Grand Canyon Antelopes
Encyclopedia
The athletic teams of Grand Canyon University
are known as the Antelopes (also known as the 'Lopes). Most of the university's athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division II level in the Pacific West Conference
. Men's volleyball competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association
(MIVA) and wrestling competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
(RMAC).
until the early 1990s when it transferred to NCAA Division II, in which it has competed since.
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 facilities.
Several reports have stated Grand Canyon plans to become a NCAA Division I athletic program athletic program once the NCAA moratorium on accepting new Division I programs expires in June 2011. GCU has already had discussions with West Coast Conference
.
Women's Sports:
in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1986. A number of Alumni have gone on to Major League Baseball
careers.
, former Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
interim coach.
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
.
.
with a 3-1 win over Oakland University
.
. 2010 also saw the Lopes set a new program record for most wins in a season going 42-11.
.
(MCLA
). After a number of below .500 seasons combined with increasing travel costs due to lack of NCAA Division II competition in the Southwest
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 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 Stapelton and softball coach Ann Pierson. The field's inaugural season was 2004.
The Antelope Gymnasium was home to Grand Canyon's mens's and women's basketball, men's and women's volleyball and wresling teams. The facility was replaced by the GCU Events Center
in 2011 as the university's main athletic arena. Both the men's and women's basketball teams will call the new 5,000 seat events center home once the facility is completed.
GCU Soccer Field serves as the home field for GCU 'Lopes soccer and lacrosse games.
Grand Canyon University
Grand Canyon University is a for-profit Christian university located in Phoenix, Arizona. It is owned by Grand Canyon Education . GCU was founded in 1949 as a non-profit liberal arts college. Grand Canyon Education, Inc. purchased Grand Canyon University in February 2004...
are known as the Antelopes (also known as the 'Lopes). Most of the university's athletic teams compete at the NCAA Division II level in the Pacific West Conference
Pacific West Conference
The Pacific West Conference is an intercollegiate college athletic conference affiliated with NCAA Division II...
. Men's volleyball competes at the NCAA Division I level in the Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association
Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association
The Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association is a college athletic conference whose member schools compete in men's volleyball. Its member institutions are located in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Illinois in the west to Ohio in the east...
(MIVA) and wrestling competes in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference
The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the western United States, mostly in Colorado with some members in Nebraska and New Mexico...
(RMAC).
Athletic Expansion
GCU was a member of the NAIANational Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics is an athletic association that organizes college and university-level athletic programs. Membership in the NAIA consists of smaller colleges and universities across the United States. The NAIA allows colleges and universities outside the USA...
until the early 1990s when it transferred to NCAA Division II, in which it has competed since.
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 facilities.
Several reports have stated Grand Canyon plans to become a NCAA Division I athletic program athletic program once the NCAA moratorium on accepting new Division I programs expires in June 2011. GCU has already had discussions with West Coast Conference
West Coast Conference
The West Coast Conference is an NCAA collegiate athletics conference consisting of nine member schools across the states of California, Oregon, Utah and Washington....
.
Sports
Men's Sports:- BaseballBaseballBaseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- Soccer
- SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and DivingDivingDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one... - TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Track and FieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
- WrestlingWrestlingWrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
Women's Sports:
- BasketballBasketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
- Cross CountryCross country runningCross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
- GolfGolfGolf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
- Soccer
- SoftballSoftballSoftball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
- SwimmingSwimming (sport)Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
and DivingDivingDiving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one... - TennisTennisTennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
- Track and FieldTrack and fieldTrack and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
- VolleyballVolleyballVolleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
Baseball
'Lopes baseball won four NAIA Baseball World SeriesNAIA Baseball World Series
The NAIA Baseball World Series is a double-elimination tournament held annually in Lewiston, Idaho, to determine the baseball champion of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics .-Results:...
in 1980, 1981, 1982, and 1986. A number of Alumni have gone on to Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
careers.
Basketball (Men's)
Men's basketball is coached by Russ PennellRuss Pennell
-References:...
, former Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
The Arizona Wildcats basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The team competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of NCAA Division I. They are currently coached by Sean Miller.Arizona has a long and rich...
interim coach.
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
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, including: Horacio Llamas
Horacio Llamas
Horacio Llamas Grey , known in non-Spanish-speaking countries as Horacio Llamas, is a Mexican professional basketball player. He is a 7'0" and 250 lb center....
, the first Mexican-born player play in an NBA game.; and Bayard Forrest
Bayard Forrest
Bayard Forrest 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...
, former basketball player with the Seattle SuperSonics
Seattle SuperSonics
The Seattle SuperSonics were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington that played in the Pacific and Northwest Divisions of the National Basketball Association from 1967 until 2008. Following the 2007–08 season, the team relocated to Oklahoma City, and now plays as...
and Phoenix Suns
Phoenix Suns
The Phoenix Suns are a professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association and the only team in their division not to be based in California. Their home arena since 1992 has been the US...
.
Basketball (Women's)
Women's basketball won the 2007 PacWest Conference Championship and a berth in the 2007 NCAA Women's Division II Basketball TournamentNCAA Women's Division II Basketball Championship
Division II women's basketball champions for the NCAA The finals are played at St. Joseph Civic Arena in St. Joseph, Missouri.-Championships:- Schools ranked by titles :-See also:*NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship...
.
Soccer (Men's)
Men's soccer won the 1996 NCAA Men's Division II Soccer ChampionshipNCAA Men's Division II Soccer Championship
The NCAA Division II Men's Soccer Championship has been played since 1972.The tournament is a 32-team, single-elimination tournament. The Division II tournament is structured around the eight NCAA regions . Four teams from each region are selected with no automatic qualifiers given...
with a 3-1 win over Oakland University
Oakland University
Oakland University is a public university co-founded by Matilda Dodge Wilson and John A. Hannah whose campus is located in central Oakland County, Michigan, United States in the cities of Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills. It is the only major research university in Oakland County, from which OU...
.
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 TournamentWomen's College World Series
The Women's College World Series is the final portion of the NCAA Division I Softball Championship for college softball in the United States. The tournament format consists of two four-team double-elimination brackets. The winners of each bracket then compete in a best-of-three title game series...
. 2010 also saw the Lopes set a new program record for most wins in a season going 42-11.
Tennis (Women's)
Women's tennis won the 1981 NAIA national women's tennis championshipNAIA national women's tennis championship
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics women's tennis team champions....
.
Lacrosse
Men's lacrosse made a brief appearance at GCU. 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 ArizonaUniversity of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
(MCLA
Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association
The Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association 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 States and Canada...
). After a number of below .500 seasons combined with increasing travel costs due to lack of NCAA Division II competition in the Southwest
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
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
Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association
The Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association 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 States and Canada...
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 Stapelton and softball coach Ann Pierson. The field's inaugural season was 2004.
The Antelope Gymnasium was home to Grand Canyon's mens's and women's basketball, men's and women's volleyball and wresling teams. The facility was replaced by the GCU Events Center
GCU Events Center
Grand Canyon University's arena is a 5,000-seat multi-purpose entertainment and athletics facility in Phoenix, Arizona. The arena is the home of Grand Canyon University 'Lopes men's and women's basketball teams and other athletic events....
in 2011 as the university's main athletic arena. Both the men's and women's basketball teams will call the new 5,000 seat events center home once the facility is completed.
GCU Soccer Field serves as the home field for GCU 'Lopes soccer and lacrosse games.