Time for PAC 12

[CCS050]

It is time for Gonzaga boosters to open their bank accounts...There are 300,000 rabid fans in the greater Spokane area..It is time to make the Zags the Duke of the West Coast...There are more than enough dedicated Zags to completely renovate Joe Albi Stadium into a state of the art 40,000 seat stadium for a revival of the once powerful Gonzaga Football Team...With this dedicated fan base they would support
a football team that would be as successful as the basketball team...Gonzaga has the best coach and fans in the country...It is time to replace WSU in the Pac 12 and do to the PAC 12 what the Zags do to the WCC...Go Zags

[GoZags]

It is time for Gonzaga boosters to open their bank accounts...There are 300,000 rabid fans in the greater Spokane area..It is time to make the Zags the Duke of the West Coast...There are more than enough dedicated Zags to completely renovate Joe Albi Stadium into a state of the art 40,000 seat stadium for a revival of the once powerful Gonzaga Football Team...With this dedicated fan base they would support
a football team that would be as successful as the basketball team...Gonzaga has the best coach and fans in the country...It is time to replace WSU in the Pac 12 and do to the PAC 12 what the Zags do to the WCC...Go Zags

Sorry ..... not a bad idea but there's no support from Trustees or Regents on this one .... even if someone stepped up with a $100m+ donation. It's been discussed. The thought is let's be good at what we do (and that's worked out pretty well for Gonzaga ... and the Zags).

[TexasZagFan]

It is time for Gonzaga boosters to open their bank accounts...There are 300,000 rabid fans in the greater Spokane area..It is time to make the Zags the Duke of the West Coast...There are more than enough dedicated Zags to completely renovate Joe Albi Stadium into a state of the art 40,000 seat stadium for a revival of the once powerful Gonzaga Football Team...With this dedicated fan base they would support
a football team that would be as successful as the basketball team...Gonzaga has the best coach and fans in the country...It is time to replace WSU in the Pac 12 and do to the PAC 12 what the Zags do to the WCC...Go Zags

Do we have a lacrosse team?

Football is a dying sport, it's just not well known at this point. As more info comes out regarding the long-term health risks of playing football, parents are going to bar their boys from playing.

Even in Texas, where HS football is a religion, we're seeing signs of that.

As to college football, I'm expecting to see 4 16-team conferences form in the next few years, to create the ultimate playoff for the big boys. Those that don't make the cut will have hard decisions to make. That's when more basketball-only conferences will be formed, ala the Big East.

Just my $.02

[TravelinZag]

Football may be the cash king in college sports, but NOT for small schools, most of which don't play or play in a lower division (see EWU). The scholarships, facilities, staff, travel, etc. eat up huge chunks of revenue. At most BCS programs, football profits subsidize other athletics. At Gonzaga, football would eclipse men's and women's basketball revenues. Until someone can financially projectthe sport would at very least not lose money, this is a non-starter. Till then, I'll treasure my GU football tee shirt: front -- "Gonzaga Football"; back -- "Still Undefeated Since 1941".

Play the sports we can be competitive in, without losing tons of money.

But, like your thinking -- how do we escape the WCC?

Go Zags! Win it all!

[gueastcoast]

Believe me, Gonzaga boosters "open their bank accounts" plenty already. The OP clearly hasn't walked around campus in the last 20 years.

Agree with the various comments that football just ain't gonna happen. The tide for smaller schools is going in the other direction.

[TexasZagFan]

Believe me, Gonzaga boosters "open their bank accounts" plenty already. The OP clearly hasn't walked around campus in the last 20 years.

Agree with the various comments that football just ain't gonna happen. The tide for smaller schools is going in the other direction.

Wouldn't there be additional Title IX issues if Gonzaga restarted football? You add 100+ male athletes, and the ratios of men to women will be skewed.

[Birddog]

Do we have a lacrosse team?

Football is a dying sport, it's just not well known at this point. As more info comes out regarding the long-term health risks of playing football, parents are going to bar their boys from playing.

Even in Texas, where HS football is a religion, we're seeing signs of that.

As to college football, I'm expecting to see 4 16-team conferences form in the next few years, to create the ultimate playoff for the big boys. Those that don't make the cut will have hard decisions to make. That's when more basketball-only conferences will be formed, ala the Big East.

Just my $.02

Agree with TZF, football at all levels is showing nascent signs of a death spiral. In my area Lacross has been booming as parents are steering their kids away from football. The concussion issue is very real and moms are pretty powerful forces esp when pitted against us neanderthals.

[LongIslandZagFan]

It is time for Gonzaga boosters to open their bank accounts...There are 300,000 rabid fans in the greater Spokane area..It is time to make the Zags the Duke of the West Coast...There are more than enough dedicated Zags to completely renovate Joe Albi Stadium into a state of the art 40,000 seat stadium for a revival of the once powerful Gonzaga Football Team...With this dedicated fan base they would support
a football team that would be as successful as the basketball team...Gonzaga has the best coach and fans in the country...It is time to replace WSU in the Pac 12 and do to the PAC 12 what the Zags do to the WCC...Go Zags

Fundamental issue with this premise is that to join the Pac12 GU would need to be a research institution. That would require far deeper pockets than those needed to add a football team.

[bartruff1]

Knowing what I know now...I would never let my kids play football....

[team6]

Knowing what I know now...I would never let my kids play football....

I agree, I played football in high school and college. I regret that decision now, I pay for it everyday with pain.

[gu03alum]

Fundamental issue with this premise is that to join the Pac12 GU would need to be a research institution. That would require far deeper pockets than those needed to add a football team.

Wouldn't Stanford veto us even if we were?

[Zagger]

Just my own thoughts here but, I haven't seen a convincing argument for doing anything more than what we're doing. As in, why leave the WCC? I like the $ we're bringing into the WCC and I like just about all of the other WCC schools. We cannot expect them to replicate what's transpired in Spokane. We can help the other WCC basketball programs get better - which I feel we are doing now (indirectly or otherwise). Also, I'd rather see this topic discussed well after this season is over - when we have a better perspective on how it all pans out, who's coaching where, etc. The one area I feel could be changed that would benefit all WCC schools would be to adopt a schedule where all schools had more out-of-conference game opportunities. I'm as big of a Zag fan as I am due to what GU has achieved and GU's uniqueness. Just a personal desire but, I'd rather not see GU like other big time BB schools. GU's doing quite well as it is. I'd rather see more schools/programs strive to be like GU. Student athletes coming to Spokane know what to expect and have a reasonable expectation that what they see is what they'll get for 4-5 years - should they stay that long. A shining example is Mt. K. What I'm saying more/less is the grass is greener right here already.

[Mr Vulture]

Forget football, not worth the headache or investment. What I would really get behind would be creating a West of the Mississippi version of the Big East for the current mid majors that have been willing to invest in winning. Schools like Gonzaga, BYU, Wichita State, Illinois State, San Diego State, etc.....

[webspinnre]

Yeah, football doesn't make any sense at all. Small schools typically lose money on football programs, plus, as Tex mentions, you've got all the Title IX issues as well. The Pac-12 is even crazier in my view, as we're nothing like those institutions, as far as research, as far as degrees offered, as far as overall philosophy of the school. Finally, our other athletic programs would get killed, without massive investment in them as well. It's just not a fit.

I'm a bit skeptical of "Big East" West, but at least that might sort of work. Still, I'm on board with Zagger's comments - I'd rather the WCC improve than us keep looking to move on.

[former1dog]

Soccer, after many, many years of trying, is starting to gain a foothold.

MLS teams and the MLS have seemed to stabilize. Youth soccer participation is insane.

I think the notion that Football is on the way out is probably valid, although it will be several decades. I don't think soccer will take its place, but I think soccer will continue to grow in popularity