GCU Cheer

The Havocs always seem excited, but it may reach beyond excited on Saturday. It’s the first time GCU will host ESPN for a national broadcast, a 7 p.m. men’s basketball game against Tarleton, and they have special plans to put on their best zany. Decked in neon for the occasion, dancing to a light show, the Havocs will join GCU’s cheerleaders, dance team and band to show the ESPNU audience what a Lopes party is all about. “Everything will be a full go,” said Havocs vice president Cole Baker.

By Lana Sweeten-Shults GCU News Bureau It’s a three-peat. For the third year in a row, Grand Canyon University’s Dance team brought home a national title. The team won the Game Day category in Division 1 of the Universal Dance Association College Dance Team National Championship, which wrapped up Wednesday at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. The team emerged triumphant even in a year when a global pandemic limited or halted athletic events and the crowds that attend them. It was one of two wins for GCU at the two-day event. The University’s Cheer team took first place in the Small Coed category in Division 1 of the Universal Cheerleaders Association College Cheerleading National Championship. “This is our third time winning our division,” said Dance team coach Jacque Genung-Koch. “This is a big deal. It’s just back-to-back-to-back.” Game Day competition puts the spotlight on the sideline traditions teams perform every weekend at home. Judges evaluate the teams on their ability to lead the crowd, the execution of their skills, motion technique and overall routine. During the performance, judges can call for a fight song, game situation chant or timeout routine. The competing teams must be ready to perform any […]

Leading one of the nation’s most exuberant student cheering sections is like riding a wild bronco. But Havoc leaders Joshua Gillespie, president, and Grace Haskins, social media coordinator, say what makes the section great is they work in unison with that wild energy. The group will burst out of the gates Wednesday night in the first men’s basketball game at GCU Arena, scaled back in size for the pandemic but not tamped down in enthusiasm.