Grand Canyon University Athletics
GCU, We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort announce multi-year naming rights partnership
1/14/2026 8:00:00 AM | General
A new elevated fan destination will open in Global Credit Union Arena
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Grand Canyon University and We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort have agreed to a multi-year partnership for a new premium fan destination inside Global Credit Union Arena: the We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort Loft.
Designed to elevate the game-day experience, the suite-style We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort Loft features premier hospitality space, offering supporters of GCU Athletics an upscale environment to experience Lopes basketball and other special events.
"We are delighted to partner with We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort to provide an unmatched fan experience with the new We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort Loft," said GCU Vice President of Athletics Jamie Boggs. "We are appreciative of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort for their investment and are proud to join hands to create a platform that celebrates culture, drives impact and showcases the very best of the Grand Canyon state."
The We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort Loft became the official name of the space during Native American Heritage Night at the GCU men's basketball game on Friday, November 21. The night celebrated Native American culture with the singing of the national anthem in Diné Bizaad, Madam President Sandra Pattea presenting the game ball and a halftime performance by Yellow Bird Productions. Later in December, GCU hosted two tribal high school basketball teams, Ganado and Monument Valley. The teams played before and after the GCU women's basketball Mountain West opener, with a tailgate presented by We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort.
"We are thrilled to join the GCU family. Working with Grand Canyon University athletics is a partnership in the truest sense of the word," said We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort's General Manager Harold Baugus. "They have embraced not only the We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort but have extended this partnership with a commitment to the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation and its community – and most importantly to the lives of our tribal youth with a commitment to their education and athletic goals."
As a new member of the Mountain West Conference, GCU continues to garner national attention across its athletic programs. The GCU men's basketball team has reached the NCAA Tournament four of the past five years under coach Bryce Drew. GCU's student section, the Havocs, has created one of the most energetic and exciting in-game experiences in college basketball with their passion and enthusiasm, being dubbed the "Biggest Party in College Basketball" by SB Nation and earning praise from legendary coach Rick Pitino, among others, after a visit by his University of Louisville team in 2017.
We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort is an Enterprise of the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation. Located just moments from Scottsdale and Fountain Hills, Arizona, the AAA Four Diamond We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort offers everything you need for the perfect Sonoran Desert getaway. For more information on the We-Ko-Pa Casino Resort, visit www.wekopacasinoresort.com
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About Grand Canyon University: Grand Canyon University was founded in 1949 and is Arizona's premier private Christian university. GCU is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers 370 academic programs, emphases and certificates for both traditional undergraduate students and working professionals. The University's curriculum emphasizes interaction with classmates, both in-person and online, and individual attention from instructors while fusing academic rigor with Christian values to help students find their purpose and become skilled, caring professionals. For more information, visit gcu.edu.
About Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation: The Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation is a 950-member Native American tribe that calls Central Arizona's upper Sonoran Desert home. Located to the northeast of Phoenix within Maricopa County, Arizona, the 40-square mile reservation is a small part of the ancestral territory of the once nomadic Yavapai people, who hunted and gathered food in a vast area of Arizona's desert lowlands and mountainous Mogollon Rim country.
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