The University of Washington has suggested to Gonzaga that the schools renew their men’s basketball rivalry – with one non-negotiable condition.
The offer calls for the annual games to be played at KeyArena in downtown Seattle, 4 miles from the UW campus and 283 miles from the Gonzaga campus in Spokane. Washington athletic director Scott Woodward said a resumption of a home-and-road series is not on the table.
“We’ve been thinking about it a long time,” Woodward said Wednesday. “ ... We think it’s a pretty fair proposal. It makes sense for the University of Washington to do a neutral-site game in KeyArena, which isn’t obviously the best economic area because of the loss of the Sonics. We thought it would be a great venue for a great matchup of two very prominent basketball teams in the state.”
KeyArena seats 17,072 – more than the combined total of UW’s Hec Edmondson Pavilion (10,000) and Gonzaga’s McCarthey Athletic Center (6,000).
Richard Kilwien, UW associate athletic director for communications, gave this overview of UW’s proposal: “A three-year series at KeyArena. We would split the net revenue equally. We would split the number of tickets equally. We would make an equal number of tickets available to each school for students at a reasonably priced rate. And we would use officials who work both leagues.”
Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth said he is willing to discuss the idea, while expressing reservations about playing all of the games in Seattle.
“I have always been of the opinion this is a good game for both schools, a good game for the state of Washington and a good game for basketball in the Pacific Northwest,” Roth said.
“At the same time, it is a series that should be equitable for both schools. I have always believed it is a game best played on the two campuses because of the great college basketball atmosphere in both campus venues. The renewal of this series is something that will be decided by the two athletic directors and the two head basketball coaches in private discussions.”
The schools have met 43 times, with Washington leading 29-14. However, Gonzaga won eight of the final nine meetings before UW ended the series after the 2006-07 season, when Todd Turner was athletic director.
“Gonzaga is a great program,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said in a statement released by the school. “When we discontinued the series initially, we knew there would come a time when we would probably renew the series. We think it is something that is going to work well for both programs.”
Twenty-three of the previous meetings have been at UW, 20 at Gonzaga. The schools have never met in a neutral setting.
“This neutral thing is a win-win for both schools in a lot of ways,” Kilwien said. “Not only is it a win competitively and for the fans, but it’s a solid financial proposal as well.”
Staff writer Todd Milles and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Don Ruiz, 253-597-8808
don.ruiz@thenewstribune.com
blog.thenewstribune.com/uwsports
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