Gonzaga Bulldogs

History

Gonzaga University was founded in 1887 by Fr. Joseph Cataldo, a Sicilian-born priest. At one time, Gonzaga went by the nickname of "Fighting Irish" in the 1910s to early 1920s. This name was dropped in 1921 favor of the current "Bulldogs" mascot. Although the school's official mascot is a bulldog, fans and media have long used "Zags" and "Gonzos" as alternate nicknames.

Gonzaga was a member of the Northwest Conference from 1924–1925. They were an NAIA school from 1947 to 1958, when they moved to the NCAA as an independent. They were a charter member of the Big Sky Conference in 1963, the only one of the six without a football program. GU moved over to the West Coast Athletic Conference in the summer of 1979, and the Big Sky added Nevada, now in the Mountain West Conference. The WCAC was shortened to today's WCC in 1989.

On October 1, 2024, Gonzaga announced that they would be moving to the Pac-12 Conference for all sports in 2026.

Sports sponsored

Baseball

Main article: Gonzaga Bulldogs baseball

Men's basketball

Main article: Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball

Men's basketball has been the most successful sport for the Bulldogs. Gonzaga home games have been played at the McCarthey Athletic Center since 2004. The Bulldogs opened the arena with a 100-game win streak, the longest at the time in the NCAA, eventually snapped in February 2007 by the Santa Clara Broncos.

The Bulldogs have established a reputation as a consistently strong team in men's college basketball, having played in 26 consecutive NCAA tournaments and ascending to the #1 ranking in both major polls during the 2012–13 season. They are generally reckoned as one of the closest things to a major basketball power in a mid-major conference.

Notable alumni of Gonzaga basketball players include Hall of Famer John Stockton, Domantas Sabonis, Rui Hachimura, Chet Holmgren, Drew Timme, Kelly Olynyk, Adam Morrison, Ronny Turiaf, Brandon Clarke, Zach Collins, Dan Dickau, Austin Daye, Robert Sacre, Richie Frahm, J. P. Batista, Jeremy Pargo, Blake Stepp, Paul Rogers, Corey Kispert, and Jalen Suggs.

Women's basketball

Main article: Gonzaga Bulldogs women's basketball

Former teams

Football

Main article: Gonzaga Bulldogs football

Gonzaga last fielded a varsity football team in 1941. From 1892 to 1941 (excluding having no teams from 1894 to 1895 & 1900 to 1906), Gonzaga went 129–99–20.

Head coaches

Source:

Boxing

The university had a strong boxing program and shared the national title with Idaho in 1950 with a team composed of Carl Maxey, Eli Thomas, and Jim Reilly. Both Maxey and Thomas were undefeated over the course of the season, and Thomas would go on to win the individual championship after another undefeated season the following year. All three were inducted into Gonzaga's Athletic Hall of Fame, with Maxey and Thomas being inducted in 1988 and Reilly in 1989. Gonzaga dropped the sport in 1952, followed by Idaho in 1954, and the NCAA in 1960. Football star Tony Canadeo boxed during his senior year in 1941 at 175 lb and was named team captain.

References

References

1. "Chris Standiford Named Director of Athletics". Gonzaga Athletics.
2. "Origin of the Bulldogs Nickname". Gonzaga Bulldogs.
3. "Gonzaga Develops, Adopts a Fitting Fight Song". Gonzaga University News Service.
4. (January 20, 1952). "Surprising Zags upset experts". Spokesman-Review.
5. (February 18, 1952). "Pirates seeking win over Zags". Spokesman-Review.
6. May, Danny. (February 12, 1960). "Zags beat Bobcats; Frank breaks mark". Spokesman-Review.
7. (December 10, 1923). "Gonzaga Enters Conference — Joins Northwest Collegiate Body". [[Spokane Chronicle]].
8. (December 13, 1925). "Withdrawal of Large Universities Is End of Old Northwest Conference". [[The Spokesman-Review]].
9. (February 25, 1958). "Zags eye play-off; lose to Portland five". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
10. (March 3, 1958). "Bulldogs end season; fail in tourney try". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
11. (June 8, 1963). "Jack Friel named Big Sky executive". Spokesman-Review.
12. (October 5, 1978). "Gonzaga to change league". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
13. Brown, Butch. (October 6, 1978). "It's official: Zags go WCAC". Spokesman-Review.
14. (October 6, 1978). "Zags leave Big Sky; accepted into WCAC". Lewiston Morning Tribune.
15. (May 26, 1979). "Nevada-Reno added to Big Sky". Eugene Register-Guard.
16. (July 14, 1989). "Transactions: College". Times Daily.
17. (July 14, 1989). "WCAC shortens its name to West Coast Conference". Spokane Chronicle.
18. [http://wccsports.cstv.com/school-bio/west-school-bio.html West Coast Conference Official Athletics Site – On Campus] {{webarchive. link. (March 9, 2009. Wccsports.cstv.com (July 1, 2011).)
19. https://gozags.com/news/2024/10/1/gonzaga-athletics-gonzaga-accepts-invitation-to-join-pac-12-conference.aspx
20. (November 24, 1941). "Kennedy scores on Gonzaga as Cougars romp through to lopsided victory". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
21. "Gonzaga Bulldogs". College Football Data Warehouse.
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23. (February 4, 1925). "Gonzaga coach to be Detroit mentor". The Evening Record.
24. Thorpe, Ellsworth. (September 11, 1933). "Famous gridiron men developed at Gonzaga". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
25. (October 28, 1925). "Clipper Smith works his outfit overtime". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
26. (May 18, 1929). "Clipper Smith may change job". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
27. (May 30, 1929). "Clipper Smith heading south". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
28. (April 26, 1930). "Mathews leaves post at Gonzaga". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
29. Missildine, Harry. (January 27, 1976). "Flaherty named to pro grid hall". Spokesman-Review.
30. (May 4, 1930). "Ray Flaherty, Gonzaga coach". Spokesman-Review.
31. (August 18, 1930). "Gonzaga coach ready for work". Spokesman-Review.
32. (February 23, 1931). "Eight football games on Gonzaga's 1931 grid schedule; new coach arrives". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
33. (February 4, 1939). "Mike Pecarovich goes to Loyola". Spokesman-Review.
34. (April 8, 1942). "Unofficial word says Hunton will be dismissed at Gonzaga". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
35. (March 7, 1939). "Gonzaga selects John Hunton to handle university football coach job". Spokesman-Review.
36. (November 15, 1939). "Puggy Hunton will continue as head man of the Gonzaga University football machine". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
37. Stark, C.R. Jr.. (September 8, 1943). "Gonzaga squad may be formed". Spokesman-Review.
38. "Gonzaga: coaching records". College Football Data Warehouse.
39. (March 16, 1999). "The bond was boxing". Moscow-Pullman Daily News.
40. "Maxey, Carl (1924-1997)".
41. (August 20, 1952). "Gonzaga drops mitt sport; may resume in the future". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
42. Kershner, Jim. (March 15, 1999). "Crowning the kings of swing". Spokesman-Review.
43. (February 5, 1941). "Canadeo makes ring debut soon; to captain Bulldogs". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
44. (February 14, 1941). "Canadeo shows boxing promise". Spokane Daily Chronicle.
45. (December 5, 1941). "Gonzaga opens boxing season December 12". Spokane Daily Chronicle.