Decision supports GCU’s goal to remain nationally competitive
(Phoenix, AZ) Grand Canyon submitted its notice of intent to the NCAA to opt in to the proposed House settlement.
If final court approval is granted on April 7, the House settlement helps bring to conclusion the House v. NCAA case, filed in 2020, with student-athletes seeking damages for past name, image and likeness opportunities. NCAA Division I institutions had until Monday’s deadline to declare intent to opt in to the settlement, enabling GCU to remain nationally competitive in building championship-caliber programs.
Institutions that opt in to the proposed settlement will be permitted to provide direct NIL payments to their student-athletes and provide additional scholarships.
In just over a decade at the D-I level, GCU has experienced tremendous competitive success. GCU has won 72 D-I conference championships and six of the last seven WAC Commissioner’s Cups.
In 2023-24, GCU won NCAA tournament games in four sports headlined by a men’s basketball victory over Saint Mary’s. GCU was one of only four D-I schools (Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M) to win a men’s basketball NCAA tournament game while advancing to regional championships in both baseball and softball.
Currently, GCU women’s basketball holds the nation’s longest win streak at 25 games and has the program’s best NET ranking; softball is receiving top-25 votes in several polls; and men’s tennis is ranked in the Intercollegiate Tennis Association rankings for the first time.
Opting in to the settlement will strengthen the continued ascent of GCU’s athletic teams and continue shining a national spotlight on the university.
GCU’s successful financial model as a nonprofit institution has allowed it to operate the university efficiently without relying on traditional revenue sources such as endowments or state taxpayer subsidies – while also re-investing nearly $2 billion into academic infrastructure without raising tuition on its Phoenix campus for 17 straight years. The additional investments in its athletics programs under the proposed House settlement will be sourced from both existing and new streams of athletic-related revenue and will not be passed along to its students. Sources of athletics revenue include ticket sales, corporate sponsorship, a loyal and growing donor base, NCAA revenues and future Mountain West Conference media rights distributions.
Athletics is one of many priority areas across a vibrant Phoenix campus. GCU’s investments have included new residence halls, classrooms, laboratories, research space, hands-on learning equipment and other student amenities into a 300-acre campus that is the largest residential campus among all private universities in the U.S. and is rated by niche.com as the 21st nicest campus in the country.
For more information on the proposed House settlement, view the educational resources from NCAA.org below:
Impact of the Proposed Settlement on D-I Institutions
Impact of the Proposed Settlement on Current D-I Student-Athletes
Press Release courtesy of Grand Canyon Athletics – Josh Hauser
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