Press Box: VCU to move conferences? I don’t think so

Kyler Giiliam, Contributing Writer

With basketball powerhouse Gonzaga University moving to the Pac-12 Conference from the West Coast Conference as a non-football member, it has opened the question of VCU being a target for conference realignment. 

Gonzaga and VCU share the absence of a football program. However, VCU falls short of the dominance of Gonzaga’s basketball program, holding them back from joining a conference like the Atlantic Coastal Conference or the American Athletic Conference.

VCU has the opportunity to grow its basketball program. Being located in Richmond, VCU has access to fertile recruiting grounds, such as the DMV, Charlotte, North Carolina and even here in the Greater Richmond area. VCU has the opportunity to attract a plethora of talent from its backyard.

Fan investment is also high at VCU, creating one of the most ruckus environments in mid-major basketball. 

Richmond is also a decent-sized market with no professional teams to compete with but lacks the financial investment needed to compete at the Power 6 level.

Universities like Gonzaga or Southern Methodist University have the full financial backing of boosters that VCU currently does not have. 

The investments help cover Name, Image and Likeness expenses for athletes, offsetting the cost of moving conferences and pay top salaries for quality coaches, or retaining ones that have big offers from other universities. 

VCU needs a stronger booster base to achieve the next level of athletic excellence.

If VCU were able to increase booster involvement, it still would be tough to move up in the athletic hierarchy because of our lack of national brand recognition. 

Conferences look at national recognition when deciding to add new members. Gonzaga’s success in the NCAA tournament has gained them notoriety across the county, while VCU is still holding onto its Final Four appearance in 2011. 

VCU would need to gain more national recognition and postseason success to gain access to a better conference as a non-football member.

Possible candidates for VCU’s new conference are the American, Big East and ACC. 

The American seems like the most obvious choice for VCU to go to. The conference is already home to non-football member Wichita State. The American also has a media rights deal with ESPN, according to the American Athletic Conference.

The American also lost the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati and the University of Houston to the Big 12 in 2023, according to ESPN.

The conference might still want to regain some power and VCU could help, but not having a football team can make the Rams less desirable compared to a school like James Madison University or Appalachian State University.

The Big East is a basketball-centric conference where VCU’s football status does not matter. 

However, VCU might not fit culturally with the Big East schools. The Big East current iteration is backed by the “Catholic 7,” and VCU isn’t a Catholic-affiliated university. 

Finally, VCU may not be up to standard when it comes to competing in the Big East. The Big East is home to the back-to-back National Champions University of Connecticut Huskies, and the conference has won five of the last 10 National Championships.

VCU would need to have more continued success to be considered for the Big East.

The ACC seems like a long shot without a football team. However, it might be a waiting game for the Rams. Florida State and Clemson have open lawsuits about leaving the conference, according to The Athletic.

If dominoes fall correctly and the current ACC implodes, VCU might have a path to gaining membership in what remains of the Mid-Atlantic’s most powerful conference. But at this moment, I don’t see that path materializing.

Gonzaga rising to the ranks as a non-football school still gives hope for VCU to climb the athletic mountain. However, there are clear obstacles VCU needs to overcome to get a seat at the big boy table.