student section

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.

Before they can even get unpacked, Havocs leaders have a message for new and returning GCU students: “We want you!’’ Indeed, maintaining the incredible spirit of the Havocs is an all-in enterprise. “It takes every single student,’’ Havocs Co-President Jake Bradshaw said. The learning process begins on Thursday at Lope-A-Palooza, an incredibly entertaining event featuring Thunder, the Cheer and Dance teams, the Thundering Heard Pep Band and the Havocs. It is the perfect time for students — who all are inherently Havocs — to learn the chants and movements that give the Lopes a home-field and home-court advantage.