GCU headed to the WAC

[FArting]

GCU will be making the leap from DII to DI.


There will be a press conference later.


Awesome!

 

[Mulli]

Wow!

 

[MigratingOsprey]

good for GCU, i'll definitely check out some WAC games there .... i'd love for my university to have their building instead of this 2,300 capacity "athletics center"

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[HooverDam]

good for GCU, i'll definitely check out some WAC games there .... i'd love for my university to have their building instead of this 2,300 capacity "athletics center"

Thats about the only thing Drexel (a real university) would trade w/ GCU though.

I think this is a great move for GCU and nice for the Valley too. I hope eventually the Valley kids who would've otherwise gone to play at Pepperdine, Boise St, and places like that consider staying here and playing for GCU. They could theoretically build a pretty strong team from a core of AZ guys.

I also hope down the road GCU reverts off of the for profit system they're currently on. I understand its what got them where they are now, and helped them reach financial solvency, but their whole model just reeks of improprieties and diploma mill-ness. Maybe once they go D-1, get more regional attention, and perhaps more donors, they won't need the huge online diploma factory to keep them afloat.

A couple of other things to think about that are kind of interrelated to this:

* As GCU continues to grow, connecting it to Metro Light Rail ought to be a priority. Colleges are always very high users of public transit, and if Phoenix/Tempe want to attract the Pan Am Games like Michael Crow has stated, having a connection to GCUs 5K seat arena would make sense.

Since Glendale is thankfully now considering a LRT route that would go to Westgate via Downtown Glendale, I think we could see some real positive results for a Westside Metro extension:

Simply run it West along Camelback to 35th Ave, north on 35th Ave to Glendale, and then West on Glendale to Westgate.


* WAYYYYY in the future (10-15+ years) if the WAC decides to try to get back into football, an on or near campus football facility for GCU could also double as a Major League Soccer facility for the Valley. UofP stadium is an unappealing MLS venue obviously and something more in the 20K seat range would be more appropriate. A Phoenix version of the Skydome could serve GCU during the academic year and a MLS squad in the summer.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

Deadspin has an interesting take:

Grand Canyon University, A For-Profit School Previously Sued By The Feds, Joins The Great Scam Of NCAA Division I Athletics

http://deadspin.com/5963972/grand-c...s-the-great-scam-of-ncaa-division-i-athletics