Conference Realignment: Big 12 looks to add basketball powerhouse

TEMPE, Ariz. — Thanks to the conference realignment madness, Arizona State will be joining the Big 12 conference starting next season. ASU will be joined by Colorado, Utah, and Arizona as the other Pac-12 teams joining the Big 12. Just when the world of college sports thought conference realignment was over, a new rumor emerged.

Gonzaga and the Big 12 conference are in talks about the Bulldogs joining the conference, first reported by Seth Davis.

Gonzaga and Big 12 are in “serious talks” about conference realignment

The Gonzaga Bulldogs have been a college basketball powerhouse for quite some time now. The Zags haven’t missed the NCAA tournament since 1998, a significant accomplishment for any team, especially in the West Coast Conference.

According to Davis, Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is spearheading the campaign for the inclusion of Gonzaga to the conference. Last week Yormark had separate sessions with Big 12 athletic directors and presidents and made the case for adding the Bulldogs.

This pitch caught many by surprise after Yorkmark had publically declared in August that Big 12 realignment conversations were no longer ongoing.

Adding Gonzaga would no doubt take the conference to another level in college basketball, but it also poses a logistical question… what about football? The Zags don’t have a Division One football program. Does the conference care about this? Or would it be a situation similar to Notre Dame in the ACC? The Fighting Irish joined the ACC in all sports besides football and ice hockey in 2012.

The same being done with Gonzaga is certainly a possibility.

If the Bulldogs join the Big 12 (which will have a lot more than 12 teams), the basketball talent in the conference would be elite. Gonzaga, Kansas, Arizona, Baylor, and Houston have all been extremely successful in the last five seasons. Arizona State’s competition in their new conference would be staggering.

Only time will tell how the Big 12 will shape up in 2024.

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