Grand Canyon Antelopes
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The Grand Canyon Antelopes (more commonly referred to as the Lopes) are the 21 athletic teams representing
Grand Canyon University Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a private for-profit Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona. Based on student enrollment, Grand Canyon University was the largest Christian university in the world in 2018, with 20,000 attending students on ...
, located in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...
. Most of the university's athletic teams compete at the
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of College athletics, intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major ...
level in the
Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...
. Men's volleyball competes in the
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation The Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) is a college athletic conference with members located mostly in the western United States, although it now has members as far east as Pennsylvania. The conference participates at the NCAA Division I ...
(MPSF) effective beginning in the 2017–18 academic year. The beach volleyball program competes as an independent.


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 The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington (state), Washington, and Texa ...
, 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 The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference, that operates in the Western United States, participating in 24 sports at the NCAA Division I level. Its College football, football teams compete in the NCAA D ...
sent a joint letter to the NCAA asking that the organization review whether for-profit institutions have a place in Division I sports. Later that year,
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
issued a separate statement questioning the school's allegiance to the NCAA's business model. GCU CEO Brian Mueller accused ASU president Michael Crow of being behind the Pac-12 letter. Crow would later double down on his accusations, falsely claiming in 2017 that 11 of the 12 Pac-12 schools would not play GCU because of its for-profit business model, and also asserting that GCU sought to play Pac-12 schools solely for exposure on the
Pac-12 Network The Pac-12 Network (P12N; also sometimes referred to as Pac-12 Networks) is an American sports-oriented digital cable and satellite television network owned by the Pac-12 Conference. The network's studio and production facilities are headquart ...
. As of February 2018, ASU continues to refuse to schedule GCU in any sport; however, counter to Crow's 2017 assertion, 10 Pac-12 members have scheduled GCU in at least one sport since the Antelopes' move to Division I, although only
Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
and
Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
had faced GCU in men's basketball. The university announced a five-year sponsorship deal with
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on May 27, 2015, as a part of Grand Canyon's athletic expansion. On August 23, 2017, the NCAA officially approved Grand Canyon's move to Division I, elevating the university to active membership status. GCU immediately became eligible for postseason competition.


Sports

Grand Canyon University sponsors teams in 10 men's and 11 women's NCAA sanctioned sports:


Baseball

GCU Baseball has won four
NAIA Baseball World Series The NAIA World Series (officially branded as the Avista NAIA World Series for sponsorship purposes from 2013) is a double-elimination tournament, held since 1957, to determine the baseball champion of the National Association of Intercollegiate At ...
in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1986.
A number of Alumni have gone on to
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
careers. The program advanced to its first NCAA Tournament in
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
after winning the WAC baseball tournament and followed it up in
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with its first at-large bid.


Men's basketball

Men's basketball is coached by
Bryce Drew Bryce Homer Drew (born September 21, 1974) is an American college basketball coach and former player who is the head coach of the Grand Canyon Antelopes. Previously he served as the head coach of the Vanderbilt Commodores and in the same capacit ...
of NCAA Tournament lore. GCU won three
NAIA Men's Basketball Championships The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics men's basketball national championship has been held annually since 1937 (with the exception of 1944 and 2020). The tournament was established by James Naismith to crown a national champion for ...
at the NAIA Division I level in 1975, 1978, and 1988. The 2007 PacWest Conference Championship and a berth in the
2007 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament The 2007 NCAA Division II men's basketball tournament was the 51st annual single-elimination tournament to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division II college basketball in the United States. Officially culminating the 2006–07 ...
. GCU has seen two Lopes basketball alumni go on to careers in the
NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
, including:
Horacio Llamas Horacio Llamas Grey (born July 17, 1973) is a Mexican former professional basketball player. He played two seasons with the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA), becoming the first Mexican-born player in NBA history. Early y ...
, the first Mexican-born player to play in an NBA game.; and
Bayard Forrest Bayard Forrest (born July 8, 1954) is a retired American professional basketball player. He was a 6'10", 235 lb center who played at Grand Canyon University before being drafted by the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1976 NBA draft. Forrest nev ...
, former basketball player with the
Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...
and
Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as a member of the league's Western Conference Pacific Division. The Suns are the only team in t ...
. Croatian national team player
Emilio Kovačić Emilio Kovačić (born January 11, 1968 in Zadar) is a Croatian professional basketball scout and former player. At a height of 2.08 m (6'10) tall, he was a center with great rebounding skills and decent defensive abilities. He played for many ye ...
played his first university basketball seasons in Grand Canyon, before leaving to
Arizona State Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public research university in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the largest public universities by enrollment in the ...
.Worries Tinge Success for Biola's Kovacic
Mitch Polin,
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, February 26, 1991
In 2021, the Antelopes won their first WAC championship and made their first NCAA appearance.


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 Mark Mueller whose father is GCU president Brian Mueller.


Men's soccer

Men's soccer won the 1996 NCAA Men's Division II Soccer Championship with a 3–1 win over
Oakland University Oakland University is a public research university in Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills, Michigan. Founded in 1957 through a donation of Matilda Dodge Wilson, it was initially known as Michigan State University-Oakland, operating under the Mi ...
. The program qualified for its first NCAA Division I Tournament in
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after winning the WAC tournament as the No. 4 seed. The program also qualified in
2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
and
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
with at-large berths.


Softball

Softball was added in 2004 and in 2010 the team made its first NCAA Tournament appearance in
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. 2010 also saw the Lopes set a new program record for most wins in a season going 42–11. Under first-year head coach Shanon Hays, the program qualified for its first NCAA Division I Tournament in 2022 after winning the WAC Tournament.


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

In March 2016, the school announced that it would discontinue the wrestling program.


Club sports


Lacrosse

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
men's lacrosse made a brief appearance as an official school sport at GCU from 2008 to 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 The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...
( MCLA DI). In 2010 GCU and the few other NCAA DII lacrosse programs in the
Southwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
formed the
Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association The Western Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (WILA) was a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division II lacrosse-only college athletic conference composed of schools located in the Western United States. All schools are member ...
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 the
Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association The Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA) is a national organization of non-NCAA men's college lacrosse programs. The MCLA oversees game play and conducts national championships for over 200 teams in ten conferences throughout the United S ...
. The program joined the
Southwestern Lacrosse Conference The Southwestern Lacrosse Conference (SLC) is a lacrosse-only athletic conference affiliated with the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA). The conference incorporates teams from California and Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahood ...
(SLC) and plays in the MCLA Division I level in the SLC's Pacific Division. In 2015 and 2017, 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."Grand Canyon to Start Rugby with Over 50 Players"
Goff Rugby Report, August 4, 2014.
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.


Ice Hockey

Men's
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
began in 2016 at the ACHA DII and DIII levels until 2019 when they got accepted for the DI level. Women's ice hockey began in 2017 and is currently a member of the WWCHL and competes in DI of the ACHA.


Athletic facilities

Grand Canyon University has several athletic facilities where its 21 NCAA athletic programs host home games.
GCU Arena Grand Canyon University Arena (GCU Arena) is a 7,000-seat, multi-purpose entertainment and athletics facility in Phoenix, Arizona, owned and operated by Grand Canyon University. The arena is the home of Grand Canyon University Lopes men's and wo ...
is host to the school's men's and women's basketball teams in addition to women's volleyball. The venue opened in 2011 as a 5,000-seat venue before being expanded to increase capacity to 7,000 seats in 2014. The baseball team plays home games at
Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark Brazell Field at GCU Ballpark is a college baseball stadium on the campus of Grand Canyon University in Phoenix, Arizona. It hosts the Grand Canyon Antelopes of the Western Athletic Conference. The field is named for Dr. Dave Brazell, consider ...
, where a brand new stadium was built to surround the existing field in 2018. The stadium is named after Grand Canyon's longtime baseball coach Dr. Dave Brazell. The softball team hosts its home games at GCU Softball Stadium which also opened in 2018. GCU Stadium is home to the men's and women's soccer programs. The facility opened in 2016 and can hold in excess of 6,000 fans. GCU ranked in the top 10 in both 2016 and 2018 in average attendance for its men's soccer games. Antelope Gymnasium, which used to house GCU's indoor sports, has served as a secondary indoor facility since 2011 after the opening of GCU Arena. Antelope Gymnasium is the full time venue for the men's volleyball team.


References


External links

* {{Navboxes , titlestyle = {{CollegePrimaryStyle, Grand Canyon Antelopes, color=white , list = {{Western Athletic Conference navbox {{Mountain Pacific Sports Federation navbox {{Arizona Sports