The Big 12 might not be done expanding after all.
The league which added Colorado, Utah, Arizona and Arizona State to move to 16-teams for the 2024 campaign could be looking to revisit an outside the box idea with basketball at the forefront of the decision-making process.
That’s because the Big 12 is considering adding Gonzaga as a 17th member in order to bolster what is already believed to be the best hoops league in the country.
Gonzaga is believed to be one of the most valuable basketball brands on the board with their sustained success under head coach Mark Few and would no doubt make an already impressive league even more so while providing a large number of high-level matchups.
The key to the addition would be that Gonzaga could be possibly willing to accept less revenue to join the league similar to what unfolded with California, Stanford and SMU joining the ACC. Now that would be a basketball share, but it would provide more revenue to other members of the league while strengthening the ranks and increasing the numbers of teams in the conference.
If approved, this move would take place either during the 2024 or 2025 season but it remains to be seen if it gets that far. However, the Big 12 has granted Brett Yormark the ability to continue discussions with the West Coast Conference program for the time being.
The move would bring Gonzaga into the fold in men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, women’s soccer, volleyball and men’s and women’s tennis per a report by Brett McMurphy.
Yormark has long believed that there is value in basketball longterm and has tinkered with the idea of separating it from football when the Big 12 goes back to market. The current deal will last until 2031 which means the addition of Gonzaga could make the league’s hoops product even more appealing.
It seems that this addition wouldn’t be a one-off and could open the door for other potential moves in the future as the Big 12 looks to consolidate many of the major hoops brands under one umbrella.
On the downside, adding Gonzaga is just another mouth to feed and creates issues with travel considering the school is located in the Pacific Northwest in Spokane, Washington. Travel was already a concern in a league spanning 10 different states and four different time zones but this isn’t a football benefit and would put extra pressure on the Olympic sports with how the Big 12 schedules.
It also gives the Big 12 an odd number of teams with 17 in basketball and will create some configuration issues with how the tournament is going to work and more.
Either way the Big 12 is expected to make a decision rather quickly on the matter, especially if Gonzaga is set to join for next season, and this shouldn’t take too long to resolve.
The Big 12 certainly values basketball, but with 16-football playing members, we’re about to see just how much that is the case.
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