The next dominoes (November 3 edition)

[shizzle787]

Wow. What a week. Gonzaga is playing the field. Unfortunately, maybe too well. According to Matt Norlander on the CBS Eye on College Basketball podcast, several Big East and Pac-12 administrators are hesitant about adding Gonzaga.

Ultimately, I think it is the Big 12 who grabs the Zags. It is a more stable conference than the Pac-12 going forward, and the Big East is too far away. Though currently slated to have an 18-game conference basketball schedule going forward, I think the Big 12 will go to 20 with Gonzaga in the fold.

Speaking of scheduling: I believe the SEC will go to a 20-game basketball schedule and 9-game football schedule upon the arrival of Texas and Oklahoma. Also, I would not be surprised to see the B1G go to a 22-game schedule in basketball upon the arrival of USC and UCLA.

I think the Big East will stay at 11 once Gonzaga joins the Big 12.
The double round robin is too valuable to add St. Louis or Dayton.

The next move will be the Pac-12 adding two schools: SDSU and UNLV. The Big 12 added 4 G5 programs and it worked well for them. SDSU gets the league back into SoCal, and UNLV gets the league into Vegas. I understand the concerns about splitting the contract 12 ways instead of 10, but getting into Southern California cannot be undersold, and 11 is not a workable number for football if the league wants to keep a 9-game schedule. Hence, why a #12 is necessary.

With the departures of SDSU and UNLV, the MW will be down to 10 football schools and 9 Olympic members. The league takes the bold step of holding firm as there is no good combination of two schools (UTEP and ?) to go to 12, and Hawaii/MW can't afford the costs of bringing in Hawaii for all sports.

With Gonzaga going to the Big 12, the WCC will be down to 8 schools. The league invites Grand Canyon and Seattle to get back to 10.

With the departures of Grand Canyon and Seattle, the WAC will be down to 9 schools. As of 2025, 7 of them will play football so the league will be fine on that end. However, 9 is still a precarious position. It looks like Southland schools are a no-go as two already did a u-turn regarding joining the WAC, and I can't see any other Big Sky schools making the move. In steps Central Arkansas. They already play in the WAC/ASUN hybrid football league. Moving to the WAC would be a step up in basketball, and it gets the WAC back to ten members.

The A-SUN with just 10 members at this point decides to stand pat.

 

[Kolumbo]

I think it makes zero sense for the Big 12 to add the Zags. Of the 4 programs heading to the Big 12 only UCF would really be considered G5, if we have to use that term. The others are all every bit P5 as at least half the current P5. The AAC really was the P6, just without 1 or 2 good ol boys.

 

[Storrs South]

The Big East is a reach for Gonzaga given the distance (it would still be fun for as long as Few is there), but the PAC-12 really fumbling the bag here. Makes way more sense than the Big East or Big 12.

 

[Stinger92860]

Zags and Huskies to the B12 is what I would like to hear

 

[freescooter]

I think it makes zero sense for the Big 12 to add the Zags. Of the 4 programs heading to the Big 12 only UCF would really be considered G5, if we have to use that term. The others are all every bit P5 as at least half the current P5. The AAC really was the P6, just without 1 or 2 good ol boys.

I think you could make the case that a program that has been ranked top 25 including an undefeated season 3 times in the past 5 years and is currently ranked is a legitimate P5 contender.

 

[HuskyDogArt]

Why would the B12 invite a non football school? It would be like the ACC invite Vermont...

 

[Rufus]

Why would the B12 invite a non football school? It would be like the ACC invite Vermont...

It would be like the ACC inviting Notre Dame.

 

[CTFAN4LIFE]

It would be like the ACC inviting Notre Dame.

Not entirely - the ACC bent over for Notre Dame with hopes to get their football in for full membership and got them in with partial membership. Gonzaga doesn't bring that. The Big12 wanting Gonzaga is a bit of a head scratcher - I wonder if they are just trying to make the Pac10 "overpay" for them?

 

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

Why would the B12 invite a non football school? It would be like the ACC invite Vermont...

Wait, Syracuse would surely do everything in its' limited power to veto UVM. Or, Richmond, Colgate, or other non-BCS football prograrms prone to upset the basketball fruits, again.