Why Gonzaga’s dominance of the West Coast Conference may never be repeated

Tuesday, June 30, 2026, marks the final day of Gonzaga’s 46-year run as a member of the West Coast Conference, with the school transitioning into the new-look Pac-12 officially on July 1.

Even though Saint Mary’s clipped Gonzaga in two of the last three regular seasons, it’s fair to say GU’s run in the WCC under coach Mark Few is the most dominant stretch any team has had in any conference in the history of college basketball – a stretch that almost certainly won’t ever be repeated.

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Gonzaga went a nearly incomprehensible 377-42 in the WCC dating back to 1999, an astonishing win rate of 89.98%. The Zags won 23 of a possible 27 regular-season titles, and 21 of the 27 WCC Tournament championships – while making it to the championship game every single season. Sure, the tournament format changed to favor higher-seeded teams, but that wasn’t always the case – and still the Zags made sure they were in that title game year in and year out.

Of the 42 WCC losses Gonzaga took under Few, 18 of them came at the hands of the Gaels, making them far and away the toughest opponent this league threw at the Zags. Three of the four non-Gonzaga regular-season titles went to Saint Mary’s, while the lone other win was Pepperdine back in 2000.

Removing Gonzaga’s 52-18 record against Saint Mary’s from the equation, the Zags beat everyone else in the WCC to the tune of a 325-24 (93.1%) record. That includes a 55-2 record against Pepperdine, 51-3 against San Diego, 48-3 against Portland, 51-4 against LMU, 54-6 against Santa Clara, 58-4 against San Francisco, and a perfect 23-0 record against Pacific.

Most dominant ever?

Miles Byrd (21) defends Nolan Hickman (11) during Gonzaga’s home game vs. San Diego State | Photo by Erik Smith, Myk Crawford

There have been plenty of other dominant programs in the college basketball world, but the sustained success of Gonzaga has never – and likely will never – be replicated.

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Publish date : 2026-06-30 20:00:00

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