Completed Event: Men's Basketball at Wyoming on December 20, 2025 , Win , 82, to, 70
M Basketball
at Wyoming
W 82-70
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Jason Boothe, Dixie State AD
BasketBlog: GCU-Dixie Rivalry Will Be Missed by ’Lopes Fans
1/11/2013 9:07:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball
GCU-Dixie Rivalry Will Be Missed by ’Lopes Fans
ST. GEORGE, Utah – Yankees fans don’t like the Red Sox. Lakers fans don’t like the Celtics. I don’t like Dixie State College, and I’m quite certain I can get an amen on this from my brothers and sisters in Antelope Nation.
It warmed my heart Thursday night to see Deanna Daniels of the GCU women’s basketball team wearing a white T-shirt with the purple letters “BEAT DIXIE” on the front. And that’s what the women did, going two overtimes to take a 73-71 victory over the Red Storm. The Antelope men’s team fell just short, losing 71-66.
There always seems to be something on the line when GCU and Dixie hook up. This time, it was first place in the Pacific West Conference. The Antelopes leave St. George on Friday tied at 5-1 with Dixie on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Who can forget Braylon Pickrel’s buzzer beater at GCU Arena last season? Or Samantha Murphy’s 38-point game in Antelope Gym in 2011? Or Steve Morin’s three-pointer on Dixie’s floor the same year? All of the above beat Dixie and instantly became part of GCU basketball lore.
Dixie State’s third-year director of athletics, Jason Boothe, loves it that we don’t like them. But he says we’ve got company in that regard.
“We are everyone’s rival in this conference,” Boothe says, “whether it’s basketball, baseball or softball. Look at the success we’ve had.”
Boothe isn’t being smug. He’s justifiably proud of a program that has demonstrated rapid, across-the-board success in NCAA Division II despite some state-funding challenges. Although Dixie State became a four-year college only 13 years ago, it is expected to be granted university status on July 1 of this year.
Next week, the school’s board of trustees will vote on a new name from among four finalists: Dixie State University, the University of St. George, Utah Dixie University or Utah Dixie State University. There is popular sentiment to keep “Dixie” in the name, in recognition of the Civil War era when southwestern Utah pioneers grew cotton in the fashion of the southeastern United States.
Dixie State fans also want to keep football, even though the school goes to extraordinary lengths to compete in the sport as an affiliate member of the Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Two seasons ago, the Red Storm rode buses to play at Humboldt State in California (23 hours one-way), Western Oregon (17 hours), Central Washington (17 hours) and Simon Fraser in Canada (27 hours).
“Football is huge in this town,” says Boothe, 39, a graduate of Northern Arizona University who was an athletic administrator at the U.S. Naval Academy for 10 years before coming to St. George. “(Dropping it) has never been a consideration.”
In fact, Boothe says Dixie State models its athletic program on football-playing Grand Valley (Mich.) State, the perennial Division II Learfield Cup winner unseated last year by GCU.
“That’s an example of a school that has consciously stayed D-II,” says Boothe, insisting that Dixie State is in no hurry to go Division I. “That’s kind of where we’re at.
“Are we dominating everyone in our conference and winning national championships like we did as a junior college? We’re nowhere close to that…. We want to make this the best D-II environment we possibly can.”
Utah is loaded with Division I schools: the University of Utah, Utah State, Brigham Young, Weber State, Utah Valley and Southern Utah, the latter only 40 miles up the road in Cedar City. Boothe says Dixie State would need an additional $7 million to $15 million in its athletic budget to make Division I work and retain football.
“We’re not anywhere near the funding level needed to compete at Division I,” he says.
Boothe expects that the price of success may include losing his best coaches to D-I. Jon Judkins, Dixie State’s men’s basketball coach, is in his eighth season and has been the PacWest’s Coach of the Year for the past four. He played at Dixie State when it was still a junior college before transferring to Utah State.
“He likes it here, but he wants that (D-I) opportunity someday,” Boothe says. “I want our coaches to come here and be successful enough that they’re going to D-I all the time. That means we’re winning.”
Antelope fans should circle the date of Feb. 2, which figures to be the final renewal of the basketball rivalry. Ironically, both schools suffer from cases of mistaken identity. Just as some people think GCU is actually at the Grand Canyon, some also think Dixie State must be somewhere in the Deep South.
“That happens all the time,” Boothe says. “You have to take three minutes and explain it.”
Don’t worry, Jason. At GCU, we know where you guys are, and we’re throwing darts at a map of southwestern Utah right now.
Email Doug Carroll at doug.carroll@gcu.edu.
ST. GEORGE, Utah – Yankees fans don’t like the Red Sox. Lakers fans don’t like the Celtics. I don’t like Dixie State College, and I’m quite certain I can get an amen on this from my brothers and sisters in Antelope Nation.
It warmed my heart Thursday night to see Deanna Daniels of the GCU women’s basketball team wearing a white T-shirt with the purple letters “BEAT DIXIE” on the front. And that’s what the women did, going two overtimes to take a 73-71 victory over the Red Storm. The Antelope men’s team fell just short, losing 71-66.
There always seems to be something on the line when GCU and Dixie hook up. This time, it was first place in the Pacific West Conference. The Antelopes leave St. George on Friday tied at 5-1 with Dixie on both the men’s and women’s sides.
Who can forget Braylon Pickrel’s buzzer beater at GCU Arena last season? Or Samantha Murphy’s 38-point game in Antelope Gym in 2011? Or Steve Morin’s three-pointer on Dixie’s floor the same year? All of the above beat Dixie and instantly became part of GCU basketball lore.
Dixie State’s third-year director of athletics, Jason Boothe, loves it that we don’t like them. But he says we’ve got company in that regard.
“We are everyone’s rival in this conference,” Boothe says, “whether it’s basketball, baseball or softball. Look at the success we’ve had.”
Boothe isn’t being smug. He’s justifiably proud of a program that has demonstrated rapid, across-the-board success in NCAA Division II despite some state-funding challenges. Although Dixie State became a four-year college only 13 years ago, it is expected to be granted university status on July 1 of this year.
Next week, the school’s board of trustees will vote on a new name from among four finalists: Dixie State University, the University of St. George, Utah Dixie University or Utah Dixie State University. There is popular sentiment to keep “Dixie” in the name, in recognition of the Civil War era when southwestern Utah pioneers grew cotton in the fashion of the southeastern United States.
Dixie State fans also want to keep football, even though the school goes to extraordinary lengths to compete in the sport as an affiliate member of the Division II Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Two seasons ago, the Red Storm rode buses to play at Humboldt State in California (23 hours one-way), Western Oregon (17 hours), Central Washington (17 hours) and Simon Fraser in Canada (27 hours).
“Football is huge in this town,” says Boothe, 39, a graduate of Northern Arizona University who was an athletic administrator at the U.S. Naval Academy for 10 years before coming to St. George. “(Dropping it) has never been a consideration.”
In fact, Boothe says Dixie State models its athletic program on football-playing Grand Valley (Mich.) State, the perennial Division II Learfield Cup winner unseated last year by GCU.
“That’s an example of a school that has consciously stayed D-II,” says Boothe, insisting that Dixie State is in no hurry to go Division I. “That’s kind of where we’re at.
“Are we dominating everyone in our conference and winning national championships like we did as a junior college? We’re nowhere close to that…. We want to make this the best D-II environment we possibly can.”
Utah is loaded with Division I schools: the University of Utah, Utah State, Brigham Young, Weber State, Utah Valley and Southern Utah, the latter only 40 miles up the road in Cedar City. Boothe says Dixie State would need an additional $7 million to $15 million in its athletic budget to make Division I work and retain football.
“We’re not anywhere near the funding level needed to compete at Division I,” he says.
Boothe expects that the price of success may include losing his best coaches to D-I. Jon Judkins, Dixie State’s men’s basketball coach, is in his eighth season and has been the PacWest’s Coach of the Year for the past four. He played at Dixie State when it was still a junior college before transferring to Utah State.
“He likes it here, but he wants that (D-I) opportunity someday,” Boothe says. “I want our coaches to come here and be successful enough that they’re going to D-I all the time. That means we’re winning.”
Antelope fans should circle the date of Feb. 2, which figures to be the final renewal of the basketball rivalry. Ironically, both schools suffer from cases of mistaken identity. Just as some people think GCU is actually at the Grand Canyon, some also think Dixie State must be somewhere in the Deep South.
“That happens all the time,” Boothe says. “You have to take three minutes and explain it.”
Don’t worry, Jason. At GCU, we know where you guys are, and we’re throwing darts at a map of southwestern Utah right now.
Email Doug Carroll at doug.carroll@gcu.edu.
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