Still no ceiling in sight.
 
Still with over 1/3 of its 44 sports heading to season finales and postseason outings just a week before GCU Commencement activities, Grand Canyon University Club Sports continues to set the pace for other university club sports programs across the nation to follow. For the 5^th straight year, the program has expanded its enrollment and its number of sports, and for the second consecutive season, has blown past the 2000-student mark, finishing with a program-record 2165 student-athletes.
 
"Our continued growth just speaks to how much support our administration gives us annually," said GCU Club Sports Director Dr. Daniel Nichols. "It's also a testament to how hard our coaches and staff work to make the Premier Club Sports experience one that student-athletes keep coming back to and tell their friends about."
 
Nichols was originally assigned the task of creating a club sports department for GCU at a time when many didn't even know the concept existed on the college level. Nichols toured several universities to build a template, and from 2014 until today, the program has enjoyed incredible growth while still staying true to its mission statement of providing student-athletes with not just tools on the field, but a foundation for life and a positive culture. The mix of full-time, part-time and student head coaches have provided a strong balance of styles and philosophies that are designed to improve the player's abilities on the playing surface – whether they are NCAA-level athletes, those that want to continue to enjoy the sport they loved in high school, and even those who have never played the chosen sport before. The addition of a full-time athletic training staff who do nothing EXCEPT treat club sports student-athletes has been an essential component. The program also maintains that student-athletes focus on education first, then athletic events, by having teams practice 2-4 days per week on average to better ensure a life balance.
 
"We are serious about training, but we also prioritize time management," said Nichols. "Our mission is high performance without the burnout. We emphasize skill training combined with time management that is needed to enjoy the full collegiate experience."
 
Nichols began the program with just men's lacrosse, who had shifted to the club level when GCU Athletics moved from NCAA Division 2 to the Division 1 level, The program quickly expanded to include Esports (well before most schools were participating yet), baseball, softball, women's lacrosse, tennis, men's and women's hockey, and men's and women's rugby. By 2018, the program had expanded to 24 sports and over 1000 student-athletes. Nichols and his staff realized the secret to positive growth was twofold. First, they had to fully listen to the student body, since most of the sports were generated by small groups of students stating their interest in a yet-formed club sport, then working with Club Sports administrators to build interest, roster numbers and a schedule. The input of the student-athletes helped shape the culture of the team, while the administrators helped find opponents, conferences and worked with budgets and received increased support from the GCU administration with financial, marketing and logistical means.
 
That not only included allowing club sports teams to play games in NCAA facilities, but also helping to build dedicated facilities such as the Canyon Activity Center (basketball, volleyball, all mat sports such as wrestling, stunt and mixed martial arts), Colter Field (baseball, soccer, lacrosse, ultimate) and Antelope and the Rivers Pools (swimming, triathlon, water polo). Exponential growth prompted the hiring of experienced coaches, which only expanded the experience. Sports aren't just forced to play against in-city or in-state teams like some would surmise, but are aligned with nationally respected conferences and regions, such as USA Rugby (the highest form of collegiate rugby), USA Triathlon, the Men's Collegiate Lacrosse Association and Women's Collegiate Lacrosse Associates, and the American Collegiate Hockey Association. That allows teams to travel not just across the west, but across the world (GCU Powerlifting has made trip to world championships in Estonia and Panama in the past two years). Rosters aren't limited, either, so sports that have anywhere from 80 to 120 in their stead have multiple teams that balance talent levels and needs. In many cases, the 2^nd or 3^rd team in a program does as well or better than Team 1 – as evidenced by GCU Club Baseball's 2022 national title win by their Division 2 squad.
 
"Rugby and other teams compete at the highest collegiate level of their sport," said Nichols. "For Olympic sports, times and scores can be compared across the board."
 
The second component may have been the most pivotal as Nichols enlisted GCU Club Sports Assistant Director Mark Nelson to develop a leadership program to help foster not just team leaders for their college tenure, but leaders for the more distant future. The leadership program began in 2017 with just 20-30 leaders from the various sports, but through the help and advice of coaches and administrators, the leadership program has grown to include nearly 140 student leaders from all 44 sports. Student leaders are recommended by head coaches, and those student coaches either starting new sports or taking over the reins for an existing sport take part in the leadership classes, as well as helping plan social events and community service projects, as well as become ambassadors for the program and the university by speaking and presenting at enrollment events.
 
"Student Affairs allowed us access to the leadership program," said Nichols. "It now drives all that we do."
 
Recruiting has also taken an increased role for the university as GCU Club Sports is now actively involved in the school's Discover trips that involve both prospective students and high school and college administrators and coaches, helping with presentations, coaches and student panels, leadership seminars and tours of the facilities. Leadership scholarships have also been developed by the university to help recruit new athletes, and prospective high school athletes can send videos and resumes directly to coaches to determine skill level.
 
Because it's a dues-based play system, no one is turned away. So as he looks ahead to 2026-27, what does Nichols see as the template for the future?
 
We are filling a large, complimentary gap for college athletics," said Nichols. "Premier club sports have become the ultimate fast track for freshmen and transfer students alike. While the club system was once exclusive to European academies and at the traditional collegiate level, it has rapidly evolved into a vortex for elite university competition."