The championship game of this year’s NCAA tournament features a familiar team in the North Carolina Tar Heels and an unfamiliar one in the Gonzaga Bulldogs.
Where is Gonzaga located? And other quick facts about the NCAA Tournament school
The Pacific Northwest school’s name is prounounced Gon-ZAG-a, not Gon-ZAH-ga.
But before dissecting the matchup between these two teams, there’s one really important question to consider: Where even is Gonzaga University?
Where is Gonzaga?
Google Trends data reveals that searches regarding the university’s location are at an all-time high right now. And from the way things appear, it’s safe to assume March Madness sparks an interest in Gonzaga’s location on a yearly basis.
The answer: Spokane, Wash, a city of 210,000 that’s a few hours east of Seattle, near the Rocky Mountain’s foothills and the Idaho border, about an hour or so south of Canada.
Other useful information
- It’s pronounced Gon-ZAG-a, not Gon-ZAH-ga.
- If you want to sound cool, “Zags” is a popular abbreviation for the school, though it doesn’t seem to have any meaning aside from serving as an abbreviation.
- Adam Morrison might be the best-known former Gonzaga basketball player, but Hall of Fame member John Stockton also attended the university.
- Gonzaga ended its football program in the fall of 1941, but the school boasts two members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame: Tony Canadeo of the Green Bay Packers, and Ray Flaherty, who played and coached at the professional level.
- In addition to Morrison and Stockton, famous alumni of Gonzaga’s basketball program include Austin Daye, Dan Dickau, Kelly Olynyk, Domantas Sabonis, Robert Sacre, Ronny Turiaf, and Kyle Wiltjer
- Other notable Gonzaga alumni include Bing Crosby, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Marco Gonzales, former MLB player Jason Bay, and Colorado Rockies bench coach Mike Redmond.
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