What does the future of college athletics hold for Gonzaga? ‘You've got to keep an eye on everything’

With more change on the horizon in college athletics, the gap between power conferences and non-FBS leagues is widening

Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

As Big 12 presidents and athletic directors consider conference commissioner Brett Yormark’s plan to add UConn to the league, it appears the next wave of conference realignment is inevitable — at some point — in the coming future. 

“I do think there’s gonna be more conference realignment over these next couple of years as NIL continues to flush out a little bit more,” former Gonzaga men’s basketball All-American Dan Dickau said. “That conversation changes literally every three months if not quicker than that.”

There’s never a timetable on when the next school will change conference affiliation, but count on football and TV networks to be behind almost every move. With the exception of UConn, which would have to make some financial commitments to its football program before it could have the opportunity to join the Big 12 no sooner than 2031. The school’s other Olympic sports would join as early as 2026.

The reservations about Huskies football from some of the Big 12 leaders put into perspective how they might’ve felt about potentially adding Gonzaga when Yormark brought the idea to their attention around this time a year ago. Any school that moves to the Big 12 without football in the picture won’t receive the full $31.7 million the rest of the league members will make in revenue from the conference’s lucrative TV contract. Hence why UConn will need to make more commitments to its struggling football program, which has a 10-27 record over the past three seasons as one of the last two independent FBS teams in the country (Notre Dame).

As a non-football school, a move to a power conference from Gonzaga would be historic. Though it seems unlikely for now, never say never in this era of college athletics.

“If you’re Gonzaga’s athletic department, head coach Mark Few and staff, you've got to keep an eye on everything,” Dickau said. “If things tend to start moving in the direction that if you’re not in a power conference, you could get left behind, well then you’re gonna have to make a decision. You definitely don’t want to be on the outside looking in.”

For now, the reality is the Bulldogs are invested members of the West Coast Conference. Talks with the Big 12 died down once the WCC added Grand Canyon and Seattle as full-time members starting in 2025-26 (a move that received full support from Gonzaga according to conference commissioner Stu Jackson). While the Big East has been in the mix in the past, there’s a whole mess of things to work through in regard to the league’s TV contract with Fox, which reportedly is not in favor of UConn joining the Big 12. 

“I would imagine that the powers that be — the commissioners within the leagues — are still actively keeping an eye on Gonzaga’s situation, as they should be,” Dickau said.

Dickau shared more of his thoughts on the latest conference realignment rumors and much more on a new Gonzaga Nation episode.

WATCH THE FULL EPISODE BELOW:

Produced by Christian Pedersen.

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