Grand Canyon making instant Mtn

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.– Grand Canyon University announced Tuesday its relocate to the Mountain West Conference will begin immediately.The school in Phoenix was initially scheduled to transition from the Western Athletic Conference to its new league on July 1, 2026. The Mountain West used an earlier transition, however, enabling the school to contend for conference championships this fall.”The addition of Grand Canyon for the 2025-26 academic year is a considerable win for the student-athletes at GCU and in the Mountain West,”conference commissioner Gloria Nevarez stated in a statement.Grand Canyon will be one of 14 schools completing in the conference next season. The sped up transition follows five Mountain West schools announced they intend to leave the conference and sign up with the Pac-12 in 2026. Those schools are Utah State, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Colorado State. “Grand Canyon brings elite recruiting, an enthusiastic fanbase, and cutting edge centers, raising the Mountain West’s competitiveness and nationwide profile, “Nevarez said. “In a time when the student-athlete experience is of utmost importance, we felt it was in the best interest to permit them to compete for conference championships and the NCAA postseason instantly. “Seventeen university groups will complete in the Mountain West, consisting of males’s and ladies’s basketball which have remained in the nationwide spotlight over the last few years during the NCAA Tournament. Grand Canyon’s historically successful males’s volley ball team was cut in April. “GCU is thrilled for this opportunity for our student-athletes, the Havocs and

our fanbase,”GCU athletic director Jamie Boggs said.”After winning 76 championship game, this opportunity finest positions GCU to be nationally competitive, and we are delighted about the vision and future of the Mountain West.”