Grand Canyon University Athletics
Photo by: David Kadlubowski
'Grace. Grit. Glory.' campaign champions women's sports
2/5/2025 11:00:00 AM | General, Paul Coro
GCU continues commitment to support, success of 11 women's programs
On a Grand Canyon campus with more women's teams than men's teams, every day is National Girls and Women in Sports Day.
It is not a standalone celebration, but a perpetual movement that has built boldly over GCU's 12 years as the nation's fastest-rising Division I program.
Lopes women's programs have lifted the name of God and the university in tandem to capture 11 regular-season conference championships with 20 conference tournament championships and 11 NCAA tournament appearances in GCU's first seven years of D-I postseason eligibility.
The signs of a program aspiring to be an elite women's sports institution are everywhere, with GCU launching a "Grace, Grit, Glory" women's sports campaign to reinforce that Christ-led, championship-driven mission.
The GCU Softball Stadium is a microcosm of that. Signs of gritty success decorate the outfield wall with listings for three consecutive NCAA regional appearances. Signs of a gracious team giving glory welcome players each day in the dugout, where prayer lists are longer than practice plans and scripture is written alongside lineups.
"Be kind and be grateful," the No. 1 team rule reads.
GCU is a place where championship standards are not sacrificed for the Lopes women who carry themselves with the high character to be youth role models, community servants and devoted Christians.
"We have championship-caliber women's programs with student-athletes who are elite, fiercely competitive and who have a grace that defines our programs," GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said. "This campaign is about telling their story and attracting businesses, donors, fans and supporters who believe in the positive influence of women's sports built on our Christ-centered mission.
"Our vision is to be the premier university for women's sports."
The national rise in women's sports interest aligns with the trajectory of GCU women's sports, a program balanced in its drive for wins and grins in Phoenix.
"This, I will say to anyone and everyone: this soccer team has been the best team that I've ever been on, regarding our team play and our team culture," said Destinee Duran-Wise, who will graduate in April after four GCU soccer seasons with a .703 winning percentage and two NCAA tournament appearances. "I've felt so at home when I'm with these girls. It's such a blessing to be part of that culture. Everyone is so inviting. The culture is so amazing and rare to find.
"You can be fighting against someone for position on the field and then hanging out with her at dinner later that day. There's a healthy balance that's truly incredible."
The exceptional support for the GCU women's teams extends beyond the athletic department's dedication in facilities and infrastructure.
Lope Nation shows out for them. Women's volleyball has played four consecutive season openers in front of a full-capacity Global Credit Union Arena. In triple-digit heat, 3,241 fans watched GCU women's soccer defeat Arizona.
Women's basketball also has enjoyed raucous full-arena crowds for season openers and Midnight Madness celebrations, as well as a fan following that travels to Las Vegas for WAC Tournaments.
"I am proud to be associated with a university that cares about athletics as a whole, but taking the initiative to emphasize the importance of women in sports is something that our kids and coaches truly appreciate," said Lopes fifth-year women's basketball head coach Molly Miller, whose team is riding the nation's second-longest active winning streak at 19 games.
"As more eyes are watching women's sports and they increase in popularity, it is nice that our university wants to be a leader in the industry in supporting our women's sports programs."
Being a part of the university and athletics culture concurrently allows the Lopes women to stay who they are in character and find who they are in faith. Student-athletes are embedded into the fabric of GCU, sitting alongside classmates at weekly chapel in the arena and living as neighbors in the same campus apartment complexes that meld their social lives.
Volleyball player Taylor Kubacak arrived at GCU last fall wanting to grow her game and her faith. The Lopes' drive to compete nationally brought out her best on the court, where she became a starting setter on a 20-win team. Every walk of her campus life fostered a spiritual maturation too.
Each spring under head coach Kendra Potts, the Lopes volleyball players list characteristics that they value most. The lists focus by the fall, when Kubacak found she leaned most on her faith and her love of the game.
"As I've grown here, I've realized I'm not just an athlete," Kubacak said. "The resources at GCU extend my gifts that God has given me. Coaches helped me, but you humble yourself here with teammates who are just as good as you, and you make sure your values are shifted toward three things -- faith, love and family.
"Having this opportunity with 'Grace. Grit. Glory,' I see where I can fit my values into my daily life with volleyball. I have to be a Christ-based individual to win and work for my team."
GCU softball head coach Shanon Hays' appreciation for and excellence in the sport comes with the perspective of coaching men until 2006. He was a men's basketball head coach at Abilene Christian and assisted men's teams at Texas Tech and Houston before coaching softball to settle his family in Lubbock, Texas.
Hays intended to return to men's basketball, but softball changed that.
"It was too much fun," Hays said. "You learn right off the bat that it's the same. These women come out here and compete. They're loyal to what they're doing. If you show passion back, they'll get on board. I've never wanted to go back to men's basketball.
"In the years I've been in it, it's exploded. The talent, size and strength of kids is amazing."
In his first season at GCU, Hays engineered the largest one-year win jump of any 2022 NCAA tournament. The Lopes are one of 10 softball programs in the nation to have a winning percentage of at least .700 in each of the past three seasons.
All the while, Hays embeds Christianity into the program daily on a campus where spiritual conditioning is just as much of practices.
"That's why I'm at GCU," Hays said. "This is perfect because you can promote that at a Division I school that also wants to be excellent in winning. The wonderful thing about being at GCU is you're encouraged to promote your faith and let that be the foundation of our program, while getting the backing to win as well. It's been awesome to have that be the focal point of our recruiting."
That spirit, competitive and Christian, is embedded and established. The GCU women grow in it and then embody it for the next groups of high school girls becoming college women.
"It's a legacy here at GCU," said graduate Makaiya Gomez, a Preseason All-WAC softball player. "Every single girl has left an impact. We know the work that was put in before we were here. It's our job to keep it up. It's about the work we put in off the field and on the field. It's how to serve each other and the community. Serving the Lord is a team aspect. Keeping all that in our core allows us to perform what we're here to do – play some ball and have a good time."
Duran-Wise did not just play soccer. She became a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee vice president and worked two years in athletics operations, learning just how much behind-the-scenes dedication is given to GCU women's sports to produce wins, draw crowds and foster Olympians, pro athletes and nine Academic All-Americans.
She takes note of Boggs steering the 21-team program with a GCU Athletics leadership team featuring three other women. Boggs has guided the programs' rise to a future in the Mountain West Conference but is not an anomaly at a university where most of the vice presidents are women.
"Her launching this program at this time with women's sports on the rise is strong," Duran-Wise said of the "Grace. Grit. Glory." initiative. "You can see the passion she has. If we work hard, we can meet what is supposed to be impossible."
It is not a standalone celebration, but a perpetual movement that has built boldly over GCU's 12 years as the nation's fastest-rising Division I program.
Lopes women's programs have lifted the name of God and the university in tandem to capture 11 regular-season conference championships with 20 conference tournament championships and 11 NCAA tournament appearances in GCU's first seven years of D-I postseason eligibility.The signs of a program aspiring to be an elite women's sports institution are everywhere, with GCU launching a "Grace, Grit, Glory" women's sports campaign to reinforce that Christ-led, championship-driven mission.
The GCU Softball Stadium is a microcosm of that. Signs of gritty success decorate the outfield wall with listings for three consecutive NCAA regional appearances. Signs of a gracious team giving glory welcome players each day in the dugout, where prayer lists are longer than practice plans and scripture is written alongside lineups.
"Be kind and be grateful," the No. 1 team rule reads.
GCU is a place where championship standards are not sacrificed for the Lopes women who carry themselves with the high character to be youth role models, community servants and devoted Christians.
"We have championship-caliber women's programs with student-athletes who are elite, fiercely competitive and who have a grace that defines our programs," GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs said. "This campaign is about telling their story and attracting businesses, donors, fans and supporters who believe in the positive influence of women's sports built on our Christ-centered mission.
"Our vision is to be the premier university for women's sports."
The national rise in women's sports interest aligns with the trajectory of GCU women's sports, a program balanced in its drive for wins and grins in Phoenix.
"This, I will say to anyone and everyone: this soccer team has been the best team that I've ever been on, regarding our team play and our team culture," said Destinee Duran-Wise, who will graduate in April after four GCU soccer seasons with a .703 winning percentage and two NCAA tournament appearances. "I've felt so at home when I'm with these girls. It's such a blessing to be part of that culture. Everyone is so inviting. The culture is so amazing and rare to find."You can be fighting against someone for position on the field and then hanging out with her at dinner later that day. There's a healthy balance that's truly incredible."
The exceptional support for the GCU women's teams extends beyond the athletic department's dedication in facilities and infrastructure.
Lope Nation shows out for them. Women's volleyball has played four consecutive season openers in front of a full-capacity Global Credit Union Arena. In triple-digit heat, 3,241 fans watched GCU women's soccer defeat Arizona.
Women's basketball also has enjoyed raucous full-arena crowds for season openers and Midnight Madness celebrations, as well as a fan following that travels to Las Vegas for WAC Tournaments.
"I am proud to be associated with a university that cares about athletics as a whole, but taking the initiative to emphasize the importance of women in sports is something that our kids and coaches truly appreciate," said Lopes fifth-year women's basketball head coach Molly Miller, whose team is riding the nation's second-longest active winning streak at 19 games."As more eyes are watching women's sports and they increase in popularity, it is nice that our university wants to be a leader in the industry in supporting our women's sports programs."
Being a part of the university and athletics culture concurrently allows the Lopes women to stay who they are in character and find who they are in faith. Student-athletes are embedded into the fabric of GCU, sitting alongside classmates at weekly chapel in the arena and living as neighbors in the same campus apartment complexes that meld their social lives.
Volleyball player Taylor Kubacak arrived at GCU last fall wanting to grow her game and her faith. The Lopes' drive to compete nationally brought out her best on the court, where she became a starting setter on a 20-win team. Every walk of her campus life fostered a spiritual maturation too.Each spring under head coach Kendra Potts, the Lopes volleyball players list characteristics that they value most. The lists focus by the fall, when Kubacak found she leaned most on her faith and her love of the game.
"As I've grown here, I've realized I'm not just an athlete," Kubacak said. "The resources at GCU extend my gifts that God has given me. Coaches helped me, but you humble yourself here with teammates who are just as good as you, and you make sure your values are shifted toward three things -- faith, love and family.
"Having this opportunity with 'Grace. Grit. Glory,' I see where I can fit my values into my daily life with volleyball. I have to be a Christ-based individual to win and work for my team."
GCU softball head coach Shanon Hays' appreciation for and excellence in the sport comes with the perspective of coaching men until 2006. He was a men's basketball head coach at Abilene Christian and assisted men's teams at Texas Tech and Houston before coaching softball to settle his family in Lubbock, Texas.Hays intended to return to men's basketball, but softball changed that.
"It was too much fun," Hays said. "You learn right off the bat that it's the same. These women come out here and compete. They're loyal to what they're doing. If you show passion back, they'll get on board. I've never wanted to go back to men's basketball.
"In the years I've been in it, it's exploded. The talent, size and strength of kids is amazing."
In his first season at GCU, Hays engineered the largest one-year win jump of any 2022 NCAA tournament. The Lopes are one of 10 softball programs in the nation to have a winning percentage of at least .700 in each of the past three seasons.
All the while, Hays embeds Christianity into the program daily on a campus where spiritual conditioning is just as much of practices.
"That's why I'm at GCU," Hays said. "This is perfect because you can promote that at a Division I school that also wants to be excellent in winning. The wonderful thing about being at GCU is you're encouraged to promote your faith and let that be the foundation of our program, while getting the backing to win as well. It's been awesome to have that be the focal point of our recruiting."
That spirit, competitive and Christian, is embedded and established. The GCU women grow in it and then embody it for the next groups of high school girls becoming college women."It's a legacy here at GCU," said graduate Makaiya Gomez, a Preseason All-WAC softball player. "Every single girl has left an impact. We know the work that was put in before we were here. It's our job to keep it up. It's about the work we put in off the field and on the field. It's how to serve each other and the community. Serving the Lord is a team aspect. Keeping all that in our core allows us to perform what we're here to do – play some ball and have a good time."
Duran-Wise did not just play soccer. She became a Student-Athlete Advisory Committee vice president and worked two years in athletics operations, learning just how much behind-the-scenes dedication is given to GCU women's sports to produce wins, draw crowds and foster Olympians, pro athletes and nine Academic All-Americans.
She takes note of Boggs steering the 21-team program with a GCU Athletics leadership team featuring three other women. Boggs has guided the programs' rise to a future in the Mountain West Conference but is not an anomaly at a university where most of the vice presidents are women.
"Her launching this program at this time with women's sports on the rise is strong," Duran-Wise said of the "Grace. Grit. Glory." initiative. "You can see the passion she has. If we work hard, we can meet what is supposed to be impossible."
— The Western Athletic Conference (@WACsports) February 5, 2025
📈 Hear from @GCU_Lopes Vice President of Athletics @JamieBoggsJD on the tremendous growth of women's sports#OneWAC x #NGWSD2025 pic.twitter.com/g99sA8Fj0g
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