Not much going on with the WCC but with Seattle trying to get in and Denver an interesting fit, here's a place to discuss...

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Well I hope they add Seattle and Denver. If not that then Pacific and Seattle. UOP would have more schools in the area if they were in the WCC. (St.Mary's, USF, Santa Clara) Big West(UC Davis).

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I like the UOP idea but the are the founding member of their conferance which is BBall only already. Seatle and Denver are a good bet but Seatle must prove they are committed to D I

Seattle is a great fit, but yes, needs some time. But in the chicken or the egg scenario, a bid to the WCC would boost Seattle, especially with Gonzaga instate.

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I think the most logical argument here is that Gonzaga keeps the WCC at 8 for the foreseeable future. This maximizes out-of-conference opportunities for them and limits travel.

They also don't want to compete with Seattle U for affections in state. It's not as much a lock for Gonzaga as you might think.

That and to support Pounder's point, Gonzaga already has a good-sized alumni base in Seattle, so the WCC already has that market. Pacific's main strike against it is that it's Methodist and not Catholic (Pepperdine is the only non-Catholic WCC school), and I get the feeling that the current members, if they do decide to expand, are looking at Catholic schools first. Ironically enough, Nevada was a founding member of the conference, but with them being the odd man out in the WCC and Gonzaga being the only private school (as well as non-fb playing) in the Big Sky, they swapped places in 1979.

Denver REALLY wants in the WCC or Big Sky and out of the Sun Belt, but the WCC teams seem to be hesitant about picking up a two-state flyover. The Big Sky might be more feasible for them, as they're having problems with basketball scheduling since picking up Northern Colorado.

For discussions' sake...

...I don't think Pacific being Methodist is a trip-up.

Let's say Gonzaga recedes a bit, and can no longer schedule the national games they want.

The WCC has one current problem: the travel pair for San Diego is usually rotated between St. Mary's and Santa Clara from year to year. Everything else tends to fit nicely.

So, should Pepperdine leave (as was once rumored- I doubt they're that desperate, but Big West travel might be a lure), it actually stands to reason that Pacific would get a nod over Seattle or Denver. Loyola Marymount becomes the San Diego travel partner, and St. Mary's pairs with Pacific. Pacific just replaces Pepperdine as the Protestant exception in the WCC.

Would they go 10? I cannot see a scenario where Denver would EVER end up there. Gonzaga will always try to block Seattle. Who else? I don't see anyone.

It's about as happy an 8-team conference as you'll see... especially out west.

Obviously this will be a good 5-7 years out, but would the WCC look at Grand Canyon University in Phoenix? The school is reportedly considering Division I, and is building a 6,000 seat basketball arena.

The conference could then pair up like this:

Gonzaga/Portland
San Francisco/Santa Clara
Pacific/St. Mary's
Pepperdine/Loyola Marymount
San Diego/Grand Canyon

My question about Seattle is if the WCC is interested, when would they give Seattle a good hard look? If everything goes according to plan, Seattle will be eligible for the NCAA tournament (basketball) in the 2012-13 season. So, will the WCC look at Seattle (similar to the Summit league and South Dakota) in 2010-11 (Seattle's third year of the four-year transitional process) or the year before they are postseason eligible 2011-12?

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The WCC appears to be one of the options for BYU. I think they would like being with all the private schools, but is there enough money in the WCC compared to the MWC? The WCC does have Gonzaga and a lot of California exposure, so maybe it would be worth it for BYU...

It's a tough call. If BYU went to the WCC, then Denver might make a push to be included as well. Sadly for Seattle, they would be left out.

That said, while the WAC is in a tough spot at 6 football schools right now, they have a couple years to add the 2 football schools they want.

It's 2014 that they'd need a 7th basketball school to retain the basketball tourney bid. So if I'm the WAC, I'm on the phone with both Denver and Seattle right now to see if they'd be interested in all-sports (except football) membership. Worse case scenario, if BYU and say Denver went to the WCC, then the WAC could bring in Seattle next year...since they have no conference buyout restrictions.

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Matt Hayes TSN piece(previously posted in another thread) regarding the WAC and the possibility of Hawaii going Indy mentions that Hawaii would probably be looking to place it's non-FB programs in the WCC.Link at http://www.sportingnews.com/ncaa-footba ... ent-status

Andy Katz continues to "bang his drum" for BYU to the WCC if BYU decides this week to go Indy in FB and needs an alternative to the WAC for it's non-FB programs.Link at http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketb ... -byu-hoops

If the SJ Mercury News report is accurate, the WCC adds BYU:

Gonzaga
BYU
St. Mary's
Loyola Marymount
Pepperdine
Portland
San Francisco
San Diego
Santa Clara

The big question now would be: Is Seattle on the radar as team #10? If they do add Seattle, do they take Denver and Pacific to get to 12?

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byucougars.com says they are joining WCC press conference tomorrow at 1pm, no additional comments until press conference.

As for WCC adding Seattle, the SU Women's Golf program was just added as an affiliate so it is at least a foot in the door for the Red Hawks. If BYU looks to be a long term member then yes I think going to 10 would be in the cards for the WCC. Worst case I would think is adding BYU and SU, only to have BYU walk out in a couple years.