Grand Canyon, Seattle U to join WCC in 2025-26; Gonzaga’s talks with Big 12 on pause

Five months after bringing Washington State and Oregon State on as affiliate members, the West Coast Conference is adding two more schools that intend to stick around on a more permanent basis.

The WCC announced the addition of Seattle U and Grand Canyon University as its 10th and 11th full-time members on Friday morning – a move that will expand the conference’s footprint into two of the West Coast’s largest media markets beginning in 2025-26.

“It further positions the WCC as one of the premier Division I conferences in the country,” WCC Commissioner Stu Jackson said of the conference’s newest additions during a media call Friday afternoon. “Adding members like Grand Canyon and Seattle has been a focus of our conference since Day 1, almost a year ago.”

The conference will operate with 13 teams for at least one year, but a report from CBS Sports has suggested WSU and OSU are “highly unlikely” to remain in the conference when their two-year affiliate membership expires after 2025-26.

Responding to the CBS article, Jackson said “that shouldn’t be breaking news” and indicated that WSU and OSU would “most likely” move their Olympic sports once they identify a long-term solution for their football programs.

“We were here with open arms and we will remain here with open arms should they decide that keeping their sports with the WCC is where they want to be,” Jackson said.

Gonzaga, which has been at the center of conference realignment rumors much of the past decade, was “extremely supportive” of the WCC’s latest additions, according to the second-year commissioner. The CBS report also addressed the latest speculation regarding Gonzaga and a potential move to the Big 12 Conference.

“There is no momentum for Gonzaga to the Big 12 as things currently stand, according to sources,” the article read. “Talks about Gonzaga joining the Big 12 stalled in December, sources previously told CBS Sports, and they haven’t gained traction since.

“Gonzaga not having football is the biggest prohibitor to its candidacy, in addition to many Big 12 presidents and athletic directors wanting to wait a number of years to see how the new-look 16-school Big 12 settles in before seriously considering another realignment move.”

The WCC’s latest additions should enhance the conference’s men’s basketball product in the immediate future, even if WSU and OSU elect to find a different home for their Olympic sports in 2026-27.

According to a news release, Grand Canyon and Seattle U will participate in 14 of the 16 sports the WCC sponsors, starting in 2025-26. Those include men’s basketball, women’s basketball, baseball, softball, men’s soccer, women’s soccer, volleyball, men’s tennis, women’s tennis, men’s golf, women’s golf, men’s cross country and women’s cross country.

Grand Canyon, a Phoenix-based university recognized by the U.S. Department of Education as a proprietary (for profit) institution, has competed in the Western Athletic Conference for the past 11 years. Under fourth-year coach Bryce Drew, the younger brother of Baylor coach Scott Drew, GCU has built one of the West Coast’s most competitive men’s basketball programs, compiling a 94-32 overall record during his tenure.

The Antelopes have advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times since 2021, losing an opening-round game to Gonzaga at Denver’s Ball Arena during the 2023 tournament. GCU upset another future WCC foe, Saint Mary’s, in a first-round game at the Arena this year before losing to Alabama in the Round of 32.

Seattle U was a member of the WCC under its previous name, the WCAC, from 1971-80. The Redhawks haven’t qualified for the NCAA Tournament since moving back up to the Division I level in 2008, but they won the WAC regular-season championship in 2022.

Earlier this year, Jackson told reporters the conference would pivot to an 18-game conference schedule in men’s basketball to accommodate its new affiliate members in 2024-25, but couldn’t say Friday whether the WCC would consider a 20-game schedule when it expands to 13 teams in 2025-26, or if it would explore splitting teams into two divisions.

“I think there’s certain advantages to playing a round-robin schedule … with 13 teams during the 2025-26 season, that’s impossible to do,” Jackson said. “In part because you want to provide all your institutions with the ability to play strong nonconference schedules, which help their metrics and enhance their chances to gain access to the NCAA Tournament.”

In the conference news release, Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh, who also acts as the WCC Presidents’ Council Chair, referred to Friday’s news as “a significant moment for the WCC.”

Jackson reiterated that Gonzaga was “unequivocally” on board with both additions, responding to one question regarding rumors that the Spokane-based school had been strongly opposed to Seattle U joining the WCC.

“There was never a mention of any negativity with respect to Seattle University joining the WCC,” Jackson said. “… With Gonzaga specifically, never a word of negativity about Seattle.”