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Gonzaga AD Mike Roth Says Mega Conference Has Not Come Up In Talks With Mountain West
Looks like speculation has likely gotten the best of us all.
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Perhaps the only addition will be the Zags
Conference realignment has gotten the best of everyone from time to time, and that includes us here where we wrote multiple articles discussung hypothetical 14- or 16-team Mountain West.
According to Gonzaga athletics director Mike Roth, a mega conference is just people dreaming big.
Roth said media speculation regarding the Mountain West, which has 11 basketball members, expanding to 14 or 16 teams has never been brought up in his talks with commissioner Craig Thompson.
“It’s not a package deal” to the Mountain West, Holmoe told CBS Sports.
“[BTY AD] Tom [Holmoe] and I had a lot of discussions but not one time did our discussions end with Gonzaga and BYU,” Roth said. “… There’s never been a discussion between the Mountain West and somebody else joining us. I know there’s been some rumors out there. That’s not fair to Tom.”
A reason a 14-plus league was being mentioned in the first place is because from the orginal reporting on this issue, Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson said Gonzaga and five other teams were in communication about joining the Mountain West.
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With unnamed teams that brought in the speculation about how the jigsaw puzzle of football and non-football teams would work out.
At the end of the day, the easiest move is to bring in a basketball-only school, like Gonzaga, to give the Mountain West 12 teams on the hardwood. A potential move with the Zags to the Mountain West could come shortly after the Final Four and put them in the conference starting next season.
The BYU mention from Roth is not all that surprising either since the Cougars have not been talking with the Mountain West, but it is a fact that BYU would like to stay in a league with the Bulldogs for basketball.
It appears, for the time being, that a 16-team mid-major league out West is only going to be in the history books with the WAC;s 1996-98 seasons.