The Pac-12 Friday regular commentary took a hit about two years ago when the breakup of the conference began with UCLA and USC bolting for the B1G. Mass exodus ensued, and it’s been a hard road back for the Conference of (real NCAA) Champions. Now, the conference has rebuilt itself enough for a return to football in 2026, not to mention the inclusion of Gonzaga University for the other sports as well. Now what?

Well, we discussed the football additions we think are interesting, so now it’s about the non-football schools. Gonzaga needs a league partner in that regard, and the obvious answer is right there: St. Mary’s College, in Moraga, California. Set in the East Bay suburbs just over the Berkeley Hills and through the Caldecott Tunnel, the Gaels have a long sports tradition. For example, they won the 1939 Cotton Bowl.

Fact.

But St. Mary’s terminated its football program a long time ago (2003), due to financial constraints in an era when the sport was expanding and becoming more expensive. Yet the campus maintains 14 Division I sports still, and the basketball program has become a mid-major powerhouse, with six NCAA Tournament appearances in the last 15 seasons—including the last three in a row. The Gaels are Gonzaga’s main rival.

We’ve flown back and forth between Oakland and Spokane many times, and the pilots of the plane often make jokes about the basketball rivalry. St. Mary’s is a sound institution and would fit right into a new Pac-X alignment as a complement to Bulldogs. Sure, the Gaels haven’t made the Sweet Sixteen in March Madness since 2010, but we suspect there are some very wealthy alumni who will support the college now.

Two-time Oscar winner Mahershala Ali (Moonlight, Green Book) played at St. Mary’s, actually, in the 1990s, so there’s some street cred there as well. But more importantly, the campus resides in a wealthy area where a lot of college students return home, after not doing so well at destination schools elsewhere, to finish their education. This creates a healthy alumni base that would jump at the chance for Pac-X inclusion.

With so many alums from Cal and Stanford already in the area—and those schools foolishly playing in the ACC now—the Gaels alumni network probably is ready to step up now and join the twenty-first century. We’re not saying we think that in itself is a good idea, but think about other small campuses across the country with niche alums, pockets lined with expendable cash, and you get the picture. St. Mary’s fits here.