Gonzaga's WCC Departure: An Unlikely Farewell Without Celebration

As the Gonzaga Bulldogs prepare to exit the West Coast Conference, rivals reflect on an era of unparalleled dominance that paradoxically brought both frustration and unexpected benefits to the league.

The Improbable Rise of a Basketball Behemoth

In the early 1990s, the future of the Gonzaga men’s basketball team appeared bleak, at least according to its then-coach, Dan Fitzgerald. Dan Monson, then a young assistant, now chuckles at the memory of Fitzgerald lamenting the Sisyphean task of building a successful program in Spokane, Washington. Fitzgerald, who passed away in 2010, frequently outlined the formidable challenges to Monson and fellow assistant Mark Few: a remote campus, harsh weather, and a near-absence of basketball tradition outside of alumnus John Stockton made recruiting a constant struggle against rivals in more prominent cities like San Diego, San Francisco, Portland, and Los Angeles. "He'd tell Mark and I all the time that Gonzaga is the worst job in the West Coast Conference," Monson recently recalled.

Today, such a notion seems absurd. This week, Gonzaga extended its remarkable streak to 27 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, a run surpassed only by Kansas and Michigan State. The Bulldogs also secured their 17th consecutive opening-round victory. Under head coach Mark Few, who took over after Monson’s departure for a larger conference job, Gonzaga has competed in two national championship games and amassed an astonishing 56-6 record in the West Coast Conference tournament. This sustained success has positioned Gonzaga as arguably the most dominant force over a conference in college basketball history. Monson often receives calls from coaches and administrators seeking advice on how to emulate Gonzaga's improbable journey. "It’s just such a unique, unbelievable story in sports, let alone basketball," noted Bill Grier, a Colorado assistant who began his career on Gonzaga's staff before coaching WCC rival San Diego. WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson affirmed to NBC News that it is "a journey unlike any college program in the country."

A Conference Overshadowed

While the Zags transformed into a national brand synonymous with March Madness, most of their WCC counterparts struggled to gain similar traction. The conference frequently earned only one NCAA Tournament berth per season, almost invariably claimed by Gonzaga. Teams like Loyola Marymount (1990), Portland (1996), Pepperdine (2002), and San Diego (2008) have endured a generation or more since their last appearance in March Madness. Santa Clara’s tournament berth this year marked its first since 1996.

Life within the WCC meant acknowledging a harsh reality. "One of those [NCAA Tournament] bids are going to go to Gonzaga. They’re going to go because they’re just a powerhouse," said Gyno Pomare, a former San Diego big man from 2005 to 2009. "But the only other way to get there is winning the tournament." While San Diego, led by Pomare and coached by Grier, achieved this feat in 2008, and San Francisco in 1998, they remain exceptions. Since 1998, Gonzaga has secured the WCC tournament title and its automatic NCAA berth 22 times, with Saint Mary’s accounting for the other four. Gonzaga’s most recent tournament victory was its 12th in the past 14 years. As Phil Matthews, San Francisco’s coach in 1998, succinctly put it, "You had some excellent coaches in that league... and it was a fight for second place." Coach Few, reflecting on his team's consistent performance, stated after their latest conference title win, "We haven’t missed an NCAA Tournament and we won games in the NCAA Tournament, so that’s, I think, far and away the legacy that I’m most proud of."

The Paradox of Departure

This summer, the long shadow Gonzaga cast over the rest of the WCC will finally recede as the Bulldogs depart for the reconstituted Pac-12 Conference. One might anticipate a collective cheer from a conference long starved for broader NCAA Tournament exposure, celebrating the exit of a basketball behemoth. However, the prevailing sentiment among rivals is surprisingly nuanced. The article concludes that Gonzaga’s transformation into a perennial top-10 team brought relevance and revenue to the rest of the West Coast Conference, suggesting an unexpected benefit from enduring the Bulldogs' reign.

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