The Gaels and Zags are the premier rivalry out on the West Coast.
Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported that during a recent conversation with Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett, the 2025 West Coast Conference Coach of the Year said that he would like to set up a regular home-and-home series with Gonzaga starting in the 2026-27 season. That’s when the Zags will be joining the Pac-12 Conference.
Randy Bennett tells me that Saint Mary’s would like to do a regular home-and-home series with Gonzaga when the Bulldogs leave the WCC after the 2025-26 season and join the new Pac-12.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 3, 2025
No news on how coach Mark Few and the Gonzaga athletic department feel about this but why wouldn’t they say yes? That’s the type of quality non-conference opponents that this program looks for.
The finest rivalry out on the West Coast needs to stay alive. A lot of Gonzaga fans from not just the Bay Area but Oregon, Washington, and Idaho love heading over to the University Credit Union Pavilion in Moraga to watch the elite college basketball matchup.
This season, the Gaels beat the Zags there on February 1st (62-58) and at the McCarthey Athletic Center in Spokane on February 22nd (74-67). Saint Mary’s was rewarded the No. 1 seed and Gonzaga the No. 2 seed in the West Coast Conference Tournament at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. The championship game is set for March 11th at 6 PM PT on ESPN.
It seems as if Saint Mary’s will stay put in the West Coast Conference (for now) and dominate just how Gonzaga did for decades. The Pac-12 Conference is looking for a final institution with all sports (including football) to hit the requirement of eight teams to be an official league and be considered for bowl game qualification. The new era for the Zags formally begins on July 1, 2026.
Arden Cravalho is a Gonzaga University graduate from the Bay Area… Follow him on Twitter @a_cravalho