Photos by Ralph Freso
Evan McKee sounded like a coach.
“We have a strong incoming class,” the senior said from behind the Havocs tent outside the Grand Canyon University Student Union. “You see this line?”
McKee, president of the Havocs, was working that line on Wednesday, telling new students and parents that a Havoc is every student – but if you really want the caps on it, it’s best to show up at sporting events and go bonkers.
“We have an exciting opportunity this year going into the Mountain West Conference and getting to implement new marketing to attract students,” he said. “It’s harder. The incoming freshmen classes were marked by COVID, staying home, watching things from afar, so we are fighting against that trend.”
But it looks good so far, per that line. Havocs leaders purposely wanted students to order tickets in person for tonight’s Lope-A-Palooza, a hyped-up pep rally led by the Havocs and Cheer, Dance, Thunder and the pep band in Global Credit Union Arena.
They had to come meet the president.
And is he ever a ball of hype.
“We’ve got USC on our opening night. It’s going to be a packed house, maybe like we’ve never seen before,” McKee said of the men’s basketball home-opener exhibition in October.
“So first we pack the arena for women’s volleyball (tonight), then after that a pseudo boot camp on Havoc traditions they need to know going into our men’s basketball season (called Lope-A-Palooza). So this way, with USC coming in here off the rip, we don’t have a learning curve.”
You half expect him to shout, listen up people.
“It’s a perfect time to have someone like Evan step into the role,” said Jesi Weeks, director of game entertainment, calling him a goal-oriented visionary. “With our entry into the Mountain West, there is a big emphasis; we are pushing them to elevate.”
Kendra Slater is the vice president. Don’t discount her ability to razzle-dazzle either, especially when the lights come on and the music is turned up to Havoc traditions, such as the Purple Pregame Party and exploding songs like “Party Till We Die.”
All that jumping around and music and finger-pointing not only has given the Havocs and its men’s basketball game day environment the tagline, “The Biggest Party in College Basketball,” but is mentioned nationally nearly every year now as the team and its Havocs appear in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament.
“I love music, any genre, I will dance to it if has a beat,” Slater said. “I love talking to people. I love meeting new faces. I love having a smile on my face while doing it because that’s who I am,” she said, rapid-fire as a dribble drive to the hoop.
Slater, a junior from Surprise, was a high school cheerleader who, as mentioned earlier, was one of those kids who suffered in the pandemic and was going to take a precollege gap year before touring GCU’s campus, then witnessing the zany Havocs.
“Gosh,” she said, “I want to do that.”
She soon became a leader and is now coaching others on Havocracy.
“I tell people to be yourself,” she said. “Energetic. Hype. But having that other side of you – being yourself.
“I’ve heard people say it looks choreographed, but it’s not. We just teach the cheers we do, and that unity and that community really is what makes the Havocs the Havocs.”
Slater is aware of a couple other Mountain West student sections gunning for them, “so we have to step up our game and show the Mountain West why we are the biggest party in college basketball.”
Weeks said it’s a good time to have one of the first females in several years be in top leadership. The campus tilts more female, and one of this year’s goals for the Havocs is “elevating women’s sports, because there is a growing interest in it,” she said.
McKee said he’s also passionate about women’s sports. The sports management major worked this summer for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, and “it lit a fire in me.”
“We are going to build some campaigns this year that will be a foundation for years to come. Historically, there hasn’t been a tradition of Havocs at women’s basketball games, so we want to build on that.
“We know we can’t flip a switch and have a packed arena. We are not going to create a faux biggest party in college basketball for women. We are going to create its own environment.”
During Welcome Week, the lanky Beaverton, Oregon, product addressed thousands of new students at orientations (“You are a GCU Havoc.”), sat in on press conferences for TV broadcast deals, talked up hundreds of students about the Pro Pass deal for ticket priority and gear, which includes lavender jerseys, new old-school hats, flags, wristbands – all to be ready for game days.
“It’s super rewarding when Friday comes along and the arena is packed and you see all the students having a good time,” he said. “But if I could say anything to students … You are not going to want to miss out, especially freshmen. You will have a great time, but Havocs exist first as a ministry. You will experience a Christ-like community and potentially make lifelong friends.
“There are thousand testimonials – lifelong friends, roommates, best man at weddings, maid of honor at weddings – who met at Camp Elliott (when students camp out for good seats in the arena) or basketball games. So get yourself out there; we can't wait for you to see what we have planned.”
Grand Canyon University senior writer Mike Kilen can be reached at [email protected]
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