Gonzaga University Basketball: A Legacy of Excellence and Rivalry

The Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball program, established in 1907 in Spokane, Washington, has evolved from a regional underdog to a consistent national contender. Under the guidance of longtime coach Mark Few, Gonzaga has accumulated numerous West Coast Conference (WCC) regular season and tournament titles, reached the Final Four in 2017 and 2021, and created memorable moments such as Jalen Suggs' buzzer-beater against UCLA.

The Rise of a Basketball Powerhouse

Since the mid-1990s, Gonzaga has solidified its position as a major basketball force in a mid-major conference. The Bulldogs have consistently participated in the NCAA tournament since 1999, making a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight that year. They have also been featured in every final AP poll since the 2008-09 season.

Gonzaga maintained an active weekly poll streak of 143 weeks, starting from the 2016-17 season and ending on January 15, 2024, tying for the tenth-longest streak in Division I history. The team has appeared in all but one WCC conference title game since 1995 and in every conference title game since 1998, winning 21 of them.

The 2016-17 Bulldogs reached the program's first-ever Final Four, advancing to the 2017 national championship game, where they were defeated by North Carolina. The 2020-21 season was historic, with the team going 26-0 in the regular season and earning the #1 overall seed in the NCAA tournament. They advanced to the national championship game, ultimately losing. The 2022-2023 team finished with a 31-6 overall record and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament, their sixth appearance in the regional final since 1999.

Early Years and Coaching History

Gonzaga introduced a basketball program during the 1907-08 season, achieving a record of 9-2 under head coach George M. Varnell. In the 1908-09 season, Varnell became the first official coach, earning a 10-2 record. William Mulligan coached the following season, acquiring an 11-3 record. Frank McKevitt took over for Mulligan during the 1910-11 basketball season, acquiring an 8-1 record.

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From 1944 to 1994, the Bulldogs compiled a record of 628-531, earning regular-season titles in 1965-66 and 1966-67 (Big Sky) under Hank Anderson and in 1993-94 (WCC) under Dan Fitzgerald. That season also saw the team qualify for its first postseason tournament, the National Invitation Tournament (NIT), led by Jeff Brown, the WCC Player of the Year, and Geoff Goss, who was made the All-WCC First Team.

In his inaugural season, Few led the Zags to a 26-9 record, winning the WCC tournament and advancing to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament with wins over Louisville and St. John's.

Memorable Seasons and Games

The 2003-04 season marked the first time that the team participated in the annual Battle in Seattle game. Gonzaga faced third-ranked Missouri, winning the game in an 87-80 overtime victory. This season marked the last time Gonzaga would play home games in the Charlotte Y. Kennedy Memorial Pavilion.

The 2008-09 team won both the WCC Regular Season Championship and the WCC Tournament Championship. For the next five seasons, the team advanced to the NCAA tournament but fell in the Round of 32 each time. The 2012-13 team became the first Gonzaga squad to be ranked as the #1 team in the country and was awarded a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament for the first time.

The 2014-15 team advanced to the Elite Eight before losing to eventual national champion Duke. This was the first time since 1999 that Gonzaga had advanced to the Elite Eight. Gonzaga also won the WCC regular-season and tournament championships for the third consecutive season. The 2015-16 team suffered 4 losses at home and nearly missed the NCAA tournament entirely but shared the WCC regular-season crown with Saint Mary's and then won the WCC Tournament. The 2016-17 team won its first 29 games, before falling to WCC rival BYU.

The 2017-18 team won the WCC regular-season title outright before winning the WCC tournament. In the NCAA tournament, the Bulldogs advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the fourth consecutive year. Near the end of that season, Gonzaga considered a potential move to the Mountain West Conference (MW) after nearly 40 years as a WCC member.

The Kennel: Home Court Advantage

Home games at the McCarthey Athletic Center, known as The Kennel, are driven by the raucous Kennel Club student section, pregame campouts, and Kraziness in the Kennel each fall, creating an intimate, deafening atmosphere.

After competing for over 39 years in the Charlotte Y. Martin Centre, Gonzaga trustees approved construction for a new 6,000-seat arena on April 11, 2003. The McCarthey Athletic Center was named after Gonzaga trustee Philip G. McCarthey and Gonzaga regent Thomas K. McCarthey, who contributed a significant portion of the funds needed to build the arena. The first official game took place on November 19, 2004, against Portland State, whom the Zags beat 98-80 in front of a sold-out crowd. The Bulldogs opened the arena with a 38-game winning streak, which was the nation's longest active winning streak at the time. When combined with 12 wins at the Charlotte Y.

To raise money for the $1.1 million project, Gonzaga's student body had each student pay $10 per semester until $500,000 was raised. The university matched that amount, while the remaining $100,000 came from contributions. Gonzaga's first game in the pavilion took place on December 3, 1965, against Washington State, who beat the Bulldogs 106-78. In 1986, the facility was renamed the Charlotte Y.

Ticket Information and Fan Experience

Vivid Seats offers tickets to fit any budget. Gonzaga tickets start at $85.26, with an average price of $133.25. Prices vary by opponent, date, and seat location. Suite tickets are often available for home games at McCarthey Athletic Center, although availability varies by matchup and demand.

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Vivid Seats offers various ticket options:

Session Tickets: Coverage for one session (typically two games).
All-Session Tickets (Full Strip): Access to all three sessions at a single site-usually six games total.

Vivid Seats is a trusted ticket marketplace used by over 100 million fans, offering a 100% Buyer Guarantee. The platform uses All-In Pricing, so the full cost of a Gonzaga ticket, including fees, is displayed upfront. If an event is canceled, a full refund is provided. If an event is postponed or rescheduled, tickets are valid for the rescheduled date. Vivid Seats also offers a ticket loyalty program, Vivid Seats Rewards, where fans earn credit on every purchase, which can be redeemed for future tickets.

Many fans consider center-court seats in the lower level to be the best seats at McCarthey Athletic Center for Gonzaga games since they offer a clear, balanced view of all the action. Regular-season college basketball games air across CBS Sports, ESPN, FOX, NBC, and each conference's dedicated network.

Program Overview

The Gonzaga Bulldogs are an intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Gonzaga University, competing in the West Coast Conference in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Gonzaga has had 15 of its players receive the WCC Player of the Year award, and two players, Frank Burgess in 1961 with 32.4 points per game, and Adam Morrison in 2006 with 28.1 points per game, have led the nation in scoring.

Rivalries

Gonzaga's biggest rivalry is with fellow West Coast Conference foe Saint Mary's. Many analysts and members of the media have touted the Gaels vs. Zags as one of the best college basketball rivalries on the West Coast, as both teams have been consistently the two top teams in the conference over the last 2 decades.

A notable rivalry with Brigham Young University (BYU) has developed throughout the past decade. BYU and Gonzaga first played on December 16, 1949, with Gonzaga winning 46-41. The two teams would not meet again until March 19, 2011, in the third round of the NCAA tournament, as a BYU team led by Jimmer Fredette advanced to the Sweet Sixteen by defeating the Zags 89-67. The following season, BYU left the Mountain West Conference and joined the West Coast Conference for the 2011-2012 season. BYU is one of few teams to win multiple times at the McCarthy Athletic Center in Spokane over the last decade, with wins at the Kennel in 2015, 2016 and 2017. BYU was the only team to beat #1 ranked Gonzaga during the 2016-17 regular season in which Gonzaga earned its first trip to the Final Four and National Championship game. BYU has played Gonzaga in the West Coast Conference tournament Final in 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2021 with Gonzaga winning all four of these matchups. Gonzaga leads the overall series 25-7, with the most recent meeting on February 11, 2023, in which Gonzaga won 88-81 in Spokane.

Another one of Gonzaga's in-state rivals is Washington. They played a 10-year home-and-home series from 1997 to 2006, but then it went dormant until they were forced to play each other in first round of the 2015 Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. In 2016, they began a new home-and-home series in Spokane and have agreed to continue the rivalry annually until at least the 2025-26 season. The Huskies lead the series 30-20. Gonzaga's most heated in-state rivalry is with Washington State. The two schools are both based in Eastern Washington, with Pullman only 79 miles away from Spokane. Following the collapse of the Pac-12 and Wazzu's temporary move to the WCC for some sports including basketball, the rivalry became renewed in the 2024-25 season. In October 2024, Gonzaga announced that they had joined the new Pac-12, solidifying the return of the rivalry.

Impact on Gonzaga University

Gonzaga has been viewed as reaping benefits from its basketball-related exposure to this day. The university's financial position and fundraising success dramatically improved. This led to a campus building boom; the McCarthey Athletic Center proved to be just the first of a series of major campus buildings that opened between 2004 and 2017.

Freshman enrollment at Gonzaga in the mid-nineties hovered around 500 students annually, including a total of 569 as late as 1998. In 1999, enrollment jumped to 701 five months after the Zags went to the Elite Eight. This trend continued after Gonzaga won five games in the 1999 and 2000 NCAA tournaments, as freshman enrollment increased to 796 in 2000 and to a then-record 979 in 2001. A 65 percent increase in the size of the freshman class between 1997 and 2003 is part of a phenomenon called the Flutie effect, the increase in attention and applications for admission that results after a particularly notable and unexpected sporting victory by a school's athletic team. Booming freshman enrollment led Gonzaga to introduce a more selective admissions process in 2003, which led to a significant increase in the academic credentials of incoming freshmen.

NCAA Tournament History

The Bulldogs have appeared in 27 NCAA tournaments. The COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of the 2020 NCAA tournament. This interrupted, but did not end, the Bulldogs' ongoing streak of 26 consecutive tournament appearances, including 9 straight Sweet 16 appearances from 2015 to 2024. Gonzaga's combined record is 47-27 (.635).

NIT Tournament History

The Bulldogs have appeared in three National Invitation Tournaments (NIT). All five games were played on the road, and Gonzaga's combined record is 2-3 (.400).

Notable Players

Eight McDonald's All-Americans have played for Gonzaga. Of these, five have started their college basketball careers with the Bulldogs-Zach Collins, Jalen Suggs, Hunter Sallis, Chet Holmgren, and Nolan Hickman. Twelve 5-star rated players have committed to Gonzaga, as rated in the final ranking projections by at least one major college basketball recruiting service (247Sports.com, ESPN.com, Rivals.com, and Scout.com). Among these players, eight began their college careers with the Bulldogs: Austin Daye, Domantas Sabonis, Zach Collins, Oumar Ballo, Jalen Suggs, Nolan Hickman, Chet Holmgren, and Hunter Sallis.

Games Against Ranked Opponents

Since the season of Gonzaga's 1999 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament run to the Elite 8, Gonzaga has played a total of 139 games against teams ranked in the AP Top 25 Poll. Gonzaga has a record of 64-75 (.460) against such teams.

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