In Las Vegas, College Basketball Realignment on Everybody’s Minds

One year ago, as Gloria Nevarez, Stu Jackson and Dan Butterly arrived in Las Vegas for their respective basketball championship tournaments, they were all asked about the demise of the Pac-12. Fast forward 12 months and again the impact of the Pac-12 — which will return in September 2026 — is a main topic.

For Nevarez, commissioner of the Mountain West since January 2023, the past year has seen her conference lose five of its most valuable pieces starting next fall. The conference has moved quickly to replace the outgoing teams.

“We had been thinking about membership since I started,” Nevarez said. “So when this happened, certainly it was change and it was massive, but we were ready. We had done all the research. We knew the schools (to potentially add). We went after them quickly.”

Jackson, the West Coast Conference commissioner, will feel the major sting of losing Gonzaga when it departs the WCC for the Pac-12 in 2026.

“We’ve got a strategy in place that we will continue to build upon so that when (Gonzaga) departs in 2026, we are at least in position with a framework for adding tickets and putting butts in seats,” Jackson said.

Butterly, commissioner of the Big West Conference, did not have any schools poached by the Pac-12 — instead, the Mountain West has come for two of his members.

“They say sometimes a president gets elected to the White House and then eight years later, they’ve aged about 50 years,” Butterly quipped. “If I go back and look at my photos five years ago, I feel like I’m in that position right now. As a commissioner five years ago you were focused on competitive improvement, revenue generation, officiating, sportsmanship issues. Now, that’s probably only 10 to 15 percent of my time. Now we’re literally dealing with anything, including future membership.”

Mountain West Ready for New Look

The game of musical chairs out West has gotten crazier in the past 12 months, something that seemed impossible when college sports thought it was saying goodbye to the Pac-12.

And while all three conferences find themselves in strong positions overall regardless of who’s coming and who’s going, questions are to be answered in the next 18 months before all this realignment takes shape.

Three of the semifinal teams in the Mountain West men’s bracket this year — champion Colorado State, runner-up Boise State and Utah State — will leave in the 2026–2027 academic year. San Diego State, which made a run to the national title game two years ago, and Fresno State will also join the Pac-12.

The seven remaining MWC teams will be joined by Grand Canyon, UC-Davis, Hawaii and UTEP.

“The new look Mountain West is even more exciting,” Nevarez said. “We’ve had folks come visit just to check it out and they can’t wait to be a part of it. It’s really nice to see the investment, the positive energy, the halo effect that’s happening with the schools that are coming in 2026 and we will continue to be here in Las Vegas at the Thomas and Mack.”

The future schools in the conference are set, but the question remains as to who will pick up attendance at the MWC Tournament in Vegas every year that’s left behind by the five departing schools. Nevarez mentioned Grand Canyon as a ticket catalyst; the Phoenix-based Antelopes will make their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance this year after winning the WAC title across town at the Orleans Arena.

“They came to visit and they’re already asking for more tickets and they’re not even in the league yet,” Nevarez said. “And we got UC Davis, which is a top 20 media market. They’re certainly on an upward trajectory. Hawaii is becoming a full-time member, so we’re very excited. And Lobo Nation (New Mexico) is here in force. I don’t think we’re going to take a step back.”

WCC Braces for Life After Gonzaga

Sometimes, a game of musical chairs can end in a lawsuit.

That’s what happened when Grand Canyon committed to the West Coast Conference last year before spurning them for the Mountain West. It’s been a trying year for Jackson and his WCC team, as it not only lost out on Grand Canyon, but then learned that Gonzaga will be departing.

Gonzaga has been a mainstay at the WCC tournament each year for decades, bringing thousands of fans and tons of money into the event at the Orleans Arena. So what will Jackson do to fill those seats? Incoming Seattle University won’t fill that void.

“The first thing to do is attack it before (Gonzaga) leaves and we have done that this season,” Jackson said. “We were very focused this year, coming into this tournament, dating back to last summer, coming up with a proactive ticket sales plan in anticipation for when Gonzaga leaves.”

From a competitive standpoint, Gonzaga and Saint Mary’s have been rivals since 1979. The two men’s programs have played in eight of the past 10 WCC tournament title games. Saint Mary’s coach Randy Bennett has been with the Gaels for 24 years, and after another battle in the championship game this year, took a moment to acknowledge what the rivalry has meant.

“As a competitor, you want to play against the best,” Bennett said. “They’ve helped us get to the level we’re at. Iron sharpens iron and we’ve been going at it for a long time. There’s no part of me that’s like, ‘Gosh, I’m glad they’re leaving.’ None of that at all.”

Big West Thriving in Henderson

One of the best kept secrets in Las Vegas is the arena located off I-215 in Henderson. Lee’s Family Forum is the newest and nicest venue for sports in Clark County and the Big West has incrementally filled it more each year.

Bolstered by the addition of UC San Diego — which was eligible for the Big West Tournament for the first time since transitioning to Division I four years ago — the conference had a tremendous attendance increase in 2025.

“It’s a great crowd here. It’s very loud in the building. But there’s always room for one more and that’s our philosophy,” Butterly said. “I’ve talked to a lot of fans here and they say they’re having a great time, so I tell them to tell their friends about it and come back tomorrow. And it’s great that my voice is scratchy because it means I’m having to yell to talk, which is exactly what you want as a commissioner — to have that loud crowd, to have that environment for our student athletes.”

UC San Diego took both the men’s and women’s tournament titles as the men’s title game between the Tritons and UC-Irvine saw the arena filled on both sides.

UC San Diego women’s coach Heidi Vanderveer, who’s coached in college basketball and the WNBA for nearly 40 total years, is a big fan of Lee’s Family Forum and the Big West Tournament overall.

“I’ve been in a lot of nice arenas and this is a beautiful arena. The people here are not just friendly, but also organized,” she said. “We’ve stayed at a nice hotel and eaten well; this is a first-class venue and a first-class organization. It was a wonderful experience for our scholar athletes. We’re proud to represent the Big West and we’re excited about where we’re going in it.”

The Pac-12 temporarily folding left a void in some spots in Las Vegas during conference tournament week. The Big West has benefitted, signing a deal with MGM Properties for 2026 and 2027 for hotel rooms and meeting space previously used by the Pac-12.

The Big West is losing Hawaii and UC Davis to the Mountain West in 2026, but the conference has been ramping up talks with Cal Baptist and Utah Valley. As of March 19, the conference has officially acknowledged Cal Baptist as a full-time member starting in 2026, with an announcement for Utah Valley expected soon.

“We stay strong as a conference by working together with our institutions, our board of directors, our chancellors and our presidents of our universities,” said Butterly. “Our athletic directors are fantastic. They see the growth. They see the vision that we have.

“As I said five years ago when I got the job and I did my first media interview, we have to play moneyball. We’re the Oakland A’s of college basketball and NCAA Division I. We don’t have the high financial resources to turn things quickly. We’ve got to do things with data and analytics. That’s what we’re doing now and it’s working.”