If we were going to give an award to the most surprisingly consistent individual program in college sports since the turn of the century, we would be shipping the trophy to Spokane, Washington. How does a school with a little over 4,700 undergrads and no NCAA appearances until 1995, all of a sudden become once of the most successful programs in college basketball over the last twelve years. The success of Gonzaga under the direction of Mark Few is incredible. Twelve consecutive appearances in the NCAA tournament and an overall record of 328-85 (a winning percentage of 80%) has made the Zags both the darling of the nation and the desired model for every non-BCS program in Division 1. I wish I had a dollar for every time a college administrator or coach was quoted as saying we are going to make our program “the Gonzaga of the East (or North, South, Midwest, Southwest, fill in the blank, etc.).
How did a small Jesuit University in the great Northwest build a program that has dramatically changed the brand of the entire University nationally and so positively impacted the future of the institution? The answer is the leadership made a wise decision to allocate their limited resources to an area that could provide the most benefit to the program and the University. This concept is one called “selective excellence” and allows athletic programs, business or organizations to compete in pre-determined areas rather than spread available resources totally across the board and be mediocre in all of them. So often leaders try to give everyone everything they want so they allocate dollars without establishing priorities. In Athletic programs that do not have unlimited resources, that strategy (everybody gets the same) is a sure way to be middle of the pack in everything. Interestingly by focusing on men's basketball the other Zag programs have becoming tremendously successful as the Gonzaga brand became a huge recruiting tool. Women's basketball has made postseason appearances in 6 of the last 8 years with an surprising run to the elite 8 in 2011. Men's and women's soccer and baseball have all made recent appearances n the NCAA Championships. Each sport now has new quality facilities that can be tied to the success of men's basketball. Rather than be envious of men's basketball, each of the other Gonzaga coaches understand how basketball has benefitted their team.
Athletic Director Mike Roth (in his 15th year at the helm) invested in men’s basketball in many ways but most significantly he created consistency in the program by retaining Head Coach Mark Few. When the BCS programs came calling, the investment by Roth of strategically allocating resources to the Bulldogs’ most productive area (men’s basketball) paid huge dividends as Few never wavered in his desire to stay with the Zags. When I asked Mike why Coach Few stayed, he simply stated, "He has a great job."
A new arena, great travel arrangements, amazing financial support and a national presence for the University are the most significant benefits from Mike Roth’s vision. Additional admissions applications, new buildings and dormitories have become the rule because of a great leadership decision by Mike Roth and the loyalty and great coaching of Mark Few. The next construction on the Gonzaga campus should be a statue of Mike Roth and Mark Few shaking hands.
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