SEATTLE — The possibility of re-starting the Gonzaga-Washington rivalry in men’s basketball is in the hands of the Zags now.
UW athletic director Scott Woodward confirmed Wednesday afternoon that the Huskies have sent a proposal to the national powerhouse from Spokane, opening up the possibility that the two schools will play three consecutive years at Key Arena.
“Lorenzo Romar and I have been talking about it, and we think it’s a good thing for the fans and the programs to do it at Seattle,” said Woodward, whose proposal includes games in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13. “Especially at Key Arena, because it’s a big-time venue that struggling right now.”
Gonzaga has yet to respond to the proposal, and Woodward said there is “no time limit” on when he expects to hear back from the Spokane school.
Gonzaga and UW had been playing annually until the 2006-07 season, when Washington ended the rivalry and cited an upcoming schedule that had too many high-caliber opponents.
This year’s Husky schedule includes only three non-conference opponents — Texas Tech, Georgetown and Texas A&M — from the so-called power conferences. There is a chance that UW’s 2009-10 schedule will include just three teams — Georgetown, Cal and UCLA — that are ranked in the preseason Top 25.
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