West Virginia coach Bob Huggins thinks Gonzaga would face ‘awakening’ in Big 12
Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is intent on expanding the conference’s footprint.
The latest example of his expansion desires came this week when ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Gonzaga has had talks with the Big 12 about joining the conference. The Athletic said those talks were “all exploratory right now,” and added Gonzaga also had spoken with the Pac-12 and Big East.
Gonzaga doesn’t have a football team, but the basketball program has been a powerhouse with two NCAA Tournament championship game appearances since 2017.
Since the 2000-01 season, Gonzaga has won or tied for all but one West Coast Conference championship, and the Bulldogs have won nine of the last 10 conference tournaments.
But West Virginia coach Bob Huggins thinks Gonzaga would find life is much more difficult in the Big 12.
“I would think it would be a tremendous awakening for Gonzaga to get in this league and play who we play day after day,” Huggins told reporters Thursday. “I think it would be a tremendous awakening. You don’t get to make your own schedule in the Big 12.”
Huggins later talked about the continuing conference alignment and how much things have changed. That includes at West Virginia.
When Huggins took over as the Mountaineers’ coach in 2007, the school was in the Big East Conference.
“I was watching Pitt play and I was thinking about the Big East. Back in the Big East days, it was different,” Huggins told reporters, per WVNews.com. “Fans could jump in a car and go to a game. All that is changing. You can’t drive here, you can’t drive to Philadelphia.
“People drove to New York then to see us play. Think of the people we had at the Big East Tournament. You don’t have that in this league (Big 12). It’s good and bad. ... It was great for the fans to be able to drive, but I think it’s great for the fans because this league is going to be an incredible league when the commissioner gets done with it.”
Oklahoma and Texas will leave the Big 12 in 2025, and Huggins believes it will change what sport is king in the Big 12.
“This going to be even more of a basketball league,” Huggins told WVNews. “There’s no doubt about that. This football driving the train thing; that train is slowing down. The basketball thing is just starting to kick up. Somebody said Gonzaga coming into the league ... with that he can go lure the best. It makes it exciting.”
