In case you didn't already know about the insanity that is Grand Canyon basketball...
The Lopes celebrated the beginning of men's and women's basketball season with their annual Midnight Madness at GCU Arena on Friday night/Saturday morning. Students camped out in front of the arena for over 24 hours in advance in order to secure a premium seat to this year's Batman-themed event.
168 tents
840 campers
A new Camp Elliott RECORD!🎉
(That’s double the 84 tents from last year!)#WelcomeToTheParty pic.twitter.com/sdbJeWDWh8— GCU Havocs (@GCUHavocs) October 5, 2018
Midnight Madness featured entertainment from the GCU band, cheerleaders, dance team and drumline, as well as the introduction of the 2018-19 men's and women's squads.
Toward the end of the evening, men's coach Dan Majerle and women's coach Nicole Powell rode in on the "Batmobile" and addressed the thousands of students in attendance.
Coaches @DanMajerle and @NPowell_GCU know how to make an entrance! #LopesUp pic.twitter.com/PUWWLnKUio
— GCU Lopes (@GCU_Lopes) October 6, 2018
"With your help, I promise you these ladies and these men are going to play as hard as they can, and we will go to the NCAA Tournament," Majerle said, to thunderous applause.
GCU's men's team will open its season with an exhibition game at home vs. Montana State-Billings on Oct. 30, while the women's team will open at home vs. Benedictine in an exhibition matchup Nov. 5. Both programs are looking for their first-ever NCAA Tournament bid.
At the very end of the Madness, we learned what GCU's 2019 Midnight Madness theme will be: Jurassic University.
Oh, and we already know what next year’s theme is going to be... pic.twitter.com/BfdkT7F3aD
— Shane Dale (@ShaneDaleABC15) October 6, 2018
