Gonzaga: 13 Consecutive NCAA Tournaments and Counting
Somewhere around the turn of the century, it was decided that we could no longer consider Gonzaga a Cinderella in the NCAA tournament. This was not outwardly discussed nor publicly decided but everyone knew it in their hearts. After all, the Bulldogs had made the tournament in 1995, 1999, 2000 and 2001. They had won their conference championship in each of those seasons as well, and had ventured into the Elite Eight of the Big Dance in the ’99 season. It was time to give them their due.
Somewhere around the late 2000s, the public unconsciousness once again made a decision about the University of Gonzaga. We decided it no longer made sense to refer to them as a mid-major in the sense of the word. Mid-major is, by definition, describing a non-power, non-BCS conference. But in inference, mid-major implies “below” those other schools. Yet Gonzaga was really below no one at this point. After making the NCAA’s in ’99, 2000, and 2001, they went on to gain a tournament bid in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009. By the end of the decade, Gonzaga was a bona fide regular.
Last season, 2011, made it 13 consecutive seasons the Bulldogs had made the NCAA tournament. Including the 1995 seasons, they sprinkled in a remarkable 11 West Coast Conference championships. Now, it had gotten ridiculous. From Cinderella to surprising mid-major to NCAA stalwart, Head Coach Mark Few had done the amazing. When a basketball fan discusses Gonzaga now, it is with the undeniable air of acceptance that they will make the NCAA tournament and the implied sense that, if they do not, something terribly surprising went down.
Gonzaga’s next stepping stone is a Final Four appearance. This would be a tremendous accomplishment for a “mid-major” school, yet for Gonzaga, it almost seems surprising they have yet to make one. Isn’t that the epitome of respect?
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