Sticking to sports: Changing state of college athletics leads to new faces in new places, some of which seem a little shocking

A GRIP IN SPORT • Where we were? Yes. We don’t appreciate what we have enough. Maybe it’s time to change that.

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• Sometimes it’s enough appreciating the little things in life is tearing them up. How to work with electricity. No, we’re not talking about the apocalyptic meltdowns of “The Last of Us.” More mundane. Like settling into a hotel room for a weekend stay and discovering that half the outlets in the room don’t work.

Cool. Charging the laptop overnight didn’t take long. We had to get down on our knees this morning, move furniture, and use an extension cord to plug the damn thing in. Fun.

You would think that the words “status quo,” in the sense of a large chain hotel room, would include working plugs. On the other hand, the “status quo” is changing in all aspects of life.

Heck, we’ve spent decades viewing the West Coast Conference as the home of Jesuit schools in this part of the country, albeit with a secular beach school thrown in to provide some spice. So the league became the preferred destination for those who needed a safe haven.

Providing relief to BYU seemed to fit with the Jesuit mission of helping those in times of need, but the giant LDS school always felt a little out of place. Still, in most years, the decade-long marriage has helped the conference, and most importantly, Gonzaga, in its never-ending quest for NCAA basketball respect.

Of course, the Provo Cougars were always looking for a football conference to call home and finally found it in the Big 12. Last basketball season felt a little strange without them.

But strange will feel a little normal soon. Two Power Five residents of the Pacific Northwest will team up next season as Oregon State and Washington State needed a new port after another conference realignment tsunami destroyed theirs.

Turns out the two-year coupling is just the beginning. For the CMI. Two more members will join in 2025 and they couldn’t be more different.

Seattle University is a perfect fit, in a sense. A Jesuit school with a history, albeit an old one by today’s standards, with many of the schools in the conference. But when it comes to helping Gonzaga’s basketball programs — the No. 1 priority for some people on campus — with their NET rankings, the Redhawks have only recently turned positive. And we wonder how long this will last.

Grand Canyon University is the antithesis of the Redhawks. No Jesuits, no history, no problems. After all, the for-profit Christian school under Bryce Drew has transformed into a basketball powerhouse. The men were good enough last season to make the NCAA second round. And even if Drew leaves for a more prominent position, that probably won’t change. The godfather of Antelope hoops is 84-year-old Jerry Colangelo, former NBA owner and head of USA Basketball. The Grand Canyon Business School? It has his name.

And he still influences the Antelopes’ basketball fortunes.

During the NCAA tournament in Spokane last month, we met an old friend at Davenport Tower to talk. We sat and watched Yale upset Auburn. Behind us, in a booth, sat WCC commissioner Stu Jackson and Colangelo, sharing food and chatting before the Lopes’ game against Saint Mary’s.

Were the two resolving the details of yesterday’s announcement? There’s no way to know for sure, but we can be sure that the addition wouldn’t have happened without Colangelo’s involvement and blessing.

One has to wonder if the latest WCC add-ons will last. We know WSU and OSU are just passing by. Seattle U? He has been looking for a place in the conference for at least a decade. But GCU? The strange nature of the marriage makes it seem unlikely to last. Then again, are any of these recent conference nuptials a long-term affair?

These questions, of course, are for tomorrow. Today, the Jacksons and WCC schools did what was necessary. They adapted to the new times. And given the conference another electrical discharge.

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WSU: The Cougars continue to add to their football roster, adding a former Auburn linebacker on Friday. Greg Woods has this story. … Washington State has one of the best starting pitchers in the always-tough Pac-12. Colton Clark has this story about right-hander Grant Taylor. … Jaden Hicks is considered by some to be one of the steals of the NFL draft. … Elsewhere in the Pac-12 and the country, Jon Wilner has a mailbag in the Mercury News. There’s a question and an answer about the money UCLA will soon have to start paying California. Add in the new costs and, as John Canzano writes, the Bruins helped destroy the Pac-12 by pennies. … Washington’s Michael Penix Jr. is on the next step in his football career, the Atlanta Falcons. … The Huskies still have questions. … The rivalry between Utah and BYU has already reached a new level and will only grow in the Big 12. … On the basketball court, Tara VanDerveer’s name will be on Stanford’s. … The roster will be different in Colorado next season. … The Oregon men have officially added another player. … Arizona State will only bring back two players from last season’s roster.

Gonzaga: Forget our chatter about CMI expansion. Want smart thoughts? May we suggest Dave Boling’s column? …Theo Lawson has all the details on the additions. … On Friday morning, Theo also told a story about the upcoming two-year scheduling agreement with UCLA. … Conference additions aren’t just local news.

EWU and Idaho: Around the Big Sky, Montana added a junior college basketball transfer and Montana State welcomes a USC player.

Preparations: We can go over a summary of Greg Lee’s tracks and a summary of Dave Nichols’ other sports.

Indians: For the second night in a row, host Hillsboro shut out Spokane, winning Friday 3-2 in 10 innings. Dave Nichols has more to this story. … Elsewhere in the Northwest League, Vancouver defeated Everett 4-3 and visiting Tri-City defeated Eugene 9-4.

Speed: Spokane will host Omaha in the second group stage match of the USL League One Cup today. Ethan Myers has more in this preview.

Sailors: Need more offense? Turn to Dylan Moore. His career night led the M’s to an 8-1 home opener victory over Oakland. Bryan Woo started and left early, but the Mariners say he’s fine. … That’s not true for Matt Brash, who had Tommy John surgery this week. … Julio Rodriguez is not throwing the ball.

Storm: Jewell Loyd is still the brightest gem Seattle has, no matter how many additions there are to the roster. But it’s time to win.

Seahawks: Yes, there have been many changes. But there are still questions about the offensive line.

Sounds: It’s rivalry weekend. The Sounders face Portland hoping to find a goal. … Seattle met its next opponent in the US Open Cup.

Reign: This weekend’s match against the Thorns will be different without Megan Rapinoe to shake things up.

Sonics: There is another report that Seattle is getting closer to finally having an NBA team back.

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• We are sure Having working sockets should be a prerequisite for all hotel rooms. But what do we know? See you later …