Completed Event: Men's Basketball versus Northwestern State on November 21, 2025 , Win , 85, to, 72
M Basketball
vs Northwestern State
W 85-72
Grand Canyon University Athletics
Insider: Havocs buy 3,500 passes in minutes
9/15/2021 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball, Paul Coro, Lopes Insider Blog, Havocs
GCU student passion remains for upcoming men's basketball season
The celebrated Havocs section will be back in full force this season and the Grand Canyon student body's opportunities to grab gear and ticket priority for … oh, they're gone.
After a year of attendance restrictions with a WAC championship to defend, the GCU students' passion for Purple Pregame Parties and penchant for watching wins hit a fever pitch.
On Sept. 5, the first round of 2,800 Havocs Pro Passes were available for students to purchase, given three options of Havocs gear while the pass also secured the ticket priority to claim a ticket for each home game 24 hours before the general student body can.
"We sold out in about 30 minutes, but the only reason it took that long was the website could only handle so much traffic at a time," Havocs second-year president Joshua Gillespie said. "Everybody was pretty aware that it was going to be a race to get the passes. We had 13,000 clicks on the link in an hour. It was a wild, wild night."
With the appetite whetted, the same offer was extended a week later for 700 more Havocs Pro Passes. Students bought all of them in five minutes. This was the sort of support that players like Sean Miller-Moore and Chance McMillian did not get to see in their first GCU seasons because the 2020-21 crowds were limited to 300 people for much of last season.
"The crowd was still wild last season with the people we had," Miller-Moore said. "Playing in front of all of them for the first time this year, I'm excited. Just hearing that it sold out in the first 30 minutes is crazy. I liked Coach (Bryce) Drew so much that it made me come here without a visit during COVID time. But coming on campus and seeing how invested the fans are is making me kind of nervous. But it's OK. I'm ready. We do this every day, so I'm prepared."
McMillian said, "They are simply the best fans in the nation. The energy that they give off is contagious, which trickles down to our players and our coaching staff. The Havocs are the catalysts to us making electrifying plays down the stretch. I am really excited to play in front of them. But, this year, the whole arena is full of them, which is going to be big."
Those 3,500 students who guaranteed access to tickets would account for half of GCU Arena capacity, where attendance was at 102.4% and 99.7% of capacity for the last two seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20, respectively) that did not have COVID-19 restrictions.
"We thought the draw was the gear, but then because of all the COVID difficulties last year, we did only gear and it did not get the same traction," said Gillespie, a senior. "I think we found out that it's the ticketing that is really, really important. Students get super-excited that they can guarantee getting a spot for every single men's basketball game and get gear. It's really affordable because we want to make it available to every student."
The GCU sophomores will be getting their first full-fledged experience of the Lopes' game-night atmosphere while juniors and seniors just miss the euphoria that gained national acclaim.
That has been evident at sporting events already. The Platform and grass berms at GCU Stadium filled with students for the men's soccer team's win against Saint Mary's on Friday night. On the previous weekend, a Lopes record crowd of 7,018 fans attended a women's volleyball match that was connected to the Lopes-A-Palooza event that followed a win.
"It was an awesome environment and basketball is only going to be crazier," Gillespie said. "It was overwhelming for all of us. We were really happy that the volleyball team got to experience that. Our goal and our mission the past few years has been to expand the student section and make sure that our presence is felt at every sporting event."
The Havocs put on a show, but the real one is from the team they come to see. GCU men's basketball is returning eight players, including junior point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., from its first Division I NCAA tournament qualifier and added four Power 5 transfers, including ex-Arizona State players Taeshon Cherry and Holland Woods.
When the men are away, the women's basketball team will play in GCU Arena with an expected increase in Havocs presence.
"We're really excited to build the student section for the women's basketball team," Gillespie said. "Coach (Molly) Miller and all the players have been the best. They're really excited to get out there and engage with the students in a way that hasn't happened in the past. We want to start the year strong because we think, once we get students coming in the arena, they'll keep coming."
After a year of attendance restrictions with a WAC championship to defend, the GCU students' passion for Purple Pregame Parties and penchant for watching wins hit a fever pitch.
On Sept. 5, the first round of 2,800 Havocs Pro Passes were available for students to purchase, given three options of Havocs gear while the pass also secured the ticket priority to claim a ticket for each home game 24 hours before the general student body can.
"We sold out in about 30 minutes, but the only reason it took that long was the website could only handle so much traffic at a time," Havocs second-year president Joshua Gillespie said. "Everybody was pretty aware that it was going to be a race to get the passes. We had 13,000 clicks on the link in an hour. It was a wild, wild night."With the appetite whetted, the same offer was extended a week later for 700 more Havocs Pro Passes. Students bought all of them in five minutes. This was the sort of support that players like Sean Miller-Moore and Chance McMillian did not get to see in their first GCU seasons because the 2020-21 crowds were limited to 300 people for much of last season.
"The crowd was still wild last season with the people we had," Miller-Moore said. "Playing in front of all of them for the first time this year, I'm excited. Just hearing that it sold out in the first 30 minutes is crazy. I liked Coach (Bryce) Drew so much that it made me come here without a visit during COVID time. But coming on campus and seeing how invested the fans are is making me kind of nervous. But it's OK. I'm ready. We do this every day, so I'm prepared."
McMillian said, "They are simply the best fans in the nation. The energy that they give off is contagious, which trickles down to our players and our coaching staff. The Havocs are the catalysts to us making electrifying plays down the stretch. I am really excited to play in front of them. But, this year, the whole arena is full of them, which is going to be big."
Those 3,500 students who guaranteed access to tickets would account for half of GCU Arena capacity, where attendance was at 102.4% and 99.7% of capacity for the last two seasons (2018-19 and 2019-20, respectively) that did not have COVID-19 restrictions.
"We thought the draw was the gear, but then because of all the COVID difficulties last year, we did only gear and it did not get the same traction," said Gillespie, a senior. "I think we found out that it's the ticketing that is really, really important. Students get super-excited that they can guarantee getting a spot for every single men's basketball game and get gear. It's really affordable because we want to make it available to every student."
The GCU sophomores will be getting their first full-fledged experience of the Lopes' game-night atmosphere while juniors and seniors just miss the euphoria that gained national acclaim.
That has been evident at sporting events already. The Platform and grass berms at GCU Stadium filled with students for the men's soccer team's win against Saint Mary's on Friday night. On the previous weekend, a Lopes record crowd of 7,018 fans attended a women's volleyball match that was connected to the Lopes-A-Palooza event that followed a win.
"It was an awesome environment and basketball is only going to be crazier," Gillespie said. "It was overwhelming for all of us. We were really happy that the volleyball team got to experience that. Our goal and our mission the past few years has been to expand the student section and make sure that our presence is felt at every sporting event."
The Havocs put on a show, but the real one is from the team they come to see. GCU men's basketball is returning eight players, including junior point guard Jovan Blacksher Jr., from its first Division I NCAA tournament qualifier and added four Power 5 transfers, including ex-Arizona State players Taeshon Cherry and Holland Woods.
When the men are away, the women's basketball team will play in GCU Arena with an expected increase in Havocs presence.
"We're really excited to build the student section for the women's basketball team," Gillespie said. "Coach (Molly) Miller and all the players have been the best. They're really excited to get out there and engage with the students in a way that hasn't happened in the past. We want to start the year strong because we think, once we get students coming in the arena, they'll keep coming."
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