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GONZAGA

Gonzaga basketball’s storybook rise featured in Tubi documentary

Gonzaga men's basketball's rags-to-riches story will be highlighted in a feature-length documentary that premiers Friday on the streaming platform Tubi.

Gonzaga Final Four celebration South Carolina 2017...

Gonzaga celebrates after beating South Carolina in the 2017 Final Four to advance to the national championship game. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

(Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

The Gonzaga men’s basketball program’s rags-to-riches story will be highlighted in a feature-length documentary that premiers Friday on the streaming platform Tubi.

The 75-minute documentary, titled “Gonzaga: The Slipper Still Fits,” chronicles the Zags’ Cinderella rise from basketball obscurity to national powerhouse under longtime head coach Mark Few.

It includes interviews with Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr and numerous former Gonzaga stars – including Basketball Hall of Famer John Stockton, GU legend Adam Morrison and current NBA players Chet Holmgren, Andrew Nembhard, Jalen Suggs and Domantas Sabonis.

The documentary was directed by Emmy Award winner David Check and made in partnership with Teton Ridge Entertainment.

“At Teton Ridge Entertainment, we look for stories that reveal something bigger about who we are,” Teton Ridge Entertainment president Jillian Share said in a release. “We saw that in Gonzaga – a program built on grit, humility and an unshakable belief that where you come from doesn’t define where you end up.”

Watch the documentary’s trailer here

Prior to March 1999, Gonzaga was a little-known university in Spokane that was struggling with declining enrollment, increasing deficits and layoffs. The men’s basketball program had never been ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 poll. At one point, university officials reportedly suggested the school leave Division I athletics and move to a lower level.

But after the Zags made a Cinderella run to the Elite Eight in 1999, everything changed. That kickstarted a streak of 26 consecutive NCAA Tournaments for Gonzaga, which is now a March Madness staple and a household name among sports fans.

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Since 2015, Gonzaga has a nation-best 28 NCAA Tournament wins – including five Elite Eight trips and a pair of national championship game appearances in 2017 and 2021. The Bulldogs reached nine consecutive Sweet 16s from 2015 to 2024, which is tied for the longest such streak since the NCAA Tournament expanded to 64 teams in 1985.

“The Gonzaga story resonates beyond the court and has the power to shape culture, and we’re proud to bring Coach Few’s remarkable legacy to our audience with this compelling documentary,” Tubi senior vice president of content acquisitions and partnerships Sam Harowitz said.

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Cameron Van Til Seattle Sports

Cameron Van Til is a digital content editor for Seattle Sports. A Gonzaga University graduate, Cameron has previously covered sports for The Everett Herald and The Associated Press, as well as served as a Seattle Mariners correspondent for Baseball… Read more

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