10 at 10: GCU Arena decade made memories

From chapels to championships and commencements to comebacks, GCU Arena is a Grand Canyon campus landmark whose 135,000-square feet structure is brimming with 10 years of memories.

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The home of the Havocs and the defending WAC men's basketball champions opened 10 years ago this month, making for an ideal time to reflect on how 793 tons of steel, 41,000 bricks and 75 miles of wiring was able to steal Lope Nation's heart time and time again.

"God has blessed us with this building," GCU President Brian Mueller said at a 2011 ceremony that buried a Bible at center court.

For the Lopes' favorite 10-year-old child, here are 10 of GCU Athletics' marvelous memories from a West Side joyride.

Arena opens vs. ASU (2011)

The body paint, banana suits, light shows, smoke and packed crowds have been there since the beginning. That is the way GCU Arena opened in November 2011 for a men's basketball exhibition game against Arizona State in front of 4,702 fans.

GCU, then a Division II program, trailed 37-31 at halftime and lost 89-69 despite 15 points from Brad Carroll and 11 points with no turnovers from Kyle Speed (pictured).

Buzzer-beater earns tourney spot (2012)

GCU Arena's first big shot came in March 2012, when the Lopes' postseason chances came down to a game against Dixie State and a 3-point shot by Braylon Pickrel.

Off an inbound, the Mesa Red Mountain High School graduate caught the ball, side-stepped to the left and drained the buzzer-beating 3 for a 73-72 win that put the Lopes in the Division II NCAA tournament. "If (the shot) went up on YouTube at 11 p.m., then I was watching at 11:01," Pickrel said.

Expansion makes arena bigger, better (2014)

GCU outgrew its arena capacity quickly with growing enrollment, the move to Division I athletics and sellouts. In a five-month span, Tutor Perini Building Co. expanded capacity from 4,300 to 7,000 without adding cubic air space. An 11,000-square foot structural steel mezzanine was built to install an upper deck, where the first row is closer than the lower bowl's last row.

"The facility is so important to building a brand and building a fan base," GCU President Brian Mueller said. "As intimate a setting as it was, it's going to become even more so."

Havocs storm court for 1st NMSU win (2016)

GCU was 0-5 against WAC power New Mexico State before leaving that rut on Jan. 9, 2016. The Lopes knocked off the Aggies 79-75 in front of a standing-room-only crowd of 7,413, which was then a GCU Arena record.

Joshua Braun, through illness, led the Lopes with 23 points and 11 rebounds while Matt Jackson made the go-ahead score and a key steal from future NBA player Pascal Siakam. "It was a blast," Braun said. "I just love playing with these guys."

'Toughest crowd I've ever faced' (2016)

It was a landmark basketball night when DeWayne Russell scored 42 and hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to lead No. 14 Louisville 37-36 at halftime. But the bigger statement came after the 79-70 loss.

Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino (pictured) said Russell had the best guard performance he had seen in 10 years and added, "This, in college basketball in my 40-plus years, was the toughest crowd I've ever faced. Awesome … You got something special here, really special. When you have this type of enthusiasm, it made us a much better team tonight. Much better. Whether we go to Duke, Kentucky, nothing was as tough as that environment tonight."

Arena gets national stage (2017)

With the Final Four being staged just 9 miles to the west, GCU Arena hosted the College Slam Dunk & 3-point Championship and gave an ESPN audience entertainment beyond basketball in March 2017.

The Havocs delivered their usual revelry to steal the show and Lopes legend DeWayne Russell (pictured) nearly gave them a title to celebrate. Russell reached the finals of the 3-point shooting contest as he bid adieu to GCU.

Lopes take down No. 1 (2021)

GCU Arena has seen the Lopes upset a top-ranked opponent once. The men's volleyball team stunned No. 1 BYU on Feb. 25. The 25-22, 45-43, 25-10 victory included the highest-scoring set in NCAA men's volleyball history. GCU was 1-6 against BYU before the win, which was led by freshman Camden Gianni's 19 kills, five digs and four blocks.

"We worked hard," Lopes head coach Matt Werle said. "We scrapped. We did all the little things very well."

Nets come down for 1st WAC title (2021)

An eight-season climb through the Division I ranks ended at the top of the ladder on March 6, 2021, when GCU defeated Utah Valley to claim its first WAC championship. The team went on to win the WAC Tournament to also secure the Lopes' first Division I NCAA tournament berth.

In the first season of head coach Bryce Drew (pictured), the home-court clinch came in a 74-64 win against Utah Valley with a student-only crowd during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Volleyball wins for full house (2021)

A packed GCU Arena for a game is nothing unusual. The unique part came two weeks ago when 7,111 fans set a Lopes attendance record for women's volleyball. GCU's match was connected to Lope-A-Palooza, an annual arena party that kicks off the academic year. Students filled the arena hours before the start of Lope-A-Palooza, creating a memorable atmosphere for GCU's sweep of Western Carolina.

"They're part of the game and that's what makes this the best home court on the West Coast right now," Lopes head coach Tim Nollan said.

GCU fills home like no other (2011-2021)

If there was a decibel ranking, GCU Arena would be No. 1. Save for that, attendance numbers can tell the story of the ardent support that Lopes men's basketball has received. Until the restricted attendance of the 2020-21 season, GCU's attendance percentage of arena capacity was more than 97% for four consecutive seasons. GCU ranked first and second nationally in 2018-19 (102.4%) and 2019-20 (99.7%) for attendance percentage, respectively.

The GCU Arena attendance record was set Jan. 11, 2018, when 7,521 fans attended a game against New Mexico State.

Grand Canyon University Athletics