Conference realignment update: Gonzaga officially joins Pac-12 as Teresa Gould's conference gets to 8 member schools
The Pac-12 has added another school in conference realignment. The conference has officially added Gonzaga, which brings the conference to eight members. However, Gonzaga will only count for basketball.
According to ESPN college sports insider Pete Thamel, Gonzaga has agreed to join the Pac-12 in the latest college sports conference realignment.
Gonzaga has been linked to the Pac-12 for quite some time now, and the school has officially decided to join the new-look conference. But, with Gonzaga just being basketball, the Pac-12 still needs another football-playing member for CFP purposes.
However, adding Gonzaga helps strengthen the Pac-12's basketball conference as the school has been one of the most dominant basketball programs in recent memory. Gonzaga was also expected to receive a full conference revenue share, according to Brett McMurphy of the Action Network.
The Pac-12 has added Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Colorado State, and Utah State to the existing members of Oregon State and Washington State.
Pac-12 commissioner says there is interest in the conference
After the Pac-12 was decimated by college football realignment, new commissioner Teresa Gould was focused on rebuilding the conference. Gould has since landed six new schools in conference realignment and she says there has been plenty of interest from others too.
“The interest in the Pac-12 as a brand, and the interest in the future conference that we’re going to create and build is very, very high across a lot of different stakeholders,” Gould told On3.
“Whether it’s potential media partners, whether it’s other corporate partners, institutions from other conferences, there’s just a lot of buzz and a lot of energy and a lot of interest in what we’re doing moving forward.”
Gould and the Pac-12 still need to add more schools on the football side if the conference is going to go back to a Power 5 conference. But, the latest addition of Gonzaga helps boost the overall athletics of the new-look Pac-12.