2026 Go Move Challenge: Final Recap

Published March 6, 2026

What a month! The energy, the commitment, the friendly competition-you brought it all! Your dedication to staying active and tracking your minutes made this year's Go Move Challenge a true success.

Congratulations to Loyola Marymount University, who claimed the title of Most Active Jesuit University! After a couple years away, LMU came back strong. They kicked off the month with incredible momentum and never slowed down. 

And congratulations to Marquette University for winning Most Minutes Per Person. Your consistency and commitment really showed!

Thank you to everyone who laced up their shoes, got outside, hit the gym, stretched, walked, danced, or moved in whatever way worked for you. While the challenge may be over, the benefits of staying active continue, so let's keep the momentum going. Here's to moving more, feeling better, and building healthy habits all year long!

As an AJCU community, we accumulated almost 3,500,000 minutes with this year with 3279 participants! Final standings:

• Most Minutes: Loyola Marymount University
• Average of Most Minutes: Marquette University
• University Size Average Minutes Per Person:
  • Small (below 1000) - Saint Peter's University averaging 1160 minutes per person
  • Medium (1000-1999) - Santa Clara University averaging 1514 minutes per person
  • Large (2000+) - Marquette University averaging 2085 minutes per person

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February = Moving

For many AJCU institutions, the month of February has become synonymous with movement, and this year was no exception. Faculty and staff from 20 Jesuit institutions committed to tracking every minute of their intentional, physical activity for the past 28 days, and the collective numbers are impressive:

To see what numbers your institution accumulated, visit the Go Move Challenge website. Thank you to everyone for participating and finishing strong!

Powered by Community: LMU Takes Most Active

Michelle Panuncialman, LMU's Wellbeing Administrative Coordinator, shares her thoughts on LMU's success with the challenge, "At LMU, the Go Move Challenge became more than a movement competition. It became a community-wide engagement campaign rooted in our mission and commitment to holistic wellbeing. #OnePride26

This year, we intentionally brought the challenge back to what makes LMU unique: our community. Throughout the month, employees participated in weekly yoga, pickleball, morning run club, salsa afternoons, rock climbining sessions, early morning rowing, sky diving, hiking, and so much more. From structured group activities to individual goals, our campus found creative and meaningful ways to stay active together.

We closed out the challenge with a vibrant LMU community walk across our sunny Los Angeles campus, where more than 100 participants showed up in their OnePride red shirts. You could truly feel the love, energy, and pride of being part of the LMU community. Colleagues greeted one another with smiles, laughter carried through Alumni Mall, and the sea of red was a powerful reminder that we are strongest when we move together. It was a visible expression of our shared committment to wellbeing, belong, and the OnePride spirit that defines our university. 

For LMU, it was never just about logging minutes. By creating opportunities for connection, energy, and collective pride, our community truly embodied what it means to move as #OnePride."

Marquette in Motion

Marquette claimed first place for the highest average minutes per person! Ryan Hurst, Benefits and Wellness Specialist, share events that kept their employees moving. "As part of its annual Mission Week, Marquette University hosted the Camino Walk, an event that blends physical activity with spiritual reflection, giving participants a chance to walk, pray, and engage in the spirit of pilgrimage. Earlier in February, the university also held the BLUE & Gold Walk, where the Marquette community strolled the campus alongside Blue, the beloved community support dog from the MU Police Department. Both events offered faculty and staff a fun and uplifting way to stay active, even during the harsh Wisconsin winter."

Fairfield Moves in Many Ways

From top left: Katherine Reed skiing her minutes away, Alison Sexton stretching with her team, Philip Maymin strength training at the gym, Mary Kelly walking on the Long Beach NY boardwalk

USF's Coffee Walks, Lunch Runs, and Team Bonding

USF hosted lunchtime activities throughout the month that kept them moving and motivated. From coffee walks, runs around Stow Lake, and team walks.

Weekly Recaps

As we have been reporting each week, participants have been as excited as ever to share their feedback on how the Go Move Challenge has positively influenced their month of February and beyond. If you missed any stories from previous weeks, you can access them, along with pictures, at any time:

• Week 1
• Week 2
• Week 3
• Week 4

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Feedback

University challenge admins share feedback from the challenge

• Universities compete in the challenge for good, clean fun; health and wellness; camaraderie.
• Universities love that it motivates individuals to move more during a cold and dark month; it's fun to compete against the other Jesuit Institutions; some of the employees are very competitive so love that aspect.

Please complete the post-challenge survey to help us make the challenge even better in the years to come. You can also email gousf@usfca.edu to share any comments or offer feedback. See you in 2027 for the 15th annual Go Move Challenge!