Pac-12 is ALIVE! Will Gonzaga Bulldogs get invite? Would they accept? What happens to Mountain West?

the Pack 12 is back and it could have very real ramifications for the [Music] zags you are locked on zags your daily podcast on the Gonzaga Bulldogs part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday what is going on y'all happy Friday happy weekend and welcome into the locked on zags podcast part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day I am your host and longtime Gonzaga podcaster Andy Patton here to bring you news and updates on all things zag Athletics today's episode of Locked on zags is brought to you by Game Time folks download the game time app create an account and use code locked on College and you'll get $20 off your first purchase terms do apply download game time today what time is it game time all right folks huge news coming out of the college sports World on Thursday very early in the morning like a thief in the night the Pack 12 stole four programs from the Mountain West Conference in a massive seismic move for the college sports landscape particularly on the west coast we're going to talk about this move what it means for the Pack 12 what it means for the Mountain West what it means for all of confence realignment and of course what it means for Mark FW and the Gonzaga Bulldogs let's start with the news in case you missed this came out on Wednesday late night I believe Ross Dellinger of Yahoo sports was the first to report that this was coming that the Pack 12 had secured commitments from four schools in the Mountain West Conference those would be Boise State Fresno State Colorado State San Diego State it was announced Thursday morning when he reported this he said oh it's coming soon like you're going to hear about it uh as potentially as soon as Thursday and typically when a reporter says something's about to happen it doesn't usually happen that quickly but wow I woke up on Thursday morning at like 6:45 and already the Pack 12 had reported hey look we're no we're no longer the pack two we are now the pack six uh could be a great branding opportunity of course they have to be at more than six in order to sustain as a conference we'll talk about that in a second but instead what we see what we find out on Thursday morning is that the Pack 12 has landed these four schools and there was a lot of Conversation Over the last year or so of what the Pack 12 was going to do and the general expectation was that they were more likely to do some kind of merger with the Mountain West Conference we'd heard the term merger we'd also heard the term reverse merger a merger would have been basically absorbing the Mountain West Conference into the Pack 12 but that would be taking every school not just the ones you really want you'd also be taking Wyoming and San Jose State and Air Force and Nevada and some of those teams that maybe aren't moving the needle as much a reverse merger would have been a a similar concept although it would have effectively been the Oregon State and Washington State kind of just joining the Mountain West and what we saw instead was the Pack 12 was very adamant about wanting to continue to keep their brand these two programs Oregon State and Washington State who incidentally are WCC members that is a relevant part of this conversation but it is not surprising to see them do this they join the WCC for two years these moves are going to take effect July 2026 that is the same time as their two-year deal with the WCC runs out so if anybody was expecting or hoping that these two teams would stay longer in the in the West Coast Conference this completely puts the kabash on that but again I don't think that's ultimately all that surprising to anybody who's been kind of following this story but regardless when the Pack 2 when when they they sued to get their rights to the the money to the the the everything to the rights of the Pack 12 to the the media deal the Pack 12 Network all this stuff and and with it hundreds of millions of dollars which the which Oregon State and Washington state were effectively able to keep while the other 10 schools who departed were trying to say we still want voting rights in the conference we still want this and they said absolutely the heck not you left the conference we're keeping all of this and now we get to decide what we want to do with our brand and our organization and our conference and that mentality was kind of what prevented me from thinking oh they're just going to absorb the Mountain West and just kind of re you know rename it the Pack 12 like that never felt all that likely it felt like that would be the option if they didn't feel they had any other options but again they had a huge winfall of cash come their way and they spent a whole bunch of it to get these four schools from the Mountain West estimates based on it's $17 million per school that they are paying the Mountain West to get them out of the conference and then it's an additional 10 to 12 million per school as part of the scheduling agreement which they have now backed out of they now owe the Mountain West 10 to 10 to 12 million per school so the math year averaging it out roughly $112 million going from the Pack 12 to the Mountain West Conference we'll talk in the final segment what a lot of this means for the Mountain West specifically what it means for the Pack 12 is they now have six schools and they need to get to eight you cannot be an FBS conference that's a football term you cannot be a a power conference or any any kind of football conference at the FBS level without more than without at least eight teams so this is now the pack 12's goal they got 22 months to find two more teams that sounds like a long time but they want to get this thing done as soon as possible because they also need to negotiate a media rights deal they need to go to their Partners whether it's the CW Network whether it's Fox ESPN whomever they can get to agree to pay them money to show their games and guess what those Media Partners they're not going to agree to pay a bunch of money to a conference unless they know which teams are in the conference so the longer the packed six now goes without adding more teams the longer they go without being able to in good faith negotiate a media rights deal so expect things to move here as quickly as they can and looking at who they might add I think the obvious kind of conversation is around the teams in the Mountain West that they didn't add in particular I was very surprised UNLV was not on this list UNLV is a very well-known brand they are having a very good season in football right now as I'm recording this they're going to play Kansas on Friday night we'll see how they do there but they already beat Houston uh they basketball they have a rich history they haven't been great lately but they're in Vegas what a huge market for the Pack 12 to be able to Corner if they were to bring in UNLV but they didn't and if they were going to add more schools from the Mountain West I think they would have done it all in one swoop there so this tells me that their priority was the four schools that they added again Boise State Fresno State San Diego State Colorado State and that UNLV and Nevada and then going down the list you know Utah State Wyoming etc etc were not big priorities so while I think UNLV and Nevada makes sense as grab those two get up to eight be good if the Pack 12 wanted to do that they would have done it the fact that it didn't makes me think they're looking East for some other additions one of the reports I believe it was Ross Dinger indicated that he believes the Pack 12 is effectively keeping seats warm for Stanford and Cal to former Pack 12 members who are now in the ACC however Stanford and Cal signed that grant of rights agreement in the ACC which means they're locked into that conference until 2036 Florida state is currently in the middle of litigation trying to get out of the ACC the fact that Florida State can't get out of the ACC doesn't make me think that Stanford and Cal are going to just willy-nilly leave and come back to the Pack 12 that only happens if the ACCC completely falls apart and right now there's not any indication that that's going to happen perhaps Florida State finds a way out and they get to leave and maybe that does lead to a mass exitance from the ACC maybe it doesn't and the ACC then Scoops up I don't know let's say Yukon that could be an interesting wrinkle that that changes some things here but for right now Stanford and Cal are not coming to the Pack 12 unless something dramatic changes with the ACC that is an important distinction it could also lead to SMU coming over to the Pack 12 if the ACC were to fall apart but again all that is speculative right now so if it's not UNLV in Nevada if it's not Stanford and Cal what directions are we talking about well I think you look at the American Athletic conference you look at Memphis huge potential addition there they're good on the football field they've been good on the basketball court although having some issues with Benny Hardway right now uh maybe you look at Tain or Tulsa not super sexy from a basketball perspective but they are good football programs they're in Marquee areas tolsa you add Oklahoma Market tan you add New Orleans uh South Florida has been mentioned I have a buddy who's from uh lives right around South Florida's campus but went to Oregon State I grew up with him and so he's pumped he's like please please give me South Florida in the in the comp confence I know it's super weird to travel that far but it'd be great for me I don't think it's going to happen but hey you never know it could be the case could they try to get BYU back from the Big 12 I think that's less likely I think the four corner schools are less likely as well there's no reason for them to leave the Big 12 for this conference that doesn't really make sense but I think they'll at least put the call in at least give it a shot do you go for a football only addition like North Dakota State or even Hawaii who's football only in the Mountain West right now and then of course the last question what about gonz for starters I think it's important to note that the conference is prioritizing football editions first they want to get to eight football schools in order to be qualifying as an FBS conference in 2026 there's no reason for them to prioritize basketball editions before they get to that eight so until they get to eight schools that are football focused they're not going to be talking to Gonzaga I feel pretty confident about that but if they get to eight and if those other those other two are something like me in two lane let's say that maybe then they try to look to get to 10 with basketball additions like inaga or St Mary's I've seen people mention oh is basketball only additions and I think that they mean that in the sense that they're not football schools Gonzaga and St Mary's whereas I think that they are implying that they would still be full members in the Pack 12 because let me say this if the Pack 12 says Hey Gonzaga will'll add your men's and women's basketball programs but nothing else Gonzaga is GNA pass they may pass even if they get an offer for their entire membership into the Pack 12 I still don't know that it's that appealing to them necessarily but they're definitely not going to do it unless the Pack 12 were absorbing all of their programs so I want to make that very clear in case people are seeing why would gon it no I don't think they're going to do that there's no reason to split up their their basketball programs away from the rest of their teams uh just to join the Pack 12 maybe they would do that in like a Big E situation or a big 12 even then I think that's not very likely definitely wouldn't happen with the Pack 12 but I I think the question a lot of people are asking is will the Pack 12 pursue Gonzaga but I think the follow-up question is I don't think this is going to be all that interesting to Gonzaga that's I think Gonzaga is is continues to be very very hellbent on the Big 12 or the Big East and as long as they feel like one of those is an option in the not too distant future I don't see them sacrificing that to make a huge move into the Pack 12 because if they make a move to the Pack 12 and then the Big 12 wants to invite them later and they got to do it all over again I don't think they want to do that to their student athletes to their faculty to to anybody so I think if they're going to make a move they're going to make a move and if they think that we we should just wait it out and see what happens with the big 12 who still seems interested despite not having all the votes necessary or the Big East if something were to happen with Yukon I think Gaga is going to continue to wait it out but there's a lot of intrigue here let me read you this conference If This Were gonzaga's conference Gonzaga St Mary's San Diego State Memphis Colorado State Boise State Washington State Fresno State Oregon State and Tain the 10 team conference right there five of them went dancing last year that are not the zags so six of them went dancing last year and Memphis is not one of them Memphis was a top 10 team in college basketball before they lost I like eight of their last 10 games or something like that and missed the NCAA tournament six teams out of these 10 made the Big T made the tournament last year and one of them was a top 10 team that faltered down the stretch there's un this unquestionably a better conference than the WCC and I love the WCC you all know that this is a better conference would I prefer BYU or UNLV or Nevada than tane yes of course but you can't be that picky this is still better however however it is not better than either the Big 12 or the Big East and as long as Gonzaga feels those are options that is going to be their priority so are they still options that's the question does the pack 12's Revival impact conference realignment at a power five level does it potentially impact the big 12's pursuit of Gonzaga we're going to talk about that in just a second right after I tell you about eBay Motors passion Drive patience that's the formula for winning championships and it's also what helps keep your ride or die alive and eBay Motors has everything that you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to Peak Performance from superchargers to roof racks exhaust kits to LED headlights and more whether you're into speed power or Style eBay Motors has you covered with over 122 million parts for your number one ride or die you'll always find exactly what you are looking for plus with eBay is guaranteed fit your part is guaranteed to fit your car every time or you get your money back because with eBay Motors your bir and rubber not cash with all the parts you need at the prices you want it's easy to turn your car into the MVP and bring home that W so keep your ride or die live at ebaymotors.com eligible items only exclusions apply and eBay's guaranteed fit is only available to us customers today's episode of Locked on zags is also brought to you by LinkedIn jobs folks when you're hiring for your small business you want to find quality professionals that are right for the role and that's why you can check out LinkedIn jobs which has the tools to help find the right Professionals for your team faster and they do it for free and Linkedin is not just another generic job board they help you hire professionals that you cannot find anywhere else even those that are not actively searching for a new job but might be open to the perfect role and in a given month over 70% of LinkedIn users do not visit other leading job sites so if you're not looking on LinkedIn you're not looking in the right place on LinkedIn 86% of small businesses get a qualified candidate within 24 hours so hire professionals like a professional on LinkedIn LinkedIn is also constantly finding ways to make the process even easier including launching a feature that helps you write your own job descriptions so folks post your job for free at linkedin.com lockon colge it's linkedin.com lockon col to post your job for free turn terms and conditions apply all right folks segment two still any Paton still locked on zags podcast and we're still closing out the week talking conference realignment after the Pack 12 snuck in and stole four programs from the Mountain West Conference starting in 2026 they will add Boise State San Diego State Fresno State and Colorado State to the two team conference that is now Oregon State and Washington State incidentally six teams three of them all of them have state at the end of their three of them are actual States Colorado Oregon and Washington Boise Fresno San Diego none of them are states just a weird coincidence about the teams that are currently in the pack two pack six now as we as they look to build to eight so we talked about whether Gonzaga would be interested in joining this current Pack 12 Conference whether we think the Pack 12 is actually going to invite Gonzaga but what I want to do now is talk about the two conferences that have been most connected to Gonzaga in terms of them wanting to join that conference that conference showing at least some level of interest in that program in the program and that is of course the big 12 and the Big East does this move by the pack 12 it's going to set off a chain reaction of events we already know that we already know if you're a program like Memphis Tulsa two lane South Florida some of those other teams that are kind of you know at the group of five level again to use a football term that are kind of been have been clamoring to get to the power level those teams are all mobilizing right now they're ready they're trying to figure out what does this mean for us is the Pack 12 going to send us an invite uh if not does the Mountain West send us an invite do we want to join the Mountain West like there's a lot of kind of waiting with baited breath right now and that has been a thing that's been happening in college athletics not just because of the Pack 12 which is now kind of created a new thing to wait and be kind of anxious about but the ACC has been a a big thing that has been holding up any future moves in the Pack 12 in in the conference reignment space the ACC is likely why the Big 12 is is holding steady without extending invitations to Yukon and Gonzaga certainly the Big East is not going to do anything right now until they see what happens with the ACC is the ACC has a lot of former biggie schools like Boston College Syracuse Louisville if they think there's any chance they can get those programs back the biggie is going to wait and see what happens there but I do think that there is an opportunity this move by the pack 12 to create a little bit more urgency on the side of Brett ymar and the Big 12 to potentially try to land Gonzaga I don't see the Pack 12 trying to go get Yukon maybe they'll make a call maybe they'll put in something there I don't think Yukon is clamoring so desperately to leave the Big East that they would join this iteration of the Pack 12 not trying to say that dismissively I just I don't know why Yukon would be interested in doing that so I don't think that that's going to happen but the big 12 is going to certainly be concerned that Gonzaga might do this and I say the Big 12 is going to be concerned commissioner Brett yormark is going to be concerned he loves Gonzaga he wants them he's made that very clear but there are other folks in leadership positions in the Big 12 who are voting on conference realignment who have not been convinced to add Gonzaga up to this point it's possible because one of the arguments that those folks have had and it's usually like we want to wait and see what these you know these eight new teams that we've had in the last two years but part of this whether it's being said or just kind of is a thought that they're having that they're not sharing out loud but a big part of this is the fact that they don't feel like they need to add Gonzaga right now there's no urgency on the Big 12 side to go prioritize adding a Gonzaga or a Yukon because they don't think those programs are going anywhere it's possible that knowing that the Pack 12 is is out on the hunt is trying to build a conference is trying to create you know rebuild this 108 year old conference to its former glory days that could create a little bit of urgency for the Big 12 to say hey we don't want to lose Gonzaga to the Pack 12 so let's try to you know make another offer here let's try to convince the the naysayers right now to to change their mind so we can get this team I don't know how likely that is I still think the the Gonzaga is going to if if Gonzaga gets an offer from the Pack 12 they're GNA go back to the Big 12 I think at that point the Big 12 is gonna try to do whatever they can to say hey just give us some time wait a little bit and and and we'll get you in and and gona is going to then be in a tough spot of taking an obvious chance to get into a a Pack 12 the Pack 12 or wait and try to get into the Big 12 part of this conversation is whether the Pack 12 gets back to that power conference status which I think is a big part of this conversation if kega feels like the Pack 12 is just another mid- major conference made up of Mountain West schools and two teams that they're going to play this year in conference play in the WCC then they may not feel like hey joining a conference that has four Mountain West schools to former Pack 12 WCC schools and a couple American Athletic Conference schools is not worth us jeopardizing our chances to get into the Big 12 or the Big East and that's a very reasonable take for Gonzaga to have it's a very reasonable way for them to say no thanks we're gonna wait we're gonna see what happens here but again anything that might put a little bit more pressure on the Big 12 to make a move here is not a bad thing again though a lot of this still hinges on the ACC if the ACC loses Clemson and and Florida State and tries to rebuild by adding somebody like Yukon and then the Big East panics and adds Gonzaga that that's a a semi-realistic scenario I say semi because it's hard to know exactly how everything would happen but I see that as being possible if the ACC just completely disintegrates which I I don't think is all that likely but if that were to happen you would then see Stanford and Cal go back to the Pack 12 maybe SMU comes with them you would probably see uh the Big East do whatever they can to try to land Louisville Boston College Syracuse those programs but again they have football those teams are not going to want to go independent in football so there's going to be an interesting Wrinkle in that does the Big East merge with some of the ACC schools and have a football Wing I don't know if the Big East wants to do that there's a lot of kind of in intrigue there does Gonzaga get involved in that conversation uh is the Big 12 scooping up teams like Wake Forest and Miami and and places like that if so does that mean Gonzaga is now further down on the back burner in that case does Gonzaga just say screw it let's join this pack 12 now that Stanford and cow's there they're not huge needle movers on the basketball side but they're big prestigious universities so a lot of this is going to depend on what happens with the ACCC and I think until we have some level of resolution there I think it's hard for us to really know what the future holds for Gonzaga a lot of people out there are going to want Gonzaga to join this pack 12 they've wanted Gonzaga in the Pack 12 they think it's the perfect place for them to be geographically region regionwise uh obviously the competition is better than the WCC we laid that out especially if they get Memphis even if they don't get Memphis if if they just get Stanford and calb back you still have San Diego State you still have Boise State you still have Colorado State those are all NCAA tournament teams if you if St Mary's joins with them you get another team there that's a quality addition like this could still work for Gonzaga and I'm not saying I'm anti-ac 12 I think it'd be really fun I just don't think it's gonzaga's priority right now and I know that it's not the pack 12's priority right now so until we have some more resolution on what's going on at the power conference level specifically with the ACC I think that we're still in a holding pattern in terms of gonzaga's future conference affiliation we're going to close out the show and the week talking about the Mountain West G has been connected to the Mountain West in the past there's now no chance that they're joining the Mountain West but what is this conference going to do and how could their next steps impact the WCC and the rest of the mid- major levels par particularly on the west coast we're going to talk about that in just a 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your subscription is active all right folks closing out the show and the week continuing our conversation here about the Pack 12 snagging Boise State Fresno State Colorado State and San Diego State from the Mountain West Conference it was a confirmed on Thursday morning those four teams will join Oregon State and Washington state in the Pack 12 in 2026 right after those two Oregon State and Washington State's tenure in the WCC comes to an end and the question now becomes what's going to happen in the Mountain West Mountain West was an 11 team conference that suddenly became a seven team conference as we've talked about in order to be an FBS level conference you need eight teams so the Mountain West has to do something they have 22 months just like the Pack 12 to find at least one more member to get to the minimum eight but there's a lot that is about to happen in the Mountain West world for starters the Mountain West not only has to try to add more programs to get back to eight before 20126 they have to prevent other conferences from stealing the programs that are already there and that's what I seriously wonder is what is going to happen if you're UNLV if you're Nevada if you're Wyoming if you're to those programs right now you're kind of in a state of panic what's going to happen to my conference am am I going to be homeless like Oregon State and Washington state were who's going to snap me up There's an opportunity here for other conferences to try to make some moves here I don't think we're going to see any more power conferences grabbing any of these teams like I don't as much as I maybe the Big 12 goes after somebody like UNLV it wouldn't be shocking to see them do that UNLV uh again already beat a big 12 team in Houston earlier this week uh or earlier this season and is playing Kansas Friday night uh as I'm recording this right now on Friday afternoon so maybe that's a move that happens there air force is a team that's been talked about as potentially getting added to another conference uh potentially and so there's some potential moves that could be had here but I think the the priority for them for the Mountain West is is making sure that they can stay a viable conference they also just added $110 million pack pill's paying them $110 million for those four schools so Mountain West has got money they got money they can spend on their current schools they got money they can use to entice other programs to come to their conference Mountain West is not debt this is not a killer strike from the Pack 12 if they'd added UNLV and Nevada it might have been it might have been at that point you might have seen the conference just completely fall apart and to be I I should say this too while I don't think the Mountain West is going to fall apart the WCC is is ready they're waiting Stu Jackson has been very very proactive in the moves that he has made in in adding Grand Canyon and Seattle you starting in next season and adding Oregon State and Washington State to give them a home for two years uh while they play independently in football they have been proactive in making those kind of moves if they feel that something's going to happen with the Mountain West they will strike in that situation obviously the Mountain West schools have football so that is a part of the equation do could could Stu Jackson convince Nevada and Wyoming and San Jose State and and Air Force and those kind of programs to join the WCC as affiliate members outside of football perhaps perhaps if things completely fall apart with the Mountain West what I think is more likely is the Mountain West finds two three teams gets back up to 10 schools and just rebuilds without the four Brands losing Boise State in particular is a devastating loss for this conference on the football side losing San Diego State is a devastating loss on the basketball side there is no debate that even the best case scenario for the Mountain West is really tough because they lost two of their huge brands in the two sports that drive Revenue in college athletics football and men's basketball and part of the issue for the Mountain West is they're not in a great position to reach out to programs and try to convince them to join their conference because the Pack 12 is is still on the hunt everybody knows it if the Mountain West goes to Memphis right now and says hey we'd love to add you we think there's a a good value here uh in our conference this is what our our media package looks like these are the teams You' compete against you know blah blah blah blah blah and Memphis says we're I mean they're not going to say yes until they have a definitive no from the Pack 12 and I don't think they're going to get a definitive no from the Pack 12 and if if I'm Memphis I'm I'm still waiting to see what the big 12 says maybe there's an opportunity there I don't think some of the better programs that could conceivably be targets for the Mountain West are going to join the Mountain West right now I think they're going to wait and see what happens with the Pack 12 with the big 12 even with the ACC potentially so it puts the Mountain West in a tough spot there are some programs that they can add that I think would would jump on the opportunity to be in the Mountain West but that are not moving the needle as much as some of the bigger names that they should could will pursue one of the most obvious targets here for me is New Mexico state and look New Mexico state has not been good lately they're struggling in football they had a serious issue with their basketball team uh where they ended up canceling part of the Season at the end of the year and and fired the coach and had to rebuild everything but the Mountain West already has New Mexico you bring in New Mexico state who's in Conference USA right now it's an upgrade for New Mexico state you now have these two schools you own the entire state of New Mexico there's a a natural rivalry there it's perfect it's not the sexiest to for the Mountain West but it's a pretty obvious one and I think we'll have most people saying I didn't even know they weren't already in that conference but hey that's fine there's nothing wrong with that I think UTEP makes a ton of sense UTEP has been on the radar for the Mountain West for a long time they are a Texas school University of Texas El Paso uh it gets the Mountain West into Texas and I think this is going to be a priority for both the Pack 12 and the Mountain West which is why I'm curious what that could do for programs like rice potentially maybe rice is a a heavily pursued program Texas State we talked about them Sam Houston State Tarlton State I don't think the pack 12's going after most of those programs but I think that the Mountain West will I think Tarlton State Texas State Sam Houston State rice maybe even abalene Christian all make some level of sense for the Mountain West and I don't think those programs will be pursued by the pack 12 I think the Pack 12 is going to focus more on Tulsa and Tain and that and and maybe trying to get SMU from SMU would be the big winner if they could get them but again that's that's tied up in the ACC and their grant of rights at this point the zags are not an option for the Mountain West in case you think we're going that direction we're not that the zags have no interest in a Mountain West without San Diego State or Boise State it just makes no sense for them I don't think that the there's really any WCC teams that the Mountain West will pursue because the Mountain West is focused on football the only WCC team that has football is San Diego and yeah sure the Mountain West lost the market of San Diego but replacing San Diego State with San Diego is a bad move it's not going to happen it's not going to happen we're not even going to entertain that any longer Grand Canyon makes a little bit more sense but again they're not a football school so I don't think that's a priority for the Mountain West and and again the Grand Canyon obviously is tied in the WCC I don't think they're going to abandon that to join this version of the Mountain West doesn't really make sense maybe Northern Arizona makes some sense maybe some other FBS opportunities make some sense like North Dakota State South Dakota State Montana State Eastern Washington some of those schools could make some sense it be very interesting to see some of those teams end up uh at the FBS level from a football perspective I think that'd be kind of kind of fun but I I I kind of don't know if that's the big priority for the Mountain West they're going to try to focus on teams that are already playing at the FBS level if they can get them uh and certainly they're going to prioritize trying to land some of those big teams in Texas just so they can have a footprint down there but I think that it's it's a going to be really interesting to see what happens to the Mountain West because again if they think that they're having to try to add new programs while also fending off other conferences that are trying to to add UNLV and add some of those other value ads things could get pretty darn for Gloria narez and her conference I'm very interested to see what's going to shake out we're going to talk a lot more about this this is not a done topic by any stretch of the imagination but that is going to wrap it up for me today and for this week here on locked on zags folks thank you so much for making the show your first listen or your first watch of the day we'll be back next week got some mailbag stuff to get to we'll talk more recruiting more conference realignment uh we'll get you started we're gonna just about to get started on our player season preview series as well as going to start towards the end of the month of September thanks again folks and until next time as always go zags