Gonzaga University

Founding Gonzaga University was founded in 1887 by Sicilian-American Joseph Cataldo (1837–1928), who had come in 1865 as a Jesuit missionary to the Native Americans of the Pacific Northwest. In 1880, Cataldo built a schoolhouse about northeast of Spokane on the Peone Prairie, to serve children of the Upper Spokane Indians. Cataldo was concerned about the influence and expansion of Protestant schools on the region's native people, and by 1881 was discussing building a Jesuit college with other Jesuit leaders. The Jesuits chose a location at Spokane Falls (later Spokane) due to its centrality in the Washington, Idaho and Montana region. The Jesuits purchased 320 acres of prime real estate in the city's central business district north of the Spokane River for $936. The Northern Pacific Railway was holding the land in reserve, but Cataldo was able to convince railroad executive John W. Sprague to allow the sale to build the school. Students were not allowed to advance to higher classes except upon passage of rigorous examinations that were overseen by the Prefect of Studies. Students might become sick from anxiety while preparing and some withdrew rather than face the exams. Sexually abusive priests were quietly kept there, out of contact with vulnerable populations yet shielded from any liability for the abuse they had committed. The Spokane Spokesman-Review newspaper questioned Gonzaga President Thayne McCulloh's statements that he did not know, before or during his time as president, about the abusive priests kept at the Cardinal Bea House. Controversy over University Response to Campus Racism In 2026, Gonzaga University faced public criticism from its Black Student Union and the Spokane NAACP over what was perceived to be an insufficient administrative response to racist incidents on campus, including the targeting of Black students with racist harassment and slurs following a fundraiser event. Presidents • James Rebmann 1886–1890 • Charles Mackin 1890–1891 • John B. Rene 1891–1893 • Leopold Van Gorp 1893–1894 • Lawrence Palladino 1894–1896 • James Rebmann 1896–1899 • George de la Motte 1899–1901 • Joseph Raphael John Crimont 1901–1904 • Francis Dillon 1904–1905 • Herman Goller 1905–1909 • Louis Taelman 1909–1913 • James Brogan 1913–1920 • John McHugh 1920–1921 • Walter Fitzgerald 1921–1927 • Daniel Reidy 1927–1930 • John Keep 1930–1934 • Leo Robinson 1934–1942 • Francis Altman 1942–1945 • Francis Corkery 1945–1957 • Edmund Morton 1957–1961 • John P. Leary 1961–1969 • Richard E. Twohy 1969–1974 • Bernard J. Coughlin 1974–1996 • Edward Glynn 1996–1997 • Robert J. Spitzer 1998–2009 • Thayne McCulloh 2010–2025 • Katia Passerini 2025–present ==Campus==

Gonzaga's main campus has 105 buildings on 152 acres in the Logan Neighborhood. The university has two large libraries. Foley Center Library is Gonzaga's main graduate and undergraduate library, opened in 1992. Chastek Law Library primarily serves the Gonzaga University School of Law, erected in 2000. The Rosauer School of Education building was completed in 1994. In 2014, the university made plans to build a performing arts center named after benefactor Myrtle Woldson that would have a 750-seat theater. The building opened to the public in 2019 and holds both a theater and recital hall. In addition to the campus in Spokane, Gonzaga's virtual campus has degree programs. ==Academics==

Gonzaga's liberal arts tradition lies in its core curriculum, which integrates philosophy, religious studies, mathematics, literature, natural and social sciences, and extensive writing in each major discipline. Gonzaga has studies in 92 fields and 26 graduate programs. It has programs in preparation for professional schools in business, education, engineering, dentistry, divinity/theology, law, medicine, nursing, and veterinary medicine. It sponsors an Army ROTC program which prepares students to become commissioned officers upon graduation. Gonzaga partners with Bishop White Seminary, located next to the campus, to prepare Catholic seminarians for the priesthood. Students may study abroad at Gonzaga's campus in Florence, Italy, or at other programs in Australia, Benin, Denmark, China, Costa Rica, England, France, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Spain and Zambia. As of 2015, the average class size was 23 students and there were 427 employed faculty; the student-to-faculty ratio was 11.5:1. For the undergraduate Class of 2021 (enrolling fall 2017), Gonzaga received 7,162 applications, accepted 4,835 (67.5%), and enrolled 1,048. The freshman enrolled for 2017 had an average GPA of 3.76, an average ACT of 27, an average SAT Critical Reading score of 597, an average Math score of 607, and an average composite score of 1204. Rankings Gonzaga is ranked tied for 98th in the U.S. News & World Report 2025 rankings of national universities. The School of Engineering and Applied Science is ranked tied for 23rd best undergraduate engineering program nationwide at schools where doctorates are not offered. Forbes ranks Gonzaga the 153rd best school in the country, 87th in private colleges, and 33rd overall in the West in the 2025 top college list. Additionally, Gonzaga is listed among The Princeton Review's rankings of the best 382 colleges and in the Fiske Guide to Colleges, which ranks 321 colleges in the United States, Canada, and England. In 2022, U.S. News ranked Gonzaga's MBA in American Indian Entrepreneurship 14th in Entrepreneurship. ==Athletics==

team celebrating a win at George C. Page Stadium in 2008 Gonzaga University is part of the NCAA Division I West Coast Conference. Beginning July 1, 2026, Gonzaga will be part of the Pac-12 Conference. Their official mascot is the Bulldog and players are nicknamed the Zags. Gonzaga has 16 men's and women's varsity sports, including baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, tennis, volleyball, and track and field (indoor and outdoor). Gonzaga's men's basketball team has 22 WCC tournament championships 16 WCC regular season championships, 9 straight "Sweet 16's," produced 15 All Americans, a national CBS-Chevrolet Player of the Year and USBWA Oscar Robertson Trophy in Adam Morrison, and 10 NBA first round picks . Additionally, in 2013, Canadian center Kelly Olynyk, a national Player of the Year finalist, was selected as a first team All American. In the 2012–13 season, Gonzaga was ranked No. 1 by the AP for the first time in school history. Its highest ranking before that came in 2004, when the Bulldogs were ranked No. 2. Gonzaga advanced to the Elite 8 of the 2015 NCAA tournament, losing to eventual national champion and No. 1 ranked Duke. Basketball games are held in the McCarthey Athletic Center. The university's men's basketball team, which did not make its first appearance in the NCAA tournament until 1995 (more than a decade after Basketball Hall of Fame player and Gonzaga alum John Stockton graduated), made the regional finals of the NCAA tournament (the "Elite Eight") in 1999, re-appearing in the tournament every year since (). The women's basketball team made it to the "Sweet Sixteen" in 2010. Like many colleges, Gonzaga put its football program on hiatus during World War II; the announcement was made in April 1942. After the war the administration decided not to resume it; the program had been in financial difficulty prior to the war. Gonzaga football produced two Pro Football Hall of Famers: Tony Canadeo (1941) of the Green Bay Packers, and Ray Flaherty (1926), head coach of the Washington Redskins. In addition, Flaherty recruited former Bulldog football stars Ed Justice, George "Automatic" Karamatic, and Max Krause to play in the Redskins backfield. Intramural and club sports Gonzaga University has intramural and club sports for each season, open to all students, and over 72% of the student population participates at various levels from competitive to recreational. In the fall, Gonzaga has soccer, flag football, volleyball, dodgeball, 3-on-3 basketball, badminton, and various tournaments. In the winter, it has soccer, ultimate frisbee, pickleball, bench press competitions, innertube basketball, and handball tournaments. In the spring there is softball, volleyball, triathlon, soccer, and home run derbies. Since the mid-1990s, Gonzaga has become known for its men's basketball program. The Zags (as they are popularly known) have participated in every single March Madness tournament since 1999, and were national runners up in 2017 and 2021. (see Gonzaga Bulldogs men's basketball) Gonzaga also has an Army ROTC Ranger Challenge team, which has won 15 championships in the last 16 years. It has repeatedly won the Douglas MacArthur Award, given annually to the best Army ROTC program in the Western United States. ==Student life==

The Gonzaga Student Body Association is in charge of the clubs and activities on campus. Elections for its offices (e.g., President, Vice President, Senator) take place annually during the spring. More than 20 faiths are represented on campus. ==Student publications==

The Gonzaga Bulletin is the official, weekly student newspaper of Gonzaga University. The newspaper is primarily staffed by students of the journalism and broadcasting department of the university's communication arts department; it is managed by a faculty adviser and an advisory board, which reports to the university president. The Gonzaga Bulletin is produced on the fourth floor of Gonzaga's College Hall and printed off-site in Spokane. Spires is Gonzaga's official yearbook. It details the academic year through pictures and articles and is distributed at the beginning of each year free to all students. To ensure being included in the yearbook, students have their pictures taken during the opening weekend or Fall Family weekend. Gonzaga Law Review is the law school's flagship legal publication, founded in 1966. Gonzaga Journal of International Law is the School of Law's second legal journal, founded in 1997, and is published entirely online, allowing for a variety of publishing dates. iZAG Radio is the university's student-run radio station, broadcasting music, news, and sports commentary live over internet radio. ==Alumni==

Gonzaga University alumni include former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Tom Foley, former Governor of the State of Washington Christine Gregoire, Academy Award-winning singer and actor Bing Crosby, NBA Hall of Fame basketball player John Stockton, Major League Baseball pitcher Eli Morgan, and world-class mountain climber Jim Wickwire. ==See also==