June 6 – It won’t be long before Gonzaga and Washington State know the full West Coast Conference schedule for the 2024-25 basketball season, but the Inland Northwest rivals can officially count on at least two games against each other next year, according to conference pairs that were revealed on Thursday.
Expanding the WCC to 11 teams in a season means each school will play 18 conference games, facing eight teams home and away and two others only once.
The pairings include two games between the Zags and Cougars, who have played 150 times since 1959 but not since 2015 when the programs halted their nonconference rivalry streak.
Official dates, reporting times and television information will be announced later this summer.
Along with games against WSU in Spokane and Pullman, Gonzaga will play home and away games against Saint Mary’s, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Oregon State, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine and Portland.
San Diego and Pacific are on Gonzaga’s schedule just once. The Bulldogs will play San Diego in Spokane and travel to Stockton, Calif., for their only game against Pacific.
WSU will play two games against Gonzaga, Saint Mary’s, San Francisco, Santa Clara, Pepperdine, Portland, Pacific and San Diego. The Cougars have just one game against former Pac-12 foe Oregon State – in Corvallis – and will play their only game against Loyola Marymount in Pullman.
WSU and OSU are joining the WCC as affiliate members for two seasons, but will be eligible to win conference championships and earn automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.
Reports have suggested that the Cougars and Beavers are not expected to be part of the conference beyond the 2025-26 academic year.
The WCC could explore a 20-game conference schedule when it expands to 13 teams for at least one season in 2025-26, following the addition of Grand Canyon and Seattle U – teams that reside in the Western Athletic Conference – as full-time members integral.
Gonzaga went 14-2 during WCC play last season, losing at Santa Clara and at home against Saint Mary’s to concede the regular-season conference title to the Gaels. It was the first time since 2012 that the Zags did not win a WCC regular season or tournament championship.
Saint Mary’s, San Francisco and Santa Clara – the other three teams that finished in the top four in the WCC regular season standings – will face each other twice next season.
