Which is most impressive ???

[RenoZag]

I voted for the 20 consecutive years of NCAA tourney appearances. There were a few seasons when the Zags had their backs against the wall and managed to go dancing.

IMG should put out a new DVD and call it "Two Decades of Excellence."

The other choices in the poll are also noteworthy. If someone wants to diss the academic achievements, that's their right.

[23dpg]

Four great options but I went with 10 straight NCAA wins.

A few of those were against better seeds but it also helped get rid of the bs argument that the Zags underperformed in the tourney. Every other schools except Kansas has either missed the tourney or lost a first round game in that span. And the Jayhawks have been given 1 or 2 seeds in all but one of those years as memory serves.

[raise the zag]

Few was quoted and said himself...he is most impressed with winning at least one game for 10 straight years.

I'm going with that...

He said its just so darn hard to win games in March.

He also said the 20 consecutive appearances is what he is most "proud of".

So...he felt the 10 straight years of winning at least one game was most impressive, yet most proud of the 20 straight appearances.

[TexasZagFan]

Four great options but I went with 10 straight NCAA wins.

A few of those were against better seeds but it also helped get rid of the bs argument that the Zags underperformed in the tourney. Every other schools except Kansas has either missed the tourney or lost a first round game in that span. And the Jayhawks have been given 1 or 2 seeds in all but one of those years as memory serves.

I didn't vote, because they're all great options. Bill Walton's 3 years as an academic AA stands out with me as a notable accomplishment.

[Bing]

I didn't vote, because they're all great options. Bill Walton's 3 years as an academic AA stands out with me as a notable accomplishment.

Walton's accomplishments (3x) were remarkable as evidenced by the fact that only six guys have done it in the last 20 years. That three of those six are Zags is phenomenal, and is the reason I voted it as most impressive. But I would have voted "All of the above" including grad rates if it had been an option.

[DZ]

So jazz and Dixie if it is so easy because of a league affiliation why has no other team in the many many lesser leagues done it yet or say 6 in row?

Check your reading comp, we are comparing the 20 straight to the other remarkable accomplishments, as in "easier" (than the other 4), I did not use the word "easy," nor did I state that I believe we got higher seeds bc of the conference, additionally I noted that those 20 came with a team from a school with rigorous academics that made it harder than schools that don't have as rigorous academics.

Neither one of us said it was "easy" to make 20 straight tournaments because of our conference. You twisted words to suit your challenge.

[jazzdelmar]

Check your reading comp, we are comparing the 20 straight to the other remarkable accomplishments, as in "easier" (than the other 4), I did not use the word "easy," nor did I state that I believe we got higher seeds bc of the conference, additionally I noted that those 20 came with a team from a school with rigorous academics that made it harder than schools that don't have as rigorous academics.

Neither one of us said it was "easy" to make 20 straight tournaments because of our conference. You twisted words to suit your challenge.

Yes, thanks Prof. Dix. The operative term was "easiest," as in among the options proffered. As I put it, "Given the conference, the 20 years dancing is least impressive."

[Zagger]

I voted for the 4 Sweets in a row. I would have voted for "Half of the Top 5 Academic All Americans/Basketball All Americans are Zags" but the math in me this AM couldn't crunch half of 5

[Kemo 1966]

Outstanding!! Thanks for the article, I was looking for that.

The NCAA Graduation Success Rate tracks degree completion for student-athletes, even those who transfer. Some data from the NCAA in terms of Graduation Success Rates (GSR) (overall - all sports) for Western Conferences:


* WCC Schools in Blue

Top in the West (Overall GSR):
School: Overall GSR
1) Gonzaga: 99
2t) Portland: 97
2t) Stanford: 97
4) Seattle: 95
5) LMU: 92
6t) Saint Mary’s: 91
6t) Santa Clara: 91
6t) Utah State: 91
9t) San Diego: 90
9t) Utah: 90

Top in the West (Men’s Basketball GSR):
School: Men’s Basketball GSR
1t) Gonzaga: 100
1t) Santa Clara: 100
1t) Northern Arizona: 100
1t) Stanford: 100
1t) Arizona: 100
1t) Utah: 100
7) Seattle: 95
8t) Portland: 93
8t) Colorado State: 93
8t) Arizona State: 93


By Conference:
West Coast Conference:
School: Overall GSR, Basketball GSR
- Gonzaga: 99, 100
- Portland: 97, 93
- LMU: 92, 77
- Santa Clara: 91, 100
- Saint Mary’s: 91, 81
- San Diego: 90, 64
- Pacific: 89, 89
- Pepperdine: 89, 77
- San Francisco: 87, 45
- BYU: 78, 67

Mountain West Conference:
- Utah State: 91, 78
- Air Force: 88, 79
- Boise State: 87, 86
- Colorado State: 84, 93
- Wyoming: 82, 71
- Nevada: 81, 73
- Fresno State: 81, 73
- New Mexico: 80, 85
- San Jose State: 80, 33
- San Diego State: 79, 50
- UNLV: 76, 75

Pac-12 Conference:
- Stanford: 97, 100
- Utah: 90, 100
- Colorado: 88, 85
- Arizona State: 87, 93
- Washington: 86, 92
- USC: 86, 50
- UCLA: 86, 44
- Arizona: 84, 100
- Cal: 81, 50
- Oregon: 81, 38
- Washington State: 80, 59
- Oregon State: 78, 67

Western Athletic Conference:
- Seattle: 95, 95
- Missouri - Kansas City: 88, 76
- Texas - Rio Grande Valley: 78, 77
- Grand Canyon University: 78, 71
- Cal State - Bakersfield: 75, 87
- New Mexico State: 75, 60
- Utah Valley: 74, 67
- Chicago State: 73, 59

Big West Conference:
- UC - Irvine: 88, 83
- UC - Davis: 87, 69
- Long Beach State: 86, 86
- Hawaii: 85, 64
- UC - Santa Barbara: 83, 56
- Cal Poly - San Luis Obispo: 80, 75
- Cal State - Northridge: 79, 71
- UC - Riverside: 78, 59
- Cal State - Fullerton: 76, 75

Big Sky Conference:
- Northern Colorado: 86, 73
- Northern Arizona: 85, 100
- North Dakota: 83, 79
- Montana State: 83, 57
- Idaho State: 81, 86
- Montana: 80, 82
- Southern Utah: 80, 70
- Eastern Washington: 78, 75
- Weber State: 77, 91
- Sacramento State: 77, 86
- Idaho: 75, 78
- Portland State: 74, 81

SO MAY I ASK: How does moving to the MWC 'improve your quality of education' ?????? appears that the MWC is sub-standard when it comes to this statistic????

[EEzag]

SO MAY I ASK: How does moving to the MWC 'improve your quality of education' ?????? appears that the MWC is sub-standard when it comes to this statistic????

IT's not just 4 sweet 16s, there is a Nat Champ runner up and an EE in there as well.

[MyZags]

As a former student athlete I know the juggling act these players face. Kudos to the success they are building in both arenas. I did vote for the All-Americans because that is what Gonzaga should remain, first and foremost, a beacon of higher learning. As much as I love the success on court, it is secondary. Once there is a higher emphasis on basketball first we are doing a disservice to the young men that come to our institution.

[ZagMan in Philly]

The last five years have been pretty good among the Elites



Villanova: 165-21 (2 titles, 2 Final Fours)
Gonzaga: 161-25 (1 Final Four)
Kentucky: 152-38 (1 Final Four)
Kansas: 147-37 (1 Final Four)
Duke: 143-41 (1 title, 1 Final Four)
North Carolina: 142-47 (1 title, 2 Final Fours)

[ZagsObserver]

Jazz, I’ll challenge by saying that given the conference it is, in fact, the toughest of the four accomplishments. Recruiting top talent for that long, without any significant rebuilding years, in a conference that does not appeal to top recruits is amazing. It’s inprecedented. Winning 10 first round games is a close second.

Since we rarely even hear about the 4th accomplishment in the poll, and since only the rabid sports fan from other universities would hold this knowledge, this one has to be last even though we can be proud of it as a university.

[willandi]