The West Coast Conference (WCC) will be welcoming two more schools to the conference starting in 2025.Seattle University and Grand Canyon University will both be leaving the WAC after this upcoming season to join the WCC.
This is huge for the WCC because they had just lost BYU the year prior, and Gonzaga has been rumored to be interested in joining a power conference.bThe addition of Seattle and Grand Canyon will boost the number of schools in the WCC from 9 to 11, further helping the stability of the league.
The WCC Gets Stronger
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After one of the more prominent schools in BYU left for the Big 12, the West Coast Conference needed to add some up-and-coming programs.
Looking at this from a basketball perspective, this is a slam dunk for the conference. Grand Canyon joined Division 1 in the 2013-14 season and has been thriving since. They turned into consistent NCAA tournament team over the last 5 years and won their first tournament game this past year against the reigning WCC champion St. Mary’s Gaels.
Seattle, on the other hand, joined Division 1 in 2008. Funny enough, they were actually a member of the WCC from 1971-1980. Seattle hasn’t reached an NCAA tournament in basketball since moving to Division 1 16 years ago. However, they did win the CBI tournament this past March.
Conference Realignment Continues
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With all the conference realignment going on across the country, the West Coast Conference had to be feeling uneasy. They watched as the Pac-12 dissolved in front of their eyes.
The WCC might even end up adding Washington State and Oregon State for sports besides football very soon.
Being a non-football conference might have been what saved the WCC in the end. Football is BY FAR the biggest moneymaker in college sports, so they are the ones dictating decisions.
This is exactly why the Big East Conference is now a non-football school conference. The WCC might be taking notes from the fallout of Big East football a little over a decade ago on how to be a football-less conference but still very much in the national spotlight when it comes to hoops.
The WCC has a few of the most consistent programs in college basketball, along with Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga. Adding more teams to the conference will help retain the big dogs if they start to eye other conferences to join.
Can Seattle and Grand Canyon Compete in WCC Right Away?
Winning the conference outright immediately is a tall task for either of these programs, considering where they stand and also how great Saint Mary’s and Gonzaga have been over the last 20 years.
A realistic goal for Seattle should be finishing in the top 7 in the conference. Seattle isn’t on the level of a Gonzaga Saint Mary’s, and frankly not Grand Canyon either at the moment. However, they should be better than teams like Pepperdine and Pacific. Especially with Seattle them coming off a postseason tournament championship in the CBI.
Grand Canyon should be in the mix for a top 4 finish in the WCC. Grand Canyon just beat the WCC champions in the NCAA tournament and is primed for a good season. I see GCU being in a battle with San Francisco, LMU, and Santa Clara for the 3, 4, and 5 spots in the WCC.
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About the Author
Cory is an Oregon Duck alumni and has been following college basketball closely for years. He attended over 30 games across the country this season alone.
Follow Cory on X @cory_pappas1 for more breaking stories to get you through the offseason.
