EDITOR'S NOTE: The following story was published in the April issue of GCU Magazine, available in the purple bins around campus or digitally.
Instagram and TikTok in 2016? They were just babies.
The social media landscape has evolved since then, and social media this year went full-on sentimental as influencers and the not-so-influential shared their favorite moments from 10 years ago.
Let’s ride the wave of that 2016 trend.
“In 2016, we were just starting to catch our stride when it came to growth,” Dr. Tim Griffin, vice president of Student Affairs, said of the boom in construction and student population.
“… As exciting as it was to put up new buildings, we were having a whole new spirit within the student body.”
Before 2016, he said there was a concern that the growth would mean a loss of intimacy of community. But GCU “worked really hard to maintain that family feel around campus, and 2016 just continued that momentum.”
Here is a look at some of our favorite 2016 moments.
A hearty welcome
Today’s kinder, gentler Welcome Week of by-appointment move-in times differs a bit from the rambunctious Welcome Weeks of yore, including in 2016.
In the scorching August heat, hordes of student and staff volunteers would line up at the residence halls, purple shirts, sunglasses and sunscreen in tow, to welcome every student and help them move in.
Welcome crews swarmed each car that drove up, cheering, picking up luggage, furniture and boxes, hauling items up stairs, dropping them off in the student’s room and returning downstairs to repeat the process.
Volunteers rotated in shifts from 5 a.m. to 5 p.m. until they unpacked the very last car.
That move-in energy is still true today, just on a more organized scale, without the massive surge to get onto campus simultaneously, because by 2026, Welcome Week transitioned to students moving in by appointment to ease the long lines, and the welcome crew now is more geared toward traffic and move-in management.
Beyond move-in, events still popular today, such as Lope-A-Palooza and Canyon Cool Down, wrapped up the long days on a high note.
It was loud. It was chaotic. It was brutally hot. But it was a memorable welcome to college.
Building boom
The three-building Rivers residential complex? The Canyon Activity Center? East campus?
In 2016, they were nonexistent.
Today’s Lopeland was not as large and sprawling as it is today, with a dozen construction and renovation projects slated a decade ago.
Students didn’t need electric scooters to get across campus, which barely reached outside Colter Circle.
After opening The Grove complex of four freshman residence halls in late 2015, the university introduced Roadrunner, Agave and Encanto apartments in 2016.
But the hottest place to be was the new, 6,000-seat GCU Stadium, which debuted in the fall and would help raise the stature of men’s and women’s soccer.
The onetime Maryvale Golf Course reopened in January 2016 with a new name, GCU Golf Course, after the university partnered with the city to manage it. GCU invested $10 million in its renovation.
The softball and beach volleyball stadiums also opened, and the GCU Tennis Facility soon followed.
The university understood college students’ need for caffeine, so Grand Canyon Beverage Co. was born. By year’s end, a second location launched in Roadrunner Apartments.
Also part of the building boom: the Engineering Building, 27th Avenue office complex, Student Life Building, Basketball Practice Facility, and the 27th and 29th Avenue parking garages. GCU also renovated a Quality Inn and Suites into GCU Hotel, complete with new pool and lobby.
Food, glorious food
It’s hard to believe, but where Pita Jungle is today on Lopes Way was the Lope Shop a decade ago.
In 2016, Lopes Way was a major food hub, along with Thunderground and the Student Union.
There was no Taco Bell, Havoc House, Panera Bread, Nektar, Jimmy John’s or Herd Stop. Students noshed at Chick-fil-A, Panda Express, Subway, Habit Burger and a few more options, including Canyon 49, now Cañon 49, which opened at GCU Hotel that year.
And the Grid was the biggest campus convenience store at the time.
College basketball’s biggest party
A couple of gameday traditions got on the grid in 2016.
Did you know GCU’s free-throw tradition emerged that year? A cheerleader counted “one, two, three” and the arena crowd shouted, “Lopes Up!” as they raised the signature hand sign before a GCU basketball player would shoot a free throw.
And although it started in late 2015, Camp Elliott really started gaining steam in 2016.
Daniel Elliott became the first GCU student to camp out for Midnight Madness. No one could have predicted that one tent would turn into a gameday tradition of hundreds of students lining up days in advance to turn the Quad into a campground of tents, sleeping bags, hammocks and lawn chairs.
Also a decade ago, SB Nation writer Mark Sandritter published an article titled, “The student section at Grand Canyon University is the biggest party in college basketball.” That “Biggest Party in College Basketball” designation has stuck.
The big show
Today it's GCU's Got Talent, but 10 years ago, there was Mr. GCU. A traditional pageant for the women it wasn’t. But a playful competition for the men? Absolutely.
Contestants wore their best suits, showing off their talents and answering get-to-know-you questions while vying for a trophy … and the ladies’ hearts.
Also in 2016, karaoke in Thunderground was big with students, who sang their hearts out.
And Ignite, which still exists today, looked different. Students lit up the Quad by candlelight after the arena worship service. Candlelight seems old school compared to today's cellphone light-driven ceremony in the arena, but the sentiment is the same: a campus united in unity and faith.
