Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
Nevarez joins GCU celebration of future in Mountain West
11/5/2024 6:00:00 AM | General, Lopes Insider Blog
Conference commissioner joins Lopes leaders to discuss partnership
For an athletics program on the climb, Grand Canyon has managed to pick up speed since elevating to Division I in 2013.
A program that just became D-I postseason eligible seven years ago and was celebrating the latest Lope leap Monday – a move to the Mountain West Conference.
Gloria Nevarez, the commissioner of the Mountain West, attended the opening night of GCU basketball and officially welcomed the fastest-rising D-I program into the fold. The Lopes will begin competition in the Mountain West as early as 2025-26 and no later than 2026-27.
"What you have built here at Grand Canyon is exactly aligned with our mission – finding young talent, developing them into leaders that are going to impact communities," Nevarez said. "Everyone in our AD room couldn't say enough how much Grand Canyon fits with the Mountain West."
GCU accepted the Mountain West invitation on Friday, but Monday's pregame press conference offered an official stamp to the Lopes' unique move. GCU will be the only non-football university besides Wichita State (American Athletic) and Gonzaga (joining the Pac-12 in 2026-27) in a FBS conference.
It was a notion that began taking form in Mountain West officials' minds when the conference hosted the Denver Regional, where GCU played in the 2023 NCAA tournament against Gonzaga with a purple presence.
"We were so impressed with your fan base and Lope Nation," Nevarez said before sitting with GCU President Brian Mueller for the Lopes men's basketball sold-out opener. "That has been in my head ever since. So when we had this opportunity to talk to your leadership, I just couldn't wait. Like President Mueller said, the rivalries among the fan bases is going to be epic."
"We can't wait to have Lope Nation in Las Vegas for our tournament."
Mueller said three movements put GCU in position to be attractive to the Mountain West: becoming the largest private university in the U.S., the economic boom of Phoenix and the quality of GCU students.
The recent GCU men's basketball success under head coach Bryce Drew, with three NCAA tournament appearances in four years, carried the banner for a move that puts GCU Athletics on a higher place across the department.
"I see Final Four teams," Drew said of Mountain West history. "I see a national championship team. We see so much history and legacy and at-large bids in this new conference that we're about to go. We have a lot of basketball to play up until then, but the anticipation is great."
Mountain West members included Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San José State, UNLV and Wyoming with Hawai'i and UTEP also being added. The nine future members account for 21 NCAA tournament appearances since 2010.
"We are now joining what is going to become soon the premier basketball conference in the West," Mueller said. "There are historic programs in this conference that are now building momentum."
With 70 conference championships in the trophy case in 11 Division I years, GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said the leadership remains bullish to expand success amid college athletics' changing landscape.
GCU was attracted to a conference and members with national brands and elite game environments ("Not elite as ours, but they are good environments," Boggs said). The average basketball arena capacity in the future Mountain West will be 10,800.
"From a competitive standpoint, we are joining a conference that raises the level of competition," Boggs said. "So what does that mean for us? It means we have more access to at-large opportunities. We can now potentially have higher seeding. This brings us closer to our goal of winning national championships."
Monday's press conference was held in the Havoc House restaurant that is attached to Global Credit Union Arena. The GCU band played the fight song with cheerleaders and Lopes Club members gathered with a couple fan favorites, Tyon Grant-Foster and Thunder, to commemorate a history move.
It was a process that began when GCU Board of Trustees member and GCU Athletics senior advisor Jerry Colangelo, an icon on the Phoenix sports and international basketball scenes, facilitated the Lopes' move to Division I with NCAA leadership.
Mueller said the rise of GCU sports would not have happened without the involvement of Colangelo, whose statue stands outside the GCU Basketball Practice Facility.
"We have great leadership here," Colangelo said. "We have people who are part of a team-building process that is unparalleled in my experiences in sport.
"We kept telling her (Nevarez) we were ready, we were ready and we would leave if given the opportunity. You made that happen, and now it's up to us."
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A program that just became D-I postseason eligible seven years ago and was celebrating the latest Lope leap Monday – a move to the Mountain West Conference.
Gloria Nevarez, the commissioner of the Mountain West, attended the opening night of GCU basketball and officially welcomed the fastest-rising D-I program into the fold. The Lopes will begin competition in the Mountain West as early as 2025-26 and no later than 2026-27.
"What you have built here at Grand Canyon is exactly aligned with our mission – finding young talent, developing them into leaders that are going to impact communities," Nevarez said. "Everyone in our AD room couldn't say enough how much Grand Canyon fits with the Mountain West."
GCU accepted the Mountain West invitation on Friday, but Monday's pregame press conference offered an official stamp to the Lopes' unique move. GCU will be the only non-football university besides Wichita State (American Athletic) and Gonzaga (joining the Pac-12 in 2026-27) in a FBS conference.
It was a notion that began taking form in Mountain West officials' minds when the conference hosted the Denver Regional, where GCU played in the 2023 NCAA tournament against Gonzaga with a purple presence."We were so impressed with your fan base and Lope Nation," Nevarez said before sitting with GCU President Brian Mueller for the Lopes men's basketball sold-out opener. "That has been in my head ever since. So when we had this opportunity to talk to your leadership, I just couldn't wait. Like President Mueller said, the rivalries among the fan bases is going to be epic."
"We can't wait to have Lope Nation in Las Vegas for our tournament."
Mueller said three movements put GCU in position to be attractive to the Mountain West: becoming the largest private university in the U.S., the economic boom of Phoenix and the quality of GCU students.
The recent GCU men's basketball success under head coach Bryce Drew, with three NCAA tournament appearances in four years, carried the banner for a move that puts GCU Athletics on a higher place across the department.
"I see Final Four teams," Drew said of Mountain West history. "I see a national championship team. We see so much history and legacy and at-large bids in this new conference that we're about to go. We have a lot of basketball to play up until then, but the anticipation is great."
Mountain West members included Air Force, Nevada, New Mexico, San José State, UNLV and Wyoming with Hawai'i and UTEP also being added. The nine future members account for 21 NCAA tournament appearances since 2010.
"We are now joining what is going to become soon the premier basketball conference in the West," Mueller said. "There are historic programs in this conference that are now building momentum."
With 70 conference championships in the trophy case in 11 Division I years, GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said the leadership remains bullish to expand success amid college athletics' changing landscape.GCU was attracted to a conference and members with national brands and elite game environments ("Not elite as ours, but they are good environments," Boggs said). The average basketball arena capacity in the future Mountain West will be 10,800.
"From a competitive standpoint, we are joining a conference that raises the level of competition," Boggs said. "So what does that mean for us? It means we have more access to at-large opportunities. We can now potentially have higher seeding. This brings us closer to our goal of winning national championships."
Monday's press conference was held in the Havoc House restaurant that is attached to Global Credit Union Arena. The GCU band played the fight song with cheerleaders and Lopes Club members gathered with a couple fan favorites, Tyon Grant-Foster and Thunder, to commemorate a history move.
It was a process that began when GCU Board of Trustees member and GCU Athletics senior advisor Jerry Colangelo, an icon on the Phoenix sports and international basketball scenes, facilitated the Lopes' move to Division I with NCAA leadership.
Mueller said the rise of GCU sports would not have happened without the involvement of Colangelo, whose statue stands outside the GCU Basketball Practice Facility.
"We have great leadership here," Colangelo said. "We have people who are part of a team-building process that is unparalleled in my experiences in sport.
"We kept telling her (Nevarez) we were ready, we were ready and we would leave if given the opportunity. You made that happen, and now it's up to us."
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