Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
'We believe' defines GCU Athletics
9/17/2024 11:32:00 AM | General
Student-athlete motto remains for belief in service, teams
The beliefs that power Grand Canyon athletics are manifested into a department-wide motto.
"We believe."
GCU student-athletes believe in themselves, each other, their coaches and a campus that is rooted on a greater belief in God.
The idea of "We believe" has become so ingrained in how the Lopes function that student-athlete leaders and the athletic department's leadership team implored GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs to run the slogan back for another athletic year.
"We've been given this opportunity by God to showcase our gifts and talents," GCU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President nd Lopes swimmer Atu Ambala said. " 'We believe' stands for an opportunity for us as student-athletes to give back to the community and to all the people who believed in us, from (GCU President) Brian Mueller who gave this platform to compete to our fans who put more into us to our coaches who work with us and all the people who support us. But also the Phoenix community that allowed us to come into this space and bring the sports culture to West Phoenix."
There has been no shortage of belief in an athletic program that has won 70 conference championships since becoming postseason eligible in 2017 as a new Division I member. Boggs credits the success to the campus as a whole, crediting the impact of Havocs, band members, cheerleaders, dancers, faculty and other GCU staffers.
"We believe the entire community is part of our team," Boggs said. "It takes an entire university to win championships. It's all of these things together that contribute to us being one of the most nationally talked about athletic programs."
The belief has translated into new opportunities, as GCU is competing in its final year as a WAC member before joining the West Coast Conference for 2025-26. All the while, Lopes student-athletes have maintained both parts of their name with the highest graduation rates in program history.
"We believe that God has equipped us," Boggs said. "We continue to win championships. We continue to compete for national championships. We continue to serve wholeheartedly. We continue to perform in the classroom. We have everything we need because God has equipped us to accomplish of these things."
The "We believe" theme has translated into a student-athlete group that holds a belief to serve others. In 2023-24, GCU student-athletes gave their time outside of competition and academics to accumulate the highest number of community service hours ever.
That message resonated when Boggs addressed all of the student-athletes in "We believe" shirts for a welcome-back night of events that affirmed the culture.
"We believe in using our platform to serve God," Boggs told hundreds of Lopes inside Global Credit Union Arena. "God has equipped us, but not for our own self-serving purposes. I don't think it's by chance that all of you are here competing at the highest level at the largest Christian university in the country. You have a platform to be living examples of our Christian mission, to serve God and to be His hands and feet through our platform."
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The Lopes heard from Mueller, Boggs, Ambala and GCU SAAC Vice President Destinee Duran-Wise, as well as Havocs and student government leaders before moving to GCU Stadium to partake in group activities.
"As a collective, when we all believe together, we can put whatever we want to our minds," said Duran-Wise, a starter for the Lopes' defending WAC women's soccer championship team. "We can help the community twice as much as we probably think we can. If we put all our efforts together, we can put something more than us forward."
"We Believe" has been at the front of every line of GCU's doctrinal statement as a Christ-centered university. Its mission statement implores students to adhere to Philippians 2:3-4 and "do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself."
Boggs reiterated that mission to student-athletes.
"We believe our success is for His glory," Boggs said. "The more success we have, the more attention we'll get, the more championships we'll win, the more national recognition we'll get, the more awards we'll win. The more success that we have, it is really easy to have a mindset of self-pride.
"The more that we become successful, the higher that we rise, the more humble that we must become. He must become greater. We must become less."
Mueller implored the student-athletes to embed themselves into the GCU community, a quality that he said is most appreciated by visitors and community onlookers.
"The future is unbelievably bright for this athletic program," Mueller said. "I can't wait to see what you're going to do this year. I think this is going to go to an all-time high to finish out the WAC season, and then we're ready to go to the WCC next year. This is going to take us to another level."
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"We believe."
GCU student-athletes believe in themselves, each other, their coaches and a campus that is rooted on a greater belief in God.
The idea of "We believe" has become so ingrained in how the Lopes function that student-athlete leaders and the athletic department's leadership team implored GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs to run the slogan back for another athletic year.
"We've been given this opportunity by God to showcase our gifts and talents," GCU Student-Athlete Advisory Committee President nd Lopes swimmer Atu Ambala said. " 'We believe' stands for an opportunity for us as student-athletes to give back to the community and to all the people who believed in us, from (GCU President) Brian Mueller who gave this platform to compete to our fans who put more into us to our coaches who work with us and all the people who support us. But also the Phoenix community that allowed us to come into this space and bring the sports culture to West Phoenix."There has been no shortage of belief in an athletic program that has won 70 conference championships since becoming postseason eligible in 2017 as a new Division I member. Boggs credits the success to the campus as a whole, crediting the impact of Havocs, band members, cheerleaders, dancers, faculty and other GCU staffers.
"We believe the entire community is part of our team," Boggs said. "It takes an entire university to win championships. It's all of these things together that contribute to us being one of the most nationally talked about athletic programs."
The belief has translated into new opportunities, as GCU is competing in its final year as a WAC member before joining the West Coast Conference for 2025-26. All the while, Lopes student-athletes have maintained both parts of their name with the highest graduation rates in program history.
"We believe that God has equipped us," Boggs said. "We continue to win championships. We continue to compete for national championships. We continue to serve wholeheartedly. We continue to perform in the classroom. We have everything we need because God has equipped us to accomplish of these things."The "We believe" theme has translated into a student-athlete group that holds a belief to serve others. In 2023-24, GCU student-athletes gave their time outside of competition and academics to accumulate the highest number of community service hours ever.
That message resonated when Boggs addressed all of the student-athletes in "We believe" shirts for a welcome-back night of events that affirmed the culture.
"We believe in using our platform to serve God," Boggs told hundreds of Lopes inside Global Credit Union Arena. "God has equipped us, but not for our own self-serving purposes. I don't think it's by chance that all of you are here competing at the highest level at the largest Christian university in the country. You have a platform to be living examples of our Christian mission, to serve God and to be His hands and feet through our platform."
Â
The Lopes heard from Mueller, Boggs, Ambala and GCU SAAC Vice President Destinee Duran-Wise, as well as Havocs and student government leaders before moving to GCU Stadium to partake in group activities.
"As a collective, when we all believe together, we can put whatever we want to our minds," said Duran-Wise, a starter for the Lopes' defending WAC women's soccer championship team. "We can help the community twice as much as we probably think we can. If we put all our efforts together, we can put something more than us forward."
"We Believe" has been at the front of every line of GCU's doctrinal statement as a Christ-centered university. Its mission statement implores students to adhere to Philippians 2:3-4 and "do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself."Boggs reiterated that mission to student-athletes.
"We believe our success is for His glory," Boggs said. "The more success we have, the more attention we'll get, the more championships we'll win, the more national recognition we'll get, the more awards we'll win. The more success that we have, it is really easy to have a mindset of self-pride.
"The more that we become successful, the higher that we rise, the more humble that we must become. He must become greater. We must become less."
Mueller implored the student-athletes to embed themselves into the GCU community, a quality that he said is most appreciated by visitors and community onlookers.
"The future is unbelievably bright for this athletic program," Mueller said. "I can't wait to see what you're going to do this year. I think this is going to go to an all-time high to finish out the WAC season, and then we're ready to go to the WCC next year. This is going to take us to another level."
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