The Gonzaga Bulldogs () (also known unofficially as the Zags) are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing
Gonzaga University
Gonzaga University (GU) () is a private Jesuit university in Spokane, Washington. It is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. Founded in 1887 by Joseph Cataldo, an Italian-born priest and Jesuit missionary, the univ ...
, located in
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Canada ...
, United States. Gonzaga competes in the
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference (WCC) — known as the California Basketball Association from 1952 to 1956 and then as the West Coast Athletic Conference until 1989 — is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division I consisting of ...
.
History
Gonzaga University was founded in 1887 by Fr.
Joseph Cataldo
Joseph Mary Cataldo S.J. (March 17, 1837 – April 9, 1928) was an Italian-American Jesuit priest, a pioneer missionary in the inland Pacific Northwest, who also founded Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington.
Born in 1837 in Terrasini in t ...
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
. 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
The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.-->
Gonzaga was an NAIA school from 1947 to 1958, when they moved to the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
as an independent. They were a charter member of the
Big Sky Conference
The Big Sky Conference (BSC) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. Member institutions are located in the western United States in the eigh ...
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
Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
, now in the
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference (MW) is one of the collegiate athletic conferences affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (formerly I-A). The MW officially began operations o ...
Men's basketball has been the most successful sport for the Bulldogs. Gonzaga home games have been played at the
McCarthey Athletic Center
McCarthey Athletic Center (MAC) is a 6,000-seat indoor arena on the campus of Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Opened in November 2004, it is home to the university's Bulldog basketball programs, members of the West Coast Conference (W ...
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 one of the strongest consistently great teams in men's college basketball, having played in 22 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
Mid-major is a term used in American NCAA Division I college sports, particularly men's basketball, to refer to athletic conferences that are not among the "Power Five conferences" (the ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, and SEC), which are alternativ ...
conference.
Notable alumni of Gonzaga basketball players include Hall of Famer
John Stockton
John Houston Stockton (born March 26, 1962) is an American former professional basketball player. Regarded as one of the greatest point guards, players and passers of all time, he spent his entire NBA career (1984–2003) with the Utah Jazz, a ...
,
Domantas Sabonis
Domantas Sabonis (; born May 3, 1996) is a Lithuanian-American professional basketball player for the Sacramento Kings of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is a two-time NBA All-Star.
Sabonis started his career in Spain with Unicaj ...
,
Rui Hachimura
is a Japanese professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs and is a member of the Japanese national team. Listed at and 230 ...
,
Kelly Olynyk
Kelly Tyler Olynyk ( ; born April 19, 1991) is a Canadian professional basketball player for the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, where he earned NCAA All-American ho ...
,
Adam Morrison
Adam John Morrison (born July 19, 1984) is an American former professional basketball player. Morrison played for three years at Gonzaga University and was considered to be one of the top college basketball players in 2005–06. He was a finalist ...
,
Ronny Turiaf
Ronny Turiaf ( , ; born 13 January 1983) is a French former professional basketball player who played 10 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Turiaf grew up in France and played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the U ...
Zach Collins
Zach Collins (born November 19, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. He was drafted by the Sacramento ...
,
Dan Dickau
Daniel David Dickau (born September 16, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player who currently works as an on-air broadcaster for ESPN, the Pac-12 Network, CBS Sports Network and Westwood One. He is also a co-host of the ''Dick ...
,
Austin Daye
Austin Darren Daye (born June 5, 1988) is an American professional basketball player who plays for New Taipei Kings of the P. League+. He played college basketball for Gonzaga before being drafted 15th overall by the Detroit Pistons in the 2009 ...
Richie Frahm
Richard Anthony Frahm (born August 14, 1977) is an American former professional basketball player. He competed in the NCAA 3-point shootout his senior year, winning the men’s division but losing in the battle of the sexes to Rice University’s ...
,
J. P. Batista
João Paulo Lopes "J. P." Batista (born October 29, 1981) is a Brazilian former basketball and current coach. Standing at , he plays at the power forward position. He played college basketball at Gonzaga University and also started his coaching ca ...
,
Jeremy Pargo
Jeremy Raymon Pargo (born March 17, 1986) is an American professional basketball player for Real Betis of the Liga ACB. Standing at , he plays at the point guard position. In 2011 he reached the EuroLeague Final with Maccabi Tel Aviv, earning an ...
,
Blake Stepp
Blake Roy Stepp (born February 4, 1982) is an American retired professional basketball player. After a standout prep career at South Eugene High School and college career at Gonzaga University, he was drafted in the second round of the 2004 NBA ...
Corey Kispert
Corey James Kispert (born March 3, 1999) is an American professional basketball player for the Washington Wizards of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs, where he was a consensus first- ...
, and
Jalen Suggs
Jalen Rashon Suggs (born June 3, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. He was selected by the Magic with the ...
.
Women's basketball
Former teams
Football
Gonzaga last fielded a varsity
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
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
Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermined ...
Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
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 and was named team captain.