Big 12 Expansion Looks Towards Gonzaga

After a year-long effort that saw the Pac-12 fail to win a television rights contract and expand, the league is currently on track to cease to exist in just a few months. The Big 12 expansion will welcome four additional programs to the conference starting with the 2019–20 season.

In terms of Utah, they will be joining Colorado, the two Arizona Pac-12 programs, and the Big 12 in 2024. According to rumors, a conference that will add eight new members over the course of two years may also be looking to add another member.

The Big 12 is seriously considering including Gonzaga as a men’s basketball member in either 2024 or 2025, according to Brett McMurphy of Action Network. The Big 12 witnessed Stanford, Cal, and SMU join the ACC at a reduced rate in terms of how much money they will receive from the conference’s media rights pact, which is thought to have prompted the decision to reopen talks with the Northwest powerhouse.

As McMurphy noted, the Big 12 had four clubs that were listed in the top 11 of the final AP Top 25 rankings last year: Kansas, Baylor, Houston, and fellow potential member Arizona. Including Gonzaga would increase the conference’s size to 17 teams, making the Big 12 home to five of the nation’s top 10 programs.