avoided this problem by its design of equal rights and equal votes. American democracy, as designed as a Federal Republic, is intended to solve both problems, providing separate sovereign regions (states) to address the political preferences of different groups of people, and has done so well through most of its history, the exceptions being the Civil War period, the 1930s New Deal and now.
Under your idea, apartheid would still be legal in the South and women would have no rights in half the states.
Some basic American rights, like voting, etc., must be guaranteed on the Federal level.
That is exactly what I said. But it should only be citizens who have the right to vote for their own governance. Non-citizens should NOT be able to vote for laws that restrict citizens and taxes that take citizens money. Trump just authored an EO to do exactly that, require ID proving citizenship, and expects that EO to be codified through Congress. As for your reference to "half the states", we do have a 10th amendment which states only issues not addressed by the Constitution are given to the states. That means that all issues that ARE addressed by the Constitution, including the 14th and 19th Amendments, are Federal. And that is the genius of the Constitution
You must be a US citizen to vote. Not sure where you people are finding all these "non-citizens" voting.
If what you say is true, then why did we need voting rights acts in the 1960s to give Blacks the right to vote, which had been stripped from them by various "legal" shenanigans by the former Confederate states?
that is college football personified, which ultimately is led by the Tory-Brit-Venetian nobility that Trump is ridding from power. 4-2-2025 a day of reckoning.
America has the EC because that was the only way to get the southern states into the United States. They feared a popular vote would outlaw slavery.
Every single election in this country is determined by the popular vote. The person with the most votes wins. The presidential election should be no different.
The Constitution provides for equal representation for the smaller states in the Senate
Many of us disagree with Flash, that's for sure
Perhaps what she meant was a blue island in the red eastern part of the state.
Its not just Portland, 7 of the 8 largest cities in Oregon voted Democratic in the last presidential election, including the largest city east of the mountains, Bend. Same spread holds for Washington State.
Boise State
Spokane is a kool town.
Zags rowing game is strong and doesn’t get many props
Thats because they have a good crew.
🤣
I've been to Spokane a handful of time, it's a great place to visit and stay. Davenport Hotel was incredible. Not made a basketball game but it would be nice. Once again, nice piece John.
Spokane County 2024 election
Trump 51 percent, Harris 46 oercent
I love Spokane anyway
Spokane County a bunch bigger than Spokane City -- the city is blue.
Spokane Valley is red.
Yup. First part of my life living there. Dad got confronted by the local John Birch Society because he was a Democrat ....
So I'm working on a project where we have been dicussing "the circle" surrounding someone that contributes and builds success and continuity. Mark Few will tell you his circle has played a very important part in all this success for himself and the school. Think Jud Heathcoat-Marv and Dave Harshman-Don Monson-Dan Monson-Doug Orton (Creswell HS)-Billy Grier-Leon Rice.
Plus, Gonzaga has taken advantage of success and invested in soccer-baseball-women's hoops-etc. There's a healthy circle within that athletic department.
Growth comes from inside "the circle".
Red State? Washington hasn’t elected a Republican governor since 1980…
John I hope you went to zips and dicks and got a Spokane doesn’t suck t shirt, and fed the garbage goat
A few thoughts:
1) gotta love the revisionist history narrative that the Pac-12 office keeps pushing through friendly media in regards to Memphis and Tulane. The reporting at the time said the offer had a hard deadline on it. Only weeks and weeks later did this “oh we wanted a negotiation” story come out - and that only came through the Pac-12 friendly media, not national reporters
2) Gonzaga getting a full media share is a steal for them and a joke for the rest of the football playing members. Good for them for getting it of course but it smacks of desperation at the time from the conference
3) with Gonzaga basketball’s recent slide over the last couple years, Few’s sooner rather than later retirement, and the new world of college athletics, one wonders if the Pac-12 will be regretting adding the Zags come 5 years from now. Will be interesting to watch play out
"1) gotta love the revisionist history narrative that the Pac-12 office keeps pushing through friendly media in regards to Memphis and Tulane. The reporting at the time said the offer had a hard deadline on it."
I ask again, do you have a link for this assertion?
https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2024/09/27/memphis-pac-12-aac/#:~:text=The%20Univ.,of%20the%20Memphis%20COMMERCIAL%20APPEAL.
Scott said that officials had “only hours to make a decision on the Pac-12's offer when it came” and there was “no time to counter.” The Pac-12 reportedly offered only $2.5M to help Memphis -- and other AAC schools -- pay conference exit fees. Scott mentioned that the report “was accurate.” Scott said that he was in “close contact” with officials from Tulane, UTSA and South Florida and that Memphis
https://www.on3.com/news/pac-12-decision-timeline-for-memphis-tulane-south-florida-revealed/
From JC on this Substack on September 23:
What I’ve learned:
• Leaders of the trio of American Athletic Conference schools have the terms needed to make a decision. Included are media-rights contract projections for what would be a nine-member conference. A decision is expected on Monday.
There’s more. Google them
Every report st the time all said the same thing: that the schools were put on a short deadline to make a decision.
The first mention of the Pac-12 wanting to “receive a counteroffer and negotiate” didn’t come for over a month (maybe more) and they came from “pac-12 sources” and were fed directly to John and Jon
We can all see a spin job when we see it
Gonzaga made the Sweet 16 or beyond in nine consecutive NCAA tournament before this year, when it won its first game and then was barely beaten by a #1 seed.
Some slide.
They lost 8 and 9 games the last 2 seasons. The previous time they lost 8 games was 2015-16
They made the elite 8 in 2015, Title game in 2017, elite 8 in 2019, the title game 2021 in and the elite 8 in 2023.
The trend is down
Almost every single program in the country would kill for those results.
No argument. But that wasn’t the point.
100% it can go fast see- Butler, Villanova, heck even Stanford women, Wichita State, etc etc etc. Gonzaga will need to make sure it’s not Mark Few that is the one joining the new pac 12. Notice nobody is trying to hire away Michelson…
Washington a red state?
That got me, too. She might’ve meant a “blue island in a red desert.”
are you trying to evaporate the Palouse?
😂 Hardly! But Spokane Co. is a blue blip in a sea of red. (Said without judgment.)
I love Gonzaga and was really happy when the school joined the Pac12. I also enjoyed your column (as I do all your columns) on the school. But was surprised you failed to mention the fact that Bing Crosby was a Gonzaga grad, and his family home is a museum attached to the school where his Oscar for Going My Way resides. I don't know if he ever played sports at his alma mater, but he definitely made his mark in the world (although not sure many except those of a certain age, such as myself, would remember him).
As der Bingle always said, "You can beat your kids, but you can't beat a GU education!"
Go Gonzaga, G-O-N-Z-A-G-A. John, did you try to steal Bing Crosbys pipe? Or did you grab a burger at Jack and Dans?
Nice article/column. The only disappointment is you didn't mention Jack & Dan's (Formerly Joey's)...once owned by the late Jack Stockton, father of John. The building is still owned by John and it is THE PLACE TO BE on Gonzaga game nights. Rather than me lauding its merits, here is a wiki link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_and_Dan%27s. IF you didn't stop in during this trip, you must go back to Spokane soon! #Go Zags DMM
Love this.
Years ago I thought the Pac-12 should have added Gonzaga. This is before conference implosion. Everyone said they couldn't add GU because he didn't have football. That's the backward/inside the boxthinking of the last two Commissioners that got the conference in this place. I still don't care if they have football or not. I'm glad Gonzaga is on board. Like St Mary's, however, Mark Few isn't going to coach forever. The next coach in waiting may or may not be good. It's going to be hard to follow Few's legacy.
Yep! Even Oregon State hasn’t been the same since Ralph Miller retired.
GU alum Brian Michaelson has been named the coach in waiting when Few calls it quits.
John, great article. Love “ After basketball, rowing is the next biggest sport in Gonzaga’s athletic department”! I would have never guessed it. Gonzaga’s women’s basketball is top notch as well and they have a very good baseball team.
I am so happy that Gonzaga will be part of the Pac12 in 2026!
Thanks D.