A basketball powerhouse may be joining the CU Buffs in the Big 12

Since leaving the Big 12 over a decade ago the Colorado Buffaloes under Tad Boyle have enjoyed their golden age of basketball.

Boulder is not historically a hotbed of hoops, but Boyle has kept the Buffs relevant for their entire stay in the Pac-12. Now CU boasts the top recruit in the country in Cody Williams and seems to be stepping their program up an even bigger level. Something that will likely be needed given Colorado will be joining some of the best basketball schools in the country next year when they re-join the Big 12. And that’s part of the design for Brett Yormark.

The Big 12 Commissioner has had a busy year and may not be done working, as the conference is close to adding the University of Gonzaga, according to college basketball insider Seth Davis.

The football-less school joining the major conference might seem odd at first, especially since Yormark said in August that realignment was over for the conference after they added Arizona, Arizona State and Utah. Though Yormark is a firm believer that college basketball is undervalued in their marketplace. He has gone as far as to say that the conference’s next media rights deal may negotiate football, basketball, and the rest of their sports separately.

Gonzaga would leave the West Coast Conference, where they’ve been since 19179, to join the Big 12 in baseball, women’s soccer, volleyball and men’s and women’s tennis, according to the Action Network.

The renewed push for Gonzaga was shared during last week’s Big 12 meetings in Dallas by Yormark. Before Colorado became the first Pac-12 school to bolt for the Big 12, the conference had been looking at Gonzaga and UConn as adds just for basketball. The move for the Bulldogs would come in 2024-25 with a decision expected in the next two weeks.

Houston, Cincinnati, BYU and UCF joined the group this year while the Pac-12 schools are coming in next year as Texas and Oklahoma leaves. A 17-school conference with locations in Orlando, Tucson, Spokane and Morgantown may be a bit challenging logistically.

Gonzaga would likely join the Big 12 at a discounted rate since they lack football, the same type of agreement that saw SMU get into the ACC.

But the Bulldogs could well make the conference a good buck. For each game a team plays in the tournament, the NCAA distributes approximately $2 million to that school’s conference, which is paid over six years. Gonzaga has made the dance in 24 straight seasons in which it has been played, getting to the national final twice.

Colorado could very well be squaring off regularly against five schools who all finished in in the top 11 of last year’s final AP Poll in Gonzaga, Kansas, Baylor, Houston and current foe Arizona. If the Buffaloes can keep up with the Joneses and stay the best they’ve ever been at basketball, it will be fascinating.

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