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NEWS: Grand Canyon University Accelerates Move to Mountain West Conference, Will Join This Fall

  • Bobby Reyes
  • Jul 9
  • 2 min read
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Written by Bobby Reyes, edits & additional commentary via Garrett Zatlin

Grand Canyon University (GCU) has wasted no time getting off the start line. Earlier this week, it was announced that GCU will be leaving the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) and joining the Mountain West Conference in the 2025-2026 academic year.


The move comes a year earlier than planned as the Mountain West Conference attempts to recover from losing numerous members of their own. The swift inclusion of Grand Canyon comes as a result of several Mountain West schools departing for the PAC-12 over the last year.



This fall, the Mountain West Conference will include schools such as Air Force, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, Nevada, New Mexico, San Diego State, San Jose State, Las Vegas (UNLV), Utah State, Wyoming and now, Grand Canyon.


However, Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State and Utah State will all depart the Mountain West Conference at the end of the upcoming academic year to join the PAC-12.


Last year, New Mexico's cross country program dominated the Mountain West Conference, with men’s and women’s squads sweeping the conference championships. Their men's team tallied a perfect 15 points. At the NCAA XC Championships, the Lobos women placed 7th at the NCAA XC Championships, while the men placed 9th.



During the 2024 cross country season, Grand Canyon fielded a men's team at the West Regional XC Championships. There, they finished 25th out of 31 teams. The Lopes did not field a women's team. At the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) XC Championships, the Lopes finished 8th (out of nine teams) in both the men's and women's races.


While it looks like the Mountain West Conference will be an uphill battle for GCU on the grass, they'll still have stellar guidance -- their cross country team is coached by Shayla Houlihan, a woman who has a fairly impressive running resume of her own. Houlihan brings vast elite experience -- both as an athlete and as a coach -- to the Lopes. The 2025-26 academic year will be her second at the helm of the program.



Thankfully for Grand Canyon, the Lopes will have a shot at making an impact on the track during their time in the Mountain West Conference. Between indoor track and outdoor track, their men’s team has won 13 conference titles since 2016, traditionally tallying most of their points in the sprint events. Since 2014, their women's team has won 10 conference titles between both indoor track and outdoor track.


Last month, they sent Cam Wilmington to the NCAA Outdoor Championships. There, he placed 20th overall in the 400-meter hurdles.




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