Grand Canyon University (GCU) is a private Christian university in Phoenix, Arizona, whose athletic teams compete as the Antelopes, or Lopes, in NCAA Division I. The university’s visual identity has undergone three distinct phases since the mid-1970s, with the most recent campus-wide rebrand taking effect in 2023.
Design and History
GCU’s athletic logo remained largely unchanged from the mid-1970s until 2013. As the university prepared for its transition to NCAA Division I competition, it unveiled a new set of logos in August 2013. Eric McHaney, then vice president of marketing at GCU, said the goal was to create a more modern-looking logo while capturing distinguishing characteristics of the pronghorned antelope, including stripes on the neck and a two-toned underbelly. The design also needed to look sleek, reflecting the pronghorn’s reputation as the fastest land animal over long distances. A focus group of executive staff, marketing personnel, athletics and student leadership narrowed 10 logo concepts to four finalists, with the sleeker antelope design emerging as the overwhelming favorite. The new identity, which included new GCU lettering, replaced the logo used since the mid-1970s.[1]
Prior to the 2015-16 academic year, GCU introduced the “Arched GCU” logo, a vertically arched GCU letterform that served as the university’s primary athletic mark for nearly a decade. This logo was retired in 2023.[2]
In February 2023, GCU unveiled the “Speed GCU” logo at a Lopes basketball game, and the full logo system was built out and refined for a June 30, 2023 launch ahead of the 2023-24 academic year. The new system was developed to give the university a modern and cohesive brand unique to GCU. The “Running Lope” logo, introduced in 2013 alongside the Division I transition, continues as a foundational element of the brand, now paired with the Speed GCU mark featuring familiar speed lines and agile movement. The Arched GCU logo was officially retired with this rebrand.[2]
Meaning and Symbolism
The Running Lope mark depicts a pronghorned antelope, the animal behind the Antelopes nickname. When the logo was redesigned in 2013, the university specifically sought to capture the pronghorn’s distinguishing physical traits, including neck stripes and a two-toned underbelly, while conveying the animal’s speed and sleekness.[1] The 2023 Speed GCU logo retains the speed-line motif, tying the mark to the university’s “innovative, modern and fast-moving identity.”[2]
Typography and Design
GCU’s official athletic color palette consists of purple (PMS 267, HEX #522398), black, white, and gray (HEX #C8C9C7).[3]
As part of the 2023 rebrand, GCU developed a custom font system titled “Thunder,” consisting of unique letters and numbers for university use. The font is exclusive to GCU and is not available for distribution without written permission. The Thunder typeface ties the brand together with “Lopes” and “Grand Canyon” wordmarks, which began appearing on branded items such as athletic uniforms.[2][3]
The university’s brand standards also specify prohibited uses of the athletic marks, including the retired Arched GCU logo, the Running Lope with a detached lower lightning bolt, diagonal GCU text, and any version of “Lopes” with a preceding apostrophe.[3]
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