July 1, 2026, was a monumental day in the Gonzaga Bulldogs’ history as their athletic department officially joined the revamped Pac-12 Conference along with six other new members (plus the Washington State Cougars and Oregon State Beavers).
This will positively affect all 16 men’s and women’s varsity sports in Spokane, Washington. It will be the first time ever that all sports at the Pacific Northwest institution will have postseason tournaments within their conference.
Speaking of tournaments, the Pac-12 announced that the men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Under the tutelage of Commissioner Teresa Gould, the two-year contract will span both the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons.
Next season’s tournaments will take place from March 9 through 13, a day before Selection Sunday. The top two seeds will receive double byes straight to the semifinals. The third and fourth seeds will receive a bye to the quarterfinals. Very similar to how the West Coast Conference Tournament was run at the Orleans Arena in Sin City.
Not to mention the 100-percent media share that Gonzaga will receive as a full-time member of the Pac-12, despite not having a football program. Under contract, the three television networks that will be airing the conference’s sporting events exclusively are CBS Sports, USA Sports, and CW Sports.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on X @a_cravalho
