Grand Canyon University Athletics
WAC move hailed from Phoenix to Houston
1/15/2021 7:00:00 AM | General, Paul Coro
GCU officials, coaches relish expansion announcement with conference
The reverberations of the WAC expansion and its impact on Grand Canyon were felt and heard across half the country.
As GCU President Brian Mueller spoke at the podium for a press conference in Houston's NRG Center, Lopes Interim Vice President of Jamie Boggs prepared 1,200 miles to the west to address another press conference at GCU Arena in Phoenix.
From Texas to Arizona, the message was the same: the WAC is a mid-major conference on the rise with the five new members that Mueller and Boggs advocated to add.
"These are institutions with an established history of Division I success and this really positions us to be a premier mid-major conference," Boggs said from beneath a "Welcome to the Party" graphic image on the court-wide screen behind her. "For Grand Canyon University specifically, this expansion really raises the profile of all of our sports programs and also increases the level of competition within our conference and the exposure for all of our programs, which really positions us to be highly competitive at the national level, which is our goal."
The news was first delivered in the foyer of NRG Center, the convention center that neighbors the Houston Texans' NRG Stadium. Ten athletic directors, eight university presidents, more university staffers and media members gathered in WAC- and university-logo masks with socially distanced seating as they shared the merits of adding Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin for 2021-22 (pending approval) and Southern Utah for 2022-23.
The move, particularly with next school year's addition of the top four Southland Conference programs, stabilizes and bolsters the WAC's standing in every sport while creating visibility and geographic advantages.
"Today's announcement, during my time at the WAC, is not only the most significant but also the most impactful of any of the previous ones and it's not even close," said eighth-year WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd, who has seen 54 members since he began working for the conference in 1985. "This is not a routine announcement. This is a historic announcement for the conference."
The Houston announcement locale was ideal for a conference that will boast more Texas Division I programs (six) than any conference in the nation. The WAC also will have the most Utah Division I programs (three), as it targets programs dedicated to athletics that reside in regions with population and enrollment growth.
"It's been elevated," GCU strategic advisor Jerry Colangelo said on the Phoenix stage. "I think it's going to have a big impact on television, in terms of coverage that's important in recruiting. It'll give us a better, bigger standing in terms of being able to get into the tournament and it speaks for itself regarding the return on investment. This is an exciting time for Grand Canyon. It's really a big deal for the WAC, bringing in these very established programs.
"It's going to be a tougher conference and that's good. We want to compete with the best we can compete with."
Colangelo and Boggs shared the GCU stages with Lopes basketball coaches Bryce Drew and Molly Miller and baseball coach Andy Stankiewicz, the leaders of programs whose national ranking and recruiting scope will benefit from the additions.
"It's very unusual for people to get into a room and make this happen the way it's happened but it's a very direct tribute to the presidents and the athletic directors that we've been able to come together and get on the same page," Mueller said.
The reintroduction of football to the WAC was an important factor, but the driving force for the move was how the expansion can vault WAC basketball into the top 12 of 32 Division I conferences. Projections show the conference sliding ahead four spots with the average NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) Ranking jumping 20 spots for a current men's basketball team and 45 spots for an existing women's basketball team.
"We have long admired the strength of the basketball footprint in the Western Athletic Conference," Abilene Christian President Dr. Phil Schubert said. "We believe that it can push our teams well into the heart of the March Madness postseason tournament and all the benefits that come with that type of position.
"We look forward to being part of a team that together pushes forward and does indeed realize new levels of success in both academics and athletics."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
As GCU President Brian Mueller spoke at the podium for a press conference in Houston's NRG Center, Lopes Interim Vice President of Jamie Boggs prepared 1,200 miles to the west to address another press conference at GCU Arena in Phoenix.
From Texas to Arizona, the message was the same: the WAC is a mid-major conference on the rise with the five new members that Mueller and Boggs advocated to add.
"These are institutions with an established history of Division I success and this really positions us to be a premier mid-major conference," Boggs said from beneath a "Welcome to the Party" graphic image on the court-wide screen behind her. "For Grand Canyon University specifically, this expansion really raises the profile of all of our sports programs and also increases the level of competition within our conference and the exposure for all of our programs, which really positions us to be highly competitive at the national level, which is our goal."The news was first delivered in the foyer of NRG Center, the convention center that neighbors the Houston Texans' NRG Stadium. Ten athletic directors, eight university presidents, more university staffers and media members gathered in WAC- and university-logo masks with socially distanced seating as they shared the merits of adding Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin for 2021-22 (pending approval) and Southern Utah for 2022-23.
The move, particularly with next school year's addition of the top four Southland Conference programs, stabilizes and bolsters the WAC's standing in every sport while creating visibility and geographic advantages.
"Today's announcement, during my time at the WAC, is not only the most significant but also the most impactful of any of the previous ones and it's not even close," said eighth-year WAC Commissioner Jeff Hurd, who has seen 54 members since he began working for the conference in 1985. "This is not a routine announcement. This is a historic announcement for the conference."
The Houston announcement locale was ideal for a conference that will boast more Texas Division I programs (six) than any conference in the nation. The WAC also will have the most Utah Division I programs (three), as it targets programs dedicated to athletics that reside in regions with population and enrollment growth."It's been elevated," GCU strategic advisor Jerry Colangelo said on the Phoenix stage. "I think it's going to have a big impact on television, in terms of coverage that's important in recruiting. It'll give us a better, bigger standing in terms of being able to get into the tournament and it speaks for itself regarding the return on investment. This is an exciting time for Grand Canyon. It's really a big deal for the WAC, bringing in these very established programs.
"It's going to be a tougher conference and that's good. We want to compete with the best we can compete with."
Colangelo and Boggs shared the GCU stages with Lopes basketball coaches Bryce Drew and Molly Miller and baseball coach Andy Stankiewicz, the leaders of programs whose national ranking and recruiting scope will benefit from the additions.
Drew: "The addition of these five schools with what we already have in the WAC, we're really hopeful that our NET rankings as individuals will all go up and our conference will go up. How does that help all of us? When the NCAA seedings come, it's really hard when you're a 14 or a 15 or a 16 to advance, but when you get into that 13, 12, 11 area, your percents significantly go up to be able to advance in the NCAA tournament."
Miller: "We always go back to the student-athlete and what's the best experience for the student-athlete. We've put a premier conference together to give them that best experience … I'm going to go call some high-level Texas recruits. The fact that I get to tell them, hey, we're going to frequent your home state. We're going to visit often right in your backyard. I think that's huge for the recruiting footprint of GCU."
Stankiewicz: "With these teams and their history of success in DI baseball, now there's a strong possibility that two or three teams will get an at-large bid into a regional tournament. That's the goal for all of us. We want a chance to win a national championship … This shows the commitment that President Mueller, Jamie Boggs, Jerry Colangelo have to student-athletes, the commitment they have to coaching staffs, our students on campus, our alums, our fan base."
"It's very unusual for people to get into a room and make this happen the way it's happened but it's a very direct tribute to the presidents and the athletic directors that we've been able to come together and get on the same page," Mueller said.
The reintroduction of football to the WAC was an important factor, but the driving force for the move was how the expansion can vault WAC basketball into the top 12 of 32 Division I conferences. Projections show the conference sliding ahead four spots with the average NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) Ranking jumping 20 spots for a current men's basketball team and 45 spots for an existing women's basketball team.
"We have long admired the strength of the basketball footprint in the Western Athletic Conference," Abilene Christian President Dr. Phil Schubert said. "We believe that it can push our teams well into the heart of the March Madness postseason tournament and all the benefits that come with that type of position.
"We look forward to being part of a team that together pushes forward and does indeed realize new levels of success in both academics and athletics."
Follow Paul Coro on Twitter: @paulcoro.
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