Conference WAC Location Phoenix, Arizona | Athletic director Mike Vaught Varsity teams 22 | |
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University Grand Canyon University NCAA Division I (transitioning) | ||
The Grand Canyon Antelopes are the 21 athletic teams representing Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona, more commonly referred to as the Lopes. Most of the university's athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division I level in the Western Athletic Conference. Men's volleyball competes in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA).
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Athletic expansion
GCU was a member of the NAIA until the early 1990s when it transferred to NCAA Division II, in which it competed until 2013.
The university has undergone a transition from a small struggling non-profit liberal arts college to a large modern for-profit private university. Along with the general campus upgrades has come an increase in athletics and athletic facilities.
On November 27, 2012, Grand Canyon University announced that it had accepted an invitation to join Division I's Western Athletic Conference, effective July 1, 2013. This move made Grand Canyon the only for-profit institution with a Division I athletic program.
GCU's business model was at the center of an emerging controversy in college sports. In July 2013, the chief executives of all 12 members of the Pac-12 Conference sent a joint letter to the NCAA asking that the organization review whether for-profit institutions have a place in Division I sports. Within days, GCU CEO Brian Mueller accused Arizona State University president Michael Crow of being behind this move. The GCU / Pac-12 altercation appeared to die down with time, as the Lopes have played Pac-12 opponents or have them on the future schedule. Grand Canyon played the Washington Huskies in softball in 2015 and is scheduled to play the USC Trojans in women's basketball in 2015 and the Oregon State Beavers in baseball in 2016.
The university announced a five-year sponsorship deal with Nike on May 27, 2015 as a part of Grand Canyon's athletic expansion.
Sports
Grand Canyon University sponsors teams in eleven men's and eleven women's NCAA sanctioned sports:
Baseball
GCU Baseball has won four NAIA Baseball World Series in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1986. A number of Alumni have gone on to Major League Baseball careers.
Men's basketball
Men's basketball is coached by Dan Majerle, former basketball player with the Phoenix Suns. GCU won three NAIA Men's Basketball Championships at the NAIA Division I level in 1975, 1978, and 1988. The 2007 PacWest Conference Championship and a berth in the 2007 NCAA Men's Division II Basketball Tournament. GCU has seen two Lopes basketball alumni go on to careers in the NBA, including: Horacio Llamas, the first Mexican-born player play in an NBA game.; and Bayard Forrest, former basketball player with the Seattle SuperSonics and Phoenix Suns. Croatian national team player Emilio Kovačić played his first university basketball seasons in Grand Canyon, before leaving to Arizona State.
Women's basketball
Women's basketball won the 2007 PacWest Conference Championship and a berth in the 2007 NCAA Women's Division II Basketball Tournament.
Men's golf
Men's golf is coached by past PGA touring professional Paul Purtzer.
Men's soccer
Men's soccer won the 1996 NCAA Men's Division II Soccer Championship with a 3-1 win over Oakland University. Men's Soccer is now a member of the Western Athletic Conference, beginning 2013-2014 season. NCAA Division 1.
Softball
Softball was added in 2003 and in 2010 the team made its first NCAA Tournament Appearance in the 2010 NCAA Division II Women's College World Series Tournament. 2010 also saw the Lopes set a new program record for most wins in a season going 42-11.
Women's tennis
Women's tennis won the 1981 NAIA national women's tennis championship.
Men's track and field
Men's track team won the 2012 NCAA Division II men's Indoor Track and Field Championship scoring 54 points.
Wrestling
The Lopes wrestling team compete in the National Collegiate Wrestling Association. The school won the 2014 NCWA National Duels and Collegiate Cup championships. In March 2016, the school announced that it would discontinue the wrestling program.
Lacrosse
NCAA men's lacrosse made a brief appearance as an official school sport at GCU from 2008-2011. The team began in 2008 and played the first lacrosse game in school history on February 10, 2008, an 8-18 loss to the University of Arizona (MCLA DI). In 2010 GCU and the few other NCAA DII lacrosse programs in the Southwest formed the Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association In the Lopes only season as a member of the WILA, the team recorded a 3-5 conference record. After a number of below .500 seasons combined with increasing travel costs due to lack of NCAA Division II competition in the university announced in March 2011 it would end Division II lacrosse competition. Shortly after the university announced the program will compete at the varsity-club level in Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association The program joined the Southwestern Lacrosse Conference (SLC) and plays in the MCLA Division I level in the SLC's Pacific Division. In 2015, GCU won the MCLA Division 1 National Championship.
Rugby
Men's rugby was approved for addition to the GCU club sports lineup in 2013. Although it is officially a club sport, the team is under the auspices of the Athletic Department, and has access to Athletic Department facilities and support personnel. The team began competing in the 2014–2015 academic year. Former University of Arizona collegiate All-American Ryan Kelly is the head coach, and rugby sevens specialist Merrick Firestone is the associate head coach.
GCU Rugby has undertaken a significant recruiting effort, bringing in a large initial recruiting class for the Fall 2014 semester that includes many experienced high school rugby players from across the country, including several High School Rugby All-American invitees. GCU Rugby anticipates hosting a Fall 7s tournament on the GCU campus in September, 2014.
Athletic facilities
Grand Canyon University has several sports facilities where the 20 NCAA athletic programs host home games. The GCU men's baseball team plays home games at Brazell Stadium. The stadium is named after Grand Canyon's longtime baseball coach Dr. Dave Brazell. The GCU women's softball team hosts its home games at Stapleton-Pierson Stadium. This stadium is named for baseball coach Dave Stapleton and softball coach Ann Pierson. The field's inaugural season was 2004.
The Antelope Gymnasium was home to Grand Canyon's men's and women's basketball, men's and women's volleyball and wrestling teams. The facility was replaced by the GCU Arena in 2011 as the university's main athletic arena. Both the men's and women's basketball teams call the 7,000 seat event arena home as well as select women's volleyball and wrestling events. GCU Soccer Field serves as the home field for GCU Lopes soccer and lacrosse games.