1980–81 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team

American college basketball season

1980–81 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
Conference	West Coast Athletic Conference
Record	19–8 (9–5 WCAC)
Head coach	Dan Fitzgerald (3rd season)
Assistant coach	Jay Hillock
Home arena	Kennedy Pavilion
Seasons ← 1979–80 1981–82 →

1980–81 West Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
San Francisco	11	–	3	.786	23	–	7	.767
Pepperdine	11	–	3	.786	16	–	11	.593
Gonzaga	9	–	5	.643	19	–	8	.704
Portland	7	–	7	.500	17	–	10	.630
Santa Clara	7	–	7	.500	14	–	13	.519
Loyola Marymount	5	–	9	.357	9	–	19	.321
San Diego	3	–	11	.214	10	–	16	.385
Saint Mary's	3	–	11	.214	9	–	18	.333


Rankings from AP Poll

The 1980–81 Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gonzaga University in the West Coast Athletic Conference (WCAC) during the 1980–81 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. Led by 3rd season with head coach Dan Fitzgerald, the Bulldogs were 19–8 (.704) overall (9–5 in WCAC, 3rd),^[1]^[2] and played their home games on campus at Kennedy Pavilion in Spokane, Washington.

A loss in the finale to Portland likely cost Gonzaga a berth in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT).^[3]^[4] A 1980 graduate of Gonzaga Prep, point guard John Stockton was a freshman this season.^[5]

After the season, athletic director Fitzgerald stepped down as head coach and promoted assistant coach Jay Hillock. Four years later, Fitzgerald returned as head coach,^[6]^[7] and led the Zags for an additional twelve seasons (fifteen total).

References

^ "College basketball standings". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). March 9, 1981. p. 3C.
^ "1980-81 Gonzaga Bulldogs Roster and Stats - College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
^ Blanchette, John (March 9, 1981). "Zags get the word on NIT -- it's 'No'". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 15.
^ "Pilots upend Gonzaga in finale". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). March 9, 1981. p. 23.
^ "Hot shooting Gonzaga zips". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). November 29, 1980. p. 13.
^ Blanchette, John (April 4, 1985). "'I'm just looking for a change'". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. C1.
^ Blanchette, John (November 22, 1985). "Zags need some perspective". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). p. 28.

External links

Sports Reference – Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball – 1980-81 season

v t e Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball
Venues	Russell Gymnasium (1907–1958) Spokane Coliseum (1958–1965, 1979–1980) Charlotte Y. Martin Centre (1965–2004) McCarthey Athletic Center (2004–present) Spokane Arena (alternate, 1995–present)
Rivalries	BYU Idaho (dormant) Saint Mary's Washington
Culture & lore	Spike the Bulldog "Go, Gonzaga!"
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1907–08 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA Final Four appearances in italics