EDITOR'S NOTE: This story was originally published in the February issue of GCU Magazine, available in the purple bins across campus or digitally.
Grand Canyon University is 75 years old (well done, GCU!), so the GCU News team went think tank and came up with 75 things we love about the university, though, of course, we thought of way more than we could list. How do we love Grand Canyon?
Let us count the ways (listed in no particular order).
1 Christian foundation
No matter how big the university has grown, it hasn’t lost what’s at its core: its Christian values. With Chapel, the One Foundation that magnifies faculty’s faithfulness, spirit-focused life leaders in residence halls and more, a life of faith trumps everything else.
2 Tuition freeze
According to 2024 statistics from the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of tuition and fees at a private, nonprofit university for one academic year is $38,421. GCU is countering that, freezing tuition costs on the Phoenix campus for 17 straight years … and counting.
3 Students
When you see the campus’ joyful students sitting in a prayer circle on Prescott Field or hear about them serving on a medical mission in Mexico, you know the type of faithful, generous, respectful students who define GCU.
4 Research and Design Program
Participating in research projects? Pshaw! That’s for graduate students. Not so at GCU, where undergraduates can join research projects with such teams as the Hybrid Rocket Design group or Computational Science Exploratorium.
5 Brian Mueller
Seriously, at how many universities do students chant their president’s name at almost every basketball game, prompting a Lopes Up sign from our leader and arena-wide applause? Or give Chapel messages every semester to a full-capacity arena? There’s a reason GCU has grown from fewer than 1,000 ground and about 12,000 online students in 2008 to more than 24,600 ground and approximately 98,300 online today. His name is Brian Mueller.
6 Purple or lavender?
Either way, if you don’t like them, you’re in trouble.
7 Thunder
The jokester antelope known as America’s Favorite Mascot evolved from Andy the Antelope and Johnny Lope to today’s lovable, buff mascot who embodies the university’s good-natured spirit.
8 The Havocs
The notoriously loud, nationally renowned student cheer section puts the rumpus on our compass – and our campus. They’re passionate, they’re synchronized, they’re crazy. What’s not to love?
9 Community
You feel it the second you step on campus – the indelible sense of community at GCU. From Chapel to the basketball games to Habitat projects, the campus is connected.
10 Beautiful campus
Yes, this is a desert, but the more than 2,000 trees make it a campus, bringing the shade and even some rare fall color, especially along the College of Arts and Media Building.
11 Online learning
GCU is, hands down, an online education pioneer, with its online student count soaring to more than 98,300. Niche listed GCU as No. 16 of 229 on its Best Online Colleges in America list for 2025.
12 Engineering, tech labs
The Robotics/Automation, Transport Phenomena and Virtual Reality labs, plus the machine-powered engineering workshops (think the Welding Center and CNC Plasma Cutter), means students are geared up. They’re just a few of the more than 50 hands-on learning Lopes Live Labs locations around campus.
13 Chapel, Worship team
The week doesn’t start without an inspirational boost from Monday Chapel, featuring a guest pastor and music by the Worship team, student vocalists and musicians who perform weekly in the 7,000-seat arena.
14 Honors College
GCU’s best and brightest scholars are exposed to additional leadership and mentorship opportunities – without the accompanying fee that many universities charge. These students had an average weighted incoming GPA of 4.12 as of fall 2023.
15 Lope Nation
With GCU producing 30,000 graduates annually, the growing alumni base is making a significant impact across the country.
16 CityServe
The university is helping transform families with CityServe, which has distributed $12.9 million worth of surplus household items and other goods since 2021 to 49,640 families in need.
17 Sunny outdoors
Phoenix averages more than 300 sunny days annually, inspiring GCU’s five pools and students to watch the amazing sunsets from atop Halo Garage. Students also zip to Zion, climb Camelback Mountain and flee to Flagstaff with Outdoor Rec.
18 Learning Lounge
When GCU President Brian Mueller heard about nearby Alhambra High School students struggling academically, university leaders offered free tutoring at GCU’s Learning Lounge. That successful model has expanded to more than 440 schools, serving 5,800-plus K-12 students.
19 Esports Arena
Gamers can super smash their way to esports greatness at the 3,200-squarefoot GCU Esports Arena, home to teams that compete in such video games as “Overwatch” and “League of Legends.”
20 Canyon Rising
The looks of joy on parents’ faces after learning their child earned a full-tuition Canyon Rising Scholarship (formerly Students Inspiring Students), and the tears from those same students who realize they’ve earned a chance to go to college, is powerful.
21 Camp Elliott
Students will find any excuse to camp out, including at Camp Elliott, a pop-up, days long basketball fan village, where hundreds of students pitch tents to land the best spots for basketball games, Midnight Madness and other must-see events.
22 Those apartments, though
The 32 (soon to be 33) residence halls offer more than 19,000 beds, over half of them in modern, four-suite apartments, earning the No. 4 spot on Niche’s 2025 Best College Dorms in America. Another boon? The affordable parking at eight covered garages.
23 Two Chick-fil-A’s!
Thirty-five dining options pepper campus, such as Panda, Habit Burger, Panera, Jimmy John’s and, of course, two Chick-fil-A’s! Niche in 2025 ranked GCU No. 21 out of 1,344 schools for Best College Food in America.
24 Multicultural Office
Diversity is this office’s jam. Plus, it organizes a slew of fun events, from the Ho’olaule’a Luau celebrating Polynesian culture, to the Taste of the World foodie events, to celebrating the campus’ oneness at the Multicultural Lounge.
25 Midnight Madness
It’s frenzied. It’s spectacular. Nothing quite speaks to a basketball fan’s spirit as this student-only, uber pep rally that introduces the teams and fires up everyone for the season.
26 Canyon Worship
Could a future Grammy winner be among us? If so, they could say they got their start on the Canyon Worship albums, featuring worship arts students’ original music.
27 Canyon Ventures
This innovation center helps startup companies get a good start. It’s the home of such businesses as oversized hat company Noggin’ Boss and convertible jacket company NineteenTwenty, both featured on “Shark Tank.”
28 Spirit team
Cheer, Dance, the Thundering Heard Pep Band (and those purple- and whitestriped overalls … love!) and, of course, Thunder. They’re the heartbeat of campus.
29 Herd Stop, Cañón 49
Students can rejuvenate at the 5,000-square-foot Herd Stop, a convenience store on steroids (dragon fruit, anyone?), at GCU-run cantina Cañón 49, and at the Havoc House, an arena sit-down restaurant (we love the color-changing Thunder-Ade).
30 GCBC
You might find a Starbucks at every corner, but you have to be here to experience Grand Canyon Beverage Co., the student-operated coffee shop, which touts drinks like the Cyclone and Haboob and the popular GCU energy drink, Stampede.
31 Purple Pregame Party
It is a master class in gameday raucousness when the Spirit team and Havocs are unleashed before game time, throwing out chants and choreographed routines like candy. When students start to bounce to “Party Til We Die”? Oh, it’s on.
32 Jerry Colangelo
Not only does the sports business icon’s statue grace visitors at the 33rd Avenue entrance, but so does his namesake museum. The business college is also named after him, and he’s integral to the Colangelo Servant Leadership Awards
33 ACE
Organic chemistry? Tough stuff. Enter the Academic Centers for Excellence, where students can get tutoring in everything, and not just organic chemistry.
34 GCU Golf Course
Not many universities operate entire golf courses. GCU saw potential in Maryvale Golf Course, which had fallen into disrepair, renovated it and reopened it in 2016.
35 Ethington Theatre
If you need a little Tennessee Williams or Louisa May Alcott in your life, done. Drama oozes from Ethington, home of the theatre department. It’s celebrating its 50th anniversary this academic year.
36 GCU Recording Studio
Want to make an album? Students do at the GCU Recording Studio. It’s where the Canyon Worship albums are recorded, live orchestras accompany theatre performances and musicians stream recitals.
37 Public Safety
The university touts its own police department, which is pretty cool.
38 ABSN
The university is tackling the national nursing shortage with its Accelerated Bachelor of Science in Nursing, a hybrid program that students with previous college credits can complete in as little as 16 months. Ten ABSN sites have opened. The goal is 40 sites across the country in the next five years.
39 Cadaver Dissection Lab
This is one of the few undergraduate institutions where students can get a hands-on learning experience with cadavers, which first arrived on campus in 1985.
40 La Belle Lab
Students design robots and prototype medical devices at Dr. Jeff La Belle’s lab in the Engineering Building. La Belle also teaches a clever class in which students design prototypes of board games.
41 Scooter, skateboard culture
Skateboards are a vibe, from the Canyon Activity Center skate park, dubbed The Slab, to the GCU Skate Club. With scooters added to the mix, an estimated 13,000 14,000 micromobility devices help students zip around campus.
42 Student markets
Entrepreneurship is on display at the bevy of student markets, where students hawk everything from jewelry to candles. One student market regular, Chewk’s Cookies, now operates a Phoenix brick-and-mortar store.
43 Lope Shop
Oh, the GCU-branded merch! It’s hard not to stop by the Lope Shop, where you can load up on T-shirts, quarter-zips, Hydro Flasks and, of course, anything lavender, please.
44 LOPES Academy
Adults with mild intellectual and developmental disabilities experience life on a Christian college campus as part of this two-year program, in which developing job skills is a focus. Several alums work on campus.
45 Lopes Go Local
Biannually, hundreds of students paint and landscape homes in this Habitat for Humanity home renovation blitz that realizes GCU’s five-point plan (it includes improving neighborhood home values). Since 2015, employees have raised more than $6 million through employee giving program Allocate to Elevate to renovate 537 homes.
46 Outdoor Rec Campus Garden
You’ll not find a contrary Lope at this on-campus oasis, opened in 2022 north of Agave Apartments. The GCU community can rent a plot and grow fresh fruits and veggies to their hearts’ delight.
47 Purple Professors, Grandma Lopes
They love science AND basketball. Gail Francis, Dr. Sandy Bledsoe and Dr. Kathryn Kitzmiller (@purpleprofs on Instagram) dress to the nines for theme nights and cheer their hearts out as one of basketball’s biggest fans. Shout out, too, to another uber fan, Shirley “Grandma Lopes” Jackovich.
48 Basketball/athletics
University leaders knew one of the ways to build community on campus was through athletics, and at the top of the heap is basketball, with men’s basketball last season winning its first NCAA Division I tournament game. GCU’s athletics teams have won nearly 70 Division I conference championships.
49 Lopes on the Road
The Office of Alumni Relations has zipped out to Texas, Oklahoma, Alaska, Hawaii – everywhere – to connect with alumni by hosting gatherings at sporting events and entertainment venues.
50 Lip Sync, GCU’s Got Talent
In the world of hyped-up events, these are the uber hyped-up ones, thanks to choreography, singing, screaming, yawping and a general competition rumpus.
51 Local and Global Outreach
Seeing student volunteers play games with neighborhood refugee children, teach English to immigrants or serve meals to those experiencing homelessness warms the heart.
52 GCU’s architect, builder
The sleek buildings, almost all designed by suoLL architect Caroline Lobo and built by Pono Construction’s Butch Glispie, give the university a distinct, modern look.
53 CAB/ASGCU
Those are a lot of letters that represent two stellar student groups. The Canyon Activities Board plans thousands of events annually, while the student government known as the Associated Students of GCU works on policy.
54 Intramurals, club sports
GCU touts one of the largest club sports programs in the nation, with nearly 2,000 student-athletes joining everything from a cappella choir to bowling, while in 2023 24, 13,320 students formed 1,760 intramural teams in 19 sports. If you sport, GCU’s got you.
55 Commencement
It’s the highlight of the year that includes a campus tradition, the tunnel walk, in which faculty and campus leaders line the arena exit to cheer on grads.
56 Cyber Center of Excellence
Want to gut a server or hack into a computer system? You can connect with your inner tech nerd at this cybersecurity training center, which supports two GCU academic programs recognized by the National Security Agency as Centers of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense.
57 Welcome Week
No one does Welcome Week like we do, with singing, dancing and overly excitable students descending on cars to move new students into their apartments in, literally, minutes. And then there’s Ignite, Lope-A-Palooza and all the big events.
58 Canyon Challenge
This entrepreneurial competition is GCU’s own version of TV’s “Shark Tank.” Students have pitched everything from lip balm holders for your car to coffee and eco-friendly bags.
59 Mira, Isaac and AI
With artificial intelligence chatbot tutors Mira and Isaac already in place, as well as the College of Doctoral Studies’ AI Skills Lab and GCU faculty-led AI conferences, to name a few, the university is aiming to become a leader in AI-driven learning.
60 Grand Canyon Theological Seminary
Once existing only online, the College of Theology’s graduate school now occupies 17,000 square feet, touts a seminary focused library collection that’s like no other in the West Valley, and is a hub for the pastoral community.
61 Canyon Angels
The GCU-based investment group seeds startups researched by student analysts. As of March 1, 2023, 70 active angel investors have funded 64 companies and provided more than $6 million to those companies.
62 Advisory boards
It takes a village. More than 889 industry, nonprofit and community leaders serving on 25 advisory boards share their expertise with faculty to help mold curriculum.
63 Commuter Lounge
It’s where commuter students, who travel as far as 30 miles away or more, can store their lunch in refrigerators, study or just chill between classes. Plus, there’s a waffle bar!
64 Pastoral program, character education
The Kern Family Foundation shined its light on GCU to create the Barnabas Pastoral Program, an accelerated program to train young pastors, and the Canyon Center for Character Education to enhance character education in K12 schools. The foundation also supports faculty through the Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network.
65 CAC Climbing Wall, roller hockey
The stress reliever among stress relievers: the Canyon Activity Center Climbing Wall, though the 10-court CAC itself is a recreational wonder to behold, along with the DEK roller hockey rink just outside. And might we say, we love working out at the campus fitness centers.
66 GCU News/GCU Magazine
Let’s just say, if there’s a cool GCU story, we’re itching to tell it. The GCU News team publishes new content every workday.
67 Tailgates
Hamburgers, hot dogs, a few rides on the Quad? Sounds like game day, GCU style.
68 Discover GCU
When you ask a student when they decided to come to GCU, they’ll tell you it was during a Discover GCU trip. At the all-expenses paid, overnight trip, prospective students experience what it’s really like to be a Lope.
69 Center for Workforce Development
When GCU heard about the lack of electricians, it created a trades pathway to help. The center, which recently expanded its offerings to Austin, has since added machinist, semiconductor and construction pathways.
70 Job focused
Walk onto the Promenade, and you’re bound to find a job fair. Career Services offers tools like Career Compass (to aid in the careerpicking process) and Career Connections to connect students to jobs.
71 Faculty
Some lead drum circles, some are blacksmiths, some are famous for their bow ties (you know who you are), but all are available to students, are faith-focused and are gurus in hands-on learning.
72 Clubs
Whatever you like, there’s likely a club for it among the 125 student clubs, from the 700-plus member Women in Business Club to the Coffee Club, Medieval Combat Club or Technology Club.
73 Center for Teacher Preparation
Dr. Meredith Critchfield, dean of the College of Education, said “becoming a teacher is an act of service, it is an act of love, and it’s an act of sacrifice.” This center helps paraprofessionals become teachers by offering scholarships and professional development. It also addresses the teacher shortage.
74 GCU Dining social media
Let’s face it, it’s a pretty nifty account. If you’re not on @gcudining on Instagram, you won’t know about GCBC’s drink of the month, the limited time dining deals, or what healthy meal the campus registered dietitian has found.
75 Amethyst Gala
Finally, what we love about GCU? That it’s 75 years old. It’s a milestone the university is celebrating with the book “75 Years of Purpose: 15 Years of Transformation” and with the Amethyst Gala at 5 p.m. Feb. 21 at the Canyon Activity Center.
