r/CollegeBasketball • u/JPtheAC Gonzaga Bulldogs • 1d ago
Discussion Is Gonzaga’s window closing?
Let me preface by saying that I am a Gonzaga Alum and avid fan of the program. I’m positive most of Gonzaga’s fan base will blast me for even asking this question but I wanted to present this question here with a more national college fan base. Is Gonzaga’s window closing in the modern NIL era?
Historically, the program was built with underdog under recruited players who developed. Then they were early to the Euro recruiting pipeline and were also early adopters of the transfer portal. Doing this they were able to develop players in their system and add in talent where needed. Then they started getting the 5 star one and done type prospects and that’s when they were finally able to make 2 Final 4s.
Now in the new NIL era they have missed out on the high end recruits and seemingly some of the transfers as well. They are losing more of their own recruits to the portal and every year feels like a hodge podge roster now. The rest of college basketball has caught up to their recruiting strategy and I don’t see how a small Jesuit University can compete with a large State school NIL collective.
Personally I point to losing Tommy Lloyd as part of the reason why Gonzaga is losing recruits, but I also think there is a NIL money issue as well. I don’t think they can pay what others can. I’m not sure moving to the Pac12 helps in that regard. So.. is their window closing ?
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u/AuspiciousOtter24 Illinois Fighting Illini 1d ago
In this era of college basketball it’s kinda hard to say any window is closing. Hell we’ve got BYU paying kids millions of dollars to play one season of basketball
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u/Prideofmexico Oklahoma State Cowboys • Kentucky Wi… 1d ago
They have a billionaire donor
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u/mrwhitaker3 /r/CollegeBasketball 1d ago
And the LDS church behind them.
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u/Kundrew1 Utah State Aggies 1d ago
For the sports programs, sure.
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u/lolOpisasnowflake Louisville Cardinals 1d ago
This is a genuine question, does the religious aspect of BYU makes fans more or less hardcore about the school?
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u/JPtheAC Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
That’s my point. Gonzaga can’t pay on that level.
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u/definitelynotasalmon Eastern Washington Eagles… 1d ago
Gonzaga has firmly cemented itself as “Spokane’s sport team”.
Between HoopFest and Gonzaga, Spokane is a full fledged basketball town with more than enough support. That and Northern Quest Casino alone can probably keep at least 3 starters happy on NIL payments.
With the new conference and Gonzaga getting a full share without needing to support an FBS football program, I would say your set even in the Post-Mark Few era. It will be one of, if not the top non P5 job.
And probably still a better job than many P5 programs.
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u/Penihilism Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
They don't need to and Gonzaga has never been great because they got the top prospects. Holmgren and Suggs were more flukes than anything. You're just being doomer without actually looking at the reality.
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u/MontlakeViews 1d ago
The landscape of the sport is changing. This isn’t about landing “top” players anymore, but any high major-caliber player who can be a starter or rotation player on an NCAA tourney caliber team will expect to be paid competitively. You’re not going to get D1 players at all unless you have a $2m+ payroll. Why would anyone turn down a six figure salary and a starting spot on a team just for coaching?
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u/Penihilism Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
Then why are we getting high quality D1 players still?
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u/MontlakeViews 1d ago
Schools haven’t started paying players directly yet. I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes, but I assume at the moment whatever NIL deals your players are getting, if any, are comparable to their alternative options.
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u/MontlakeViews 1d ago
That could always change.
Players will go after two things: money and coaching. Many players will pick NIL money or school direct pay over coaching these days, that’s just how it is. But Gonzaga actually will have an advantage over the schools that sponsor football because under the House settlement the new $20.5m per school direct pay salary caps will allow basketball schools to pay their players more, since they’ll have fewer mouths to feed under the cap without a football team.
As for how NIL will fit into all of this, that’s still TBD. The power conferences say they’re planning to police NIL deals, but whether or not they can do so effectively or will drive NIL underground, and whether or not the salary caps change the incentives of NIL collectives all remains to be seen.
Schools can always lean on coaching prowess for recruiting, but unless they can offer a competitive salary/NIL to players who have other options from schools with good coaches, they will probably struggle to retain talent.
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u/vikinick Gonzaga Bulldogs • West Coast 1d ago
BYU also has like 35k undergrads while Gonzaga has like 4k. BYU has alumni money like some of the bigger state schools while Gonzaga is one of the smaller schools in tournament contention every year (St. Mary's has it worse -- about half our size).
Another factor is that BYU has way more fans because of its size -- but also because of football. All these schools have D1 football teams where they can attract local fans.
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u/Gtyjrocks Georgia Bulldogs 16h ago
Not having football also goes the other way though. You don’t have to pay 85 dudes to play football, you can just put all the money into basketball. Especially with yall getting a full share of the PAC 12 revenue sharing.
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u/StlCyclone Iowa State Cyclones • Big 12 1d ago
Especially since they can revenue share very heavy on hoops with no football.
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u/Pantsmith-33 Virginia Cavaliers 1d ago
Mark Few is still there, so no
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u/Hoodoo47 Purdue Boilermakers 1d ago
Mark Few is probably the window, they will be fine until he retires.
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u/Shepherdsfavestore Purdue Boilermakers 1d ago
How I feel about Painter too tbh
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u/saxman162 Maine Black Bears 1d ago
Nope. In about 10 years PJ Thompson will become the next coach for 30+ years to carry on the program success!
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u/bigboatsandgoats Indiana Hoosiers 1d ago
As long as the next coach has the same Painter program philosophy yall will be fine. I envy the fact that Painter values Indiana/midwest kids and wants to develop/build them in the program. IU seems to badly want the flashy recruit or transfer lately from the national prep school.
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u/Shepherdsfavestore Purdue Boilermakers 1d ago
It’s looking like PJ Thompson, if you remember him, is being groomed by Paint to be the next coach. I’d guess he’ll get a coaching job elsewhere at some point, then return to Purdue. My fear is being left behind in terms of NIL/funding as Purdue puts more donation money into academics than athletics
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u/bigboatsandgoats Indiana Hoosiers 23h ago
You’ll continue to pull in the Fletcher Loyer and TKR types though imo. Hell even Braden Smith types. You might just start losing some players their senior years. Seems like Painter, and hopefully Thompson too, wants players that want to play his style and succeed more than get paid, as evident by his “who fucking cares” attitude when Elijah Crawford dipped out.
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u/whydidijointhis Washington Huskies 1d ago
after all these NCAA tourney appearances he can rename himself Mark Many
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u/SquadPoopy Florida Gators 1d ago
Gonzaga has not missed the tournament since 1997 so I’m gonna say no they’re fine
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u/DukeBlueDevils4Life Duke Blue Devils 1d ago
As long as Mark Few is still at the helm, not a chance. He’ll always keep Gonzaga nationally relevant
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u/windypalmtree Arizona Wildcats • Big 12 1d ago
He’ll be 63 in December
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u/Spicy_Josh Washington State Cougars 1d ago
We don't have the numbers yet, but you guys are receiving a full share of the Pac-12's media rights deal. That essentially guarantees you'll be making Big East (or more) money moving forward without having to pay for football like the rest of us.
The conference also adopted an "eat what you kill" policy where schools will retain 50% of their NCAA tournament units. So, each game you play is an additional $1 million (distributed over 6 years) that doesn't have to be shared.
If you've been keeping up with the commentary about how well the Big East is set up for success in the revenue sharing era, the same thing will apply to you guys. I really wouldn't be concerned.
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u/LetsGetPenisy69 Marquette Golden Eagles 1d ago
It's absolutely astonishing to me that the new Pac is giving Gonzaga (effectively) football + basketball money. If that's actually the case, they got the deal of a lifetime.
No doubt, Gonzaga is a national brand with a decent alumni base. It's the only sport in town - like Creighton, so they get plenty of local love and attention. That said, if the Pac gets less than $7.2mm/year per school (that's Big East bball money) for football + basketball, that would be a MASSIVE overpayment to a school that doesn't have to field a football team nor foot any of the other costs to keep up with the football arms race.
What an incredibly short-sighted decision. I expect Gonzaga to be good if not great for a long time, but paying for basketball AND football without having to actually field a football team is a massive overpayment.
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u/Practical-Garbage258 Omaha Mavericks 1d ago
Nah. Helps when you’re joining the Pac 12 next year too. They’ll still be a factor.
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u/Drewbdu North Carolina Tar Heels 1d ago
I don’t really see how this matters. The only two schools left in the PAC-12 are the two schools no one wanted (and OSU and WSU even admitted this). It’s just a new brand for the MWC.
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u/Penihilism Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
I mean it's going to be a very good basketball conference. Not P6, but not too far off. A significant upgrade for Gonzaga in terms of schedule because only 3 - 4 WCC schools per year are even competitive.
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u/blackfishfilet Houston Cougars 1d ago
I’m sorry but the new PAC 12 is still going to be far from from the high majors.
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u/Penihilism Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
If the future PAC 12 teams were in the same conference this year, they would've had 4 teams in the tournament, which is the same as the ACC did. Plus since there's less teams in the PAC 12 you are playing all the good teams twice.
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u/Drewbdu North Carolina Tar Heels 1d ago
This is a down year for the ACC though.
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u/_Apatosaurus_ Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
The person above said the new PAC will be far below the high majors. I think if it's as good as a "high major having a down year", it's not a huge gap.
The Big East had 5, ACC had 4, and the future PAC had 4. I just don't think that's an enormous difference. Lol.
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u/Drewbdu North Carolina Tar Heels 1d ago
It’s debatable where the conferences actually stand in the modern landscape of CBB. The SEC had 14 teams in and the B1G and Big 12 had 8 and 7 respectively. It’s unclear if this is just an outlier or if this is the new normal, but if it’s the new normal, then perhaps the ACC and Big East aren’t really “high majors” anymore.
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u/ibew369 Louisville Cardinals 1d ago
acc has deeper pockets, this is a historically bad year for the conference but not the new normal. in todays game money talks and i dont know how to new pac-12 keeps up but hopefully they can.
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u/Penihilism Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
Magoon Gwath decided to take less money and stay at SDSU because he loves it there. As they've always done, the good programs in the PAC-12 will recruit and retain talent based on how they build their culture and their ability to develop players better than a school who can pay for a year of play, but might not be good for a player's future.
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u/OddMarsupial8963 Purdue Boilermakers • NC State Wolfpack 1d ago
Still a way better conference than the wcc
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u/ManBearJewLion California Golden Bears • Loyola… 1d ago
A more important factor there is that Gonzaga is reportedly getting a full share in the PAC-12 despite not having a football program.
That will allow them to allocate around the same amount of resources into basketball as the higher end P5 programs.
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u/alittledanger Boise State Broncos 1d ago
Yes. You will be looking up at the mighty Boise State Broncos in the standings every year once you join the PAC!
/s
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u/NCResident5 Davidson Wildcats 1d ago
There is some thought that after this US House anti-trust settlement that there may be more NIL. 2 or 3 year contracts could be legalized. It sounds like there will also be a NIL cap.
It does seem that this structure may be better for mid majors and teams not in a Power 4 football conference.
I heard this mostly on the tony kornheiser podcast with Jay Bilas as a guest.
Show title was I Was Useless.
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u/FitReception3550 Villanova Wildcats 1d ago
Nawh I could see some smaller schools in your shoes worried about sustaining success because of NIL but Mark Few always been about development. Suggs was his first ever 5 ⭐️
Chet was the only other one ever and look how much success Few had all while prior to NIL Duke, Kentucky, etc. we’re bringing in an entire roster of 5 stars. I think it was just a down year.
As long as Few is there you’re good. Unfortunately idk I can have the same optimism for my wildcats with Jay gone now.
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u/SaxRohmer Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
chet also came because of suggs since they played together lol. people forget that our recruiting history is not long and illustrious. highly rated recruits are not the norm. this program has always been built on multi-year players and transfers
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u/FitReception3550 Villanova Wildcats 1d ago
Yeah I agree. Y’all should be fine and honestly if you don’t get matched up with Houston you prolly make at the very least a sweet 16 run.
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u/SaxRohmer Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
yeah it’s not over until it’s over. i’ve seen this thread multiple times the last several years. this team was just really disappointing though. should’ve been competing for a top seed all year but just couldn’t figure out close games despite returning so much experience. a clean slate may do well for it
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u/FitReception3550 Villanova Wildcats 1d ago
Yeah time to worry will be when Few retires but for now just enjoy a legend cause I’d give anything to have Jay for one more year.
I’ll be pulling for the Zags as long as they ain’t playing Nova haha. Want to see the mid majors sustain success in the NIL era.
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u/SaxRohmer Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
we thankfully have a pretty dedicated fanbase with some good opportunities even if they aren’t on the same level as the high majors. helps that gonzaga is kind of the only game in town
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u/Usual_Zombie6765 1d ago
House settlement will be great for schools that don’t have FBS football. Big East and Gonzaga should take over the sport.
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u/ManBearJewLion California Golden Bears • Loyola… 1d ago
Gonzaga is also getting a full share in a conference that has football (despite not having a football program).
That should be about $10 million/year in media shares, most of which they can allocate to basketball.
That will put them in a really good spot nationally for basketball resources.
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u/MontlakeViews 1d ago
We’ll see. I agree it’ll be helpful for schools to be competitive with school-funded salaries, but NIL is still a total wild card and football schools will still have deep pocketed NIL collectives that might be interested in bankrolling basketball even if the school itself is spending its salary cap more on football.
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u/Usual_Zombie6765 1d ago
They are making an NIL board that reviews NIL deals and makes sure it is fair market value for actual advertising and not under the table pay for play.
They are trying to set up a professional model where you follow the salary cap or the league drops the hammer on you.
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u/MontlakeViews 1d ago
Like I said, we’ll see if this is enforceable. The NCAA doesn’t have enforcement authority over NIL, and the power conferences, like the NCAA before them, won’t have subpoena power when they try to regulate NIL, and they too, could end up subject to lawsuits over their determinations of what “legitimate” NIL deals are. We’ll see if they have any practical way of forcing players to disclose their deals to them. If an athlete gets paid more than $600, what incentives do they have for reporting that to the conference?
See: https://www.espn.com/college-sports/story/_/id/44491912/ncaa-nil-pay-play-house-settlement
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u/Usual_Zombie6765 1d ago
The salary cap and the NIL restrictions are both pretty clear violations of labor law. So this is definitely going back to court.
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u/MontlakeViews 1d ago
Yeah, it’s still in court, technically. The court in the House case hasn’t signed off on the settlement yet, and there are hundreds of players who opted out of the settlement who just brought a new case against the conferences a few weeks ago.
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u/JackieDaytona7460 Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
We'll be fine if Ike, Huff and venters return. Then we just need a high scoring 2 (please Malik Thomas), one 4 and a backup point guard. Three transfers isn't crazy considering some teams lose almost their entire roster to the portal
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u/muddog_31 Illinois Fighting Illini 1d ago
I’d rather have a great coach than a $2 million player…ask Washington, Kansas (twice), KSU, etc.
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u/KaleidoscopeHour3148 Dayton Flyers 1d ago
No but I think the window has shrunk a bit. There’s going to be a lot more power teams out there as freshman/sophomores leave mid major schools to go get paid by the B10/SEC/ACC.
I have already accepted that if we have a player breakout they won’t stay the next year, even with the school saying they’ll be competitive with NIL spend. It’s just the way it is now.
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u/BobsBug65 Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
Yep. Assume you got great coaching and you make mediocre players great. Then they leave for the $$$. What great player cares about their education? Those are the only players that might hang around but I think that's a small group. It is a mess.
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u/Scrubbing_Bubbles_ Arizona Wildcats 1d ago
It's tough to develop players with NIL. At Arizona, Tommy's had several international players stick around for a year or two, only to transfer for more playing time/some more NIL money at a different school.
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u/Deathwatch72 1d ago
I don't necessarily want to say their window is closing so much as the fundamental landscape of college basketball is changing. I think we're just going to see less and less of a place for successful teams that are built on largely recruiting and developing their own players for several years and we're going to see a shift to schools that are good at recruiting and developing young players and then we're going to see some of your bigger name programs focusing more on elite transfers and extremely good young recruits that they don't need to develop.
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u/Round-Ad3684 1d ago
Part of their success was getting the autobid every year in an extremely weak conference, then getting noticed in the tournament, then snowballing that into recruiting better players, more success, etc. It’s not easy to do, but it would have been a lot harder in a real conference. Now that they’re going to be playing in a good conference, I would expect some regression. They’ll have a lot more competition during the season and won’t have as favorable seeding when they get there.
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u/Wigger_Jay_Bilas Kansas Jayhawks 1d ago edited 1d ago
For what it’s worth y’all did way better than us in March last year, and did great this year. I’ll try and be as honest as possible without coming off like an asshole. I really do like Gonzaga and I love the way they’ve always recruited. Gonzaga’s NBA resume of the past two decades is INSANLEY impressive.
There’s something about Gonzaga that has always viscerally pissed me off though and it’s entirely just about the WCC. Gonzaga needs a way more consistent, higher level schools to compete against year in year out for conference play. I feel like once the conference realignments became absolutely schizophrenic over a decade ago, Gonzaga should’ve moved heaven and earth to go as far east possible as soon as possible. BYU’s Mormon asses just made it to the BIG 12 so hell why not Gonzaga? I get that it’s not on the table but damn man I don’t get why Gonzaga went PAC 12 at all.
The good news though is that maybe now more than ever with the pure chaos of the NIL portal era none of this matters at all. I do think Gonzaga moving forward needs to have a real plan for adapting but I don’t think your guys window will ever be gone. Also the private college thing is always a huge leg up for $. I just think literally any other conference would’ve would’ve been ideal for development long term. Also I could just be entirely wrong but yeah I’ve felt strongly about you guys for a while now
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u/Brontards Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
No football is why no one would take Gonzaga before. And their strength of schedule the last ten years or so has been good given that limitation, by scheduling a grueling non conference schedule.
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u/ccam0821 Texas Longhorns • Illinois Fighting Illini 1d ago
They finished 8 on kenpom. They lost to a final 4 team. Gonzaga basketball is not over lol
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u/2PacTookMyLunchMoney UConn Huskies • Missouri Tigers 1d ago
As long as Mark Few is there, I think Gonzaga will likely always have a window.
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u/Abject-Term7973 Wake Forest Demon Deacons 1d ago
They’ll be fine. I don’t think losing to no.1 seed Houston in a close game was such a bad thing. Besides, the Zags are always able to rope in good talent and make a run.
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u/kublakhan1816 Houston Cougars 1d ago
I wish our programs would do a home-and-home. To your question, I don’t think anyone knows what the long term impact is for NIL. We can only hope and worry.
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u/CaptainKoreana Notre Dame Fighting Irish 1d ago
Way too early in the day to read something like 'Is Gonzaga Joever???', man.
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u/thrasher315 1d ago
Is Mark Few still their coach? If so the window is still wide open.
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u/LE0NP0WE 1d ago
Few is the barrier. The dude is a shit game day coach that was able to outathlete people because they recruited well with Tommy around.
THAT Gonzaga is gone and the program is on the slide
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u/DHiL Houston Cougars 1d ago
No. Mark Few is amazing. I can only speak from my experience watching a similar coach and program develop unheralded or underappreciated kids, but Houston turned a long list of these types into absolute monsters in college and the NBA. I think Gonzaga continues to be great.
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u/LE0NP0WE 1d ago
You’re confusing Few with Tommy Lloyd. Few in most years is a bottom half game day coach in the WCC. And the recruiting was a Tommy thing. As long as Few remains they will not be a major factor in the tournament. Once Few retires they COULD get back to the pre-COVID level Zags if they hire a competent coach.
But the myth that Few is the Gonzaga program is just hilarious
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u/DHiL Houston Cougars 1d ago
I mean he’s won a lot at a small school in fucking Spokane.
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u/LE0NP0WE 1d ago
I can’t speak for 2020s but back in the teens they were a top-25 budget in college basketball. It’s the LSU of college basketball… there is NOTHING up there. Gonzaga and meth is all they have up there. Just like LSU
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u/DonJuniorsEmails 1d ago
Zags were known to be insanely underseeded, although the committee was right about Louisville, the west coast still suffers a little late TV bias
There are enough players all over, the international recruiting will continue, shooting improving, frosh always surprise
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u/Fearghas Gonzaga Bulldogs • Arizona Wildcats 1d ago
We weren't really underseeded though. On paper the team was Sweet 16/Elite 8 caliber, but things never really clicked for most of the year. Three point shooting, defensive rotations, sometimes straight up effort were all lacking at various points during the season. If we had played every game like the second half against Houston or the first half against Kentucky we would have seeded higher. Unfortunately that didn't happen and we lost several very winnable games.
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u/dcbayern Virginia Cavaliers • Duke Blue Devils 1d ago
Was the committee right about Louisville? Creighton was also underseeded
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u/TheCzar11 1d ago
If that’s the case, it’s been closing for 25 years. lol. I still remember waiting to go home for Spring Break watching Calvary get a putback against Virginia for the win. Ughhh
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u/KCShadows838 Missouri Tigers 1d ago
Is NIL even that big of a deal for CBB? Look at the Final Four; only 1 Blue Blood
I think everyone will be fine
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u/distichus_23 1d ago
I don’t think a college program’s window can really close unless they fail the head coach succession plan
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u/Patient_Bad5862 1d ago
The 2.8 billion house V’s NCAA should help on the NIL front. I think the next 2 or 3 years will tell us a lot about the Zags ability to stay relevant. I don’t think it’s over but it’s going to require more work.
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u/RealisticNecessary50 Northern Iowa Panthers 1d ago
Schools like Gonzaga are going to be in better shape imo, they don't have to share the house settlement money with football.
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u/joshtothe Michigan Wolverines 1d ago
You guys got the consensus 1OA prospect (Chet) like what, three years ago?
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u/WeenisWrinkle Clemson Tigers 1d ago
I’m positive most of Gonzaga’s fan base will blast me for even asking this question but I wanted to present this question
As they should.
Have some respect for Mark Few, one of the best coaches of all time. He's seen a lot of changes since 1999.
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u/JPtheAC Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago edited 1d ago
Most people are taking this post the wrong way. Did I say the window is closed? NO. Did I saw Few sucks and should retire? NO. What I am saying is the basketball landscape has changed and the avenues where Gonzaga thrived in getting players has changed and are they equipped to afford to compete in the new NIL era. Recent evidence suggests maybe no. And there are actual Gonzaga fans on this thread and in my life who have asked this question.
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u/Landmark916 Michigan State Spartans 1d ago
I think Gonzaga is a great program obviously but given what happened this year I'm not sure what would need to happen for them to miss the tournament.
So as long as that perception of their program remains they will provably always have a window.
I mean they won zero games of any relevance this year and were still easily in the tournament before winning their tournament. Definition of having a name brand..
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u/BroDoc22 NC State Wolfpack 15h ago
I’ve followed the zags since I was a kid and I was liked them. As I grew up I realized they definitely have a certain archetype that makes it hard to be dominant in the tournament. Reminds me a lot of UVA under Bennett with a little more flash. I think their best shot was the recent loss to UNC. But they blew that. They might need to sit down and hit reset on their style of play. They’ve always been historically an incredible reg season team who’s well coached that dominated conf play and then has a decent run just to ultimately lose. It’s time to fix this problem at the stem (recruiting and style) if they wanna survive in the NIL era. Oh and money.
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u/Brakster17 8h ago
I doubt it. If anything the basketball only/first schools should be able to stay pretty close to all but the richest P4 football schools in basketball spending as they aren’t having to spend a shit ton on football.
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u/CreamiusTheDreamiest Temple Owls • Atlantic 10 1d ago
Didn’t Gonzaga get great by indirectly paying European kids to play for them? Now everyone does that
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u/SaxRohmer Gonzaga Bulldogs 1d ago
everyone has been doing it for a while. lloyd was really the first guy on it but the bones of this program largely have been multi-year players and transfers. just finding hidden gems wherever they are or good mid major players
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u/8YearHiatus Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors 1d ago
I love the Zags but they just can’t get to their full potential year after year. They should have a national championship looking back over the last couple years. The caliber of players they’ve had was insane. I’d kill for my school to have that kind of pull on recruits like they’ve had. I hope they can get some transfers to step in keep them in contention as a program but every year passes it gets harder for them in this market. Once Few retires it’ll be even tougher to bounce back unless they can make a splash name hire. I view them as the Villanova of the west. We’ll see what they can do this offseason but don’t be surprised if they lose a few extra games next season they would normally win I can feel the small decline immanent unless they can open up more check books for guys from their future money allocation with the Pac-12 rights
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u/mcbuckets5953 1d ago
Zags will be fine. They probably wont be able to stash talent and develop like they have in the past but nobody will. Guys are guna go where they can play and get paid.
This makes me wonder though. For teams that are second tier as far as NIL goes…do you think there will be any teams that save up and go all in some years and not others? Like lets say final four rosters are typically running about $10M but school A only has $6M in NIL. Does school A ever say forget this year we will spend $12M next year?
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u/Dalasbob 1d ago
Closing?? It's closed. Unless they go to a power conference. They won't get to keep their best players for 3-4 years anymore.
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u/Caca_Face420 Texas Tech Red Raiders 1d ago
Gonzaga needs to get with the times. They need to join a conference. I have more faith Gonzaga will figure out the NIL environment than NC
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u/Bigbossbyu BYU Cougars • Arizona Wildcats 1d ago
Yes and no. With Mark Few still there ya’ll are fine.
You’re also getting a full share of Pac 12 revenue. Might be like $10 million/yr, way less than the power leagues but that’s a huge jump from the WCC.
Gonzaga will still be Gonzaga as long as Few is there. Even when he’s gone ya’ll are still probably a tournament team every year, but getting to a Final 4 will be a completely different beast without Few.
Hell we’ve never made a Final 4 in like 30 tournament appearances
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u/MiddleRay Michigan State Spartans 1d ago
I 100% agree OP. A traditional D1 school graduates 7x more people per year than Gonzaga. By numbers alone, their donor pool is tiny. Players go to the money.
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u/dcbayern Virginia Cavaliers • Duke Blue Devils 1d ago
??? What does your anecdotal, speculative account of a Duke fan and the Duke program have to do with whether Gonzaga’s window is closing?
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u/hillko00 Northwestern Wildcats • WashU Bears 1d ago
>misses the sweet sixteen once after losing to a one seed
it's never been more over