GCU Arena

Grand Canyon University entered into a partnership Tuesday with one of the most powerful and respected sports executives in the country as it formally announced the creation of a Jerry Colangelo School of Sports Business. The school will be part of the Ken Blanchard College of Business at the University, with its enrollment expected to grow as high as 1,000 students in five years under the direction of Dr. Brian C. Smith, a former basketball player at the University of New Mexico. More than 300 students currently are sports business majors at GCU, which created the major in mid-2010 — the only one of its kind in Arizona.

Last Friday night’s Switchfoot show took the GCU Arena concert experience to a whole new level, speaking volumes of the facility’s capabilities. It was well worth the wait when the lights finally dimmed, strobes sporadically flashed like a kaleidoscope and fans erupted with screams as Foreman and the band opened with “Mess of Me.”

Don Wilson, senior pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, brought the message to this morning’s Chapel from the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. Wilson’s key points: God owns everything and we are merely managers; we are all equally important to God but not equally gifted; what matters most is how we use what we have; and our attitude determines the fruit that we bear. “God has positioned GCU to be a five-talent university,” Wilson said, “but the X-factor is you.”

Everyone knows that first impressions are important. Because of this, GCU has pulled out all the stops when it comes to welcoming prospective students to campus for the first time. The Antelope Reception Center in the northwest corner of the new Arena has been designed to ensure that prospective students and their families have the best first impression of the University. “When a student is coming to GCU for the first time, we want to make sure we’ve rolled out the ‘purple carpet’ for them,” says Shannon Landers, director of the ARC. “This is going to be the first part of campus they see.”

A formula for success has emerged in GCU’s student lip-sync contest, a full-on spectacle that moved into the Arena on Thursday night. To score points with the crowd and the judges, contestants are advised to have (a) a killer look, (b) some smart dance moves or, preferably, (c) both. The Frothy Boyz, who performed to the gone-but-not-forgotten “Ice Ice Baby,” brought the complete package and took first place before an enthusiastic crowd of about 800.

You know what a typical school fight song sounds like. And that’s a problem, isn’t it? Because truthfully, they all sound the same: overly brassy marching music with lyrics as outdated as Grandpa’s moth-eaten letter sweater. Yawn. Get ready for something completely different. Get ready for Trevor McNevan, who has written the yet-untitled GCU fight song that will make its raucous debut over the Arena sound system at Monday’s Chapel.

Dr. Don Wilson has been told that he sounds more like a coach than a preacher. “For a lot of people, church isn’t very relevant in their lives because it’s boring to them,” says Wilson, a former coach and college basketball player who serves as senior pastor at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, one of the largest churches in metropolitan Phoenix. “So I try to engage people by what’s relevant to them and try to relate things to their lives.”

The much-anticipated Run to Fight Children’s Cancer 5K/10K took place Saturday at GCU, and the outcome couldn’t have been better. Thanks to sponsors, volunteers, walkers, runners and countless supporters, GCU was able to present a check worth $20,000 to the Children’s Cancer Network, the event’s beneficiary. “With over 900 runners registered and 1,500 people on campus, it’s safe to say this was a huge success,” said Community Outreach Manager Jose Moreno.

Ravi Zacharias, one of the most prominent defenders of the Christian faith in the world today, brought an intellectually engaging perspective to a large audience Sunday evening at GCU Arena. “Helping the thinker believe, helping the believer think” is Zacharias’ apt summary of his ministry, which travels the globe with the message of the Gospel. “Where Is God?” was the topic for Zacharias’ talk, sponsored by Pinnacle Forum and CityServe AZ, and he got to the point quickly.

Using the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 as his text, Dean of Students Pastor Tim Griffin quoted the words of Jesus that “you are the light of the world” at this morning’s Chapel. “Understand how God sees you,” Griffin told those assembled. “He sees you as the light of the world. My prayer is that you would see the platform God has given you. Collectively, we have a wonderful opportunity at Grand Canyon. God might want to raise us up as a burning torch in this part of Phoenix.”