GCU Honored for Community Work

PHOENIX – Grand Canyon University was recently honored with an NCAA Award of Excellence for the Pacific West Conference for its efforts to engage with the local community and build lasting relationships that help build support for the University's sporting events.

"All of our students, including our athletes, recognize the importance of connecting with the surrounding community, and these university-wide efforts have gone a long way in reinforcing the payback this brings in support for our athletic programs," said GCU Director of Athletics Keith Baker. The nomination for the award was submitted by GCU's Student Athlete Advisory Committee and reflected the entire campus' effort to engage with the community.

GCU was specifically honored for its annual Fall Festival, an event that has grown in attendance to 4,500 and is produced by the entire campus - students, student-athletes, faculty and staff. The event serves as a safe Halloween event for surrounding residents, and has enhanced teamwork and unity among GCU student-athletes who have seen that their volunteerism helps build local support for athletic events. Other ways that GCU student-athletes engage with the local community include an ongoing mentoring program with the Arizona Recreational Center for the Handicapped (ARCH) in which GCU athletes help with physical and vocational rehabilitation, as well as summer camps that help inspire local youths and build skills for school sports.

"All of these efforts help to position our athletic programs as open, inclusive events in which we welcome the local community. Many of our student athletes come away from their GCU experience with a clear understanding of the rewards of giving back, and go on to pursue careers in which they can use the skills they built in these service learning efforts," Baker said.

GCU's community engagement efforts are part of an NCAA Division II-wide effort to offer student-athletes, coaches, officials and fans the best game environment possible and build lasting relationships with the surrounding community. The pledge affirms that athletics events should reflect the values of higher education and the mission of each institution. It also affirms that presidents and chancellors are concerned about any uncivil behavior that may occur at athletics contests and will work together to make respectful events the standard of Division II.

Over the past two years, GCU has built new audiences for its sports - especially men's and women's basketball - by reaching out to the local neighborhoods and offering giveaways, free or reduced admission and fun contests to promote a family-friendly and fun atmosphere at its games. The response has been an increase in attendance, nearly filling the University's Antelope Gymnasium and building anticipation for its new 5,000-seat Events Center opening in the fall of 2011.

Grand Canyon University Athletics

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