Gantt ’78 joined the University of Providence in July of 2016 as the school’s first Vice President for Athletics, and since day one directed major changes/improvements in the direction of Argo Athletics. The resurgence began with transitioning the name, and all of the associated signage and branding from the University of Great Falls to the Univ of Providence in June of 2017. Since becoming the University of Providence, he has orchestrated growth in enrollment (320 Student Athletes currently with the goal of 340 for next year), growth in facilities (New Soccer /Lacrosse Field, Complete Rebranding of VB/BB Arena including new bleachers, new Wrestling Specific Facility), growth in sport offerings (17 Sports including Women's Wrestling, M/W Ice Hockey, and eSports), growth in athletics staffing, growth in community and fan engagement, and growth in fundraising.
Gantt has over 35 years of experience as a coach and administrator at the high school, NAIA and NCAA Div. I levels of athletics. He graduated from what was then the College of Great Falls in 1978 and got his start in athletics while working as a student assistant for Argo basketball coaching legend Ray Dodds.
Before returning to Great Falls, Gantt spent seven seasons as the head volleyball coach for Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA, where he rebuilt the program, raising the team’s RPI from 272 to 91, with a low of 35 in 2015, receiving the first Top 25 votes in program history. He also recruited and coached the first-ever two-time All-American at Gonzaga and coached the Zags to their winningest season since 1994.
Prior to his time at Gonzaga, Gantt served as the Director of Athletics, Intramurals, and Recreation at MSU-Northern in the Frontier Conference. At MSUN, he was a member of the Chancellor’s Senior Staff and helped create and implement numerous athletic fundraising initiatives that remain highly functioning sources of revenue for the department, such as the Athletic’s Corporate Sponsorship Program and the "Spring Fling Auction."
Gantt also has administrative experience at the NCAA Div. I level after serving as the Senior Associate Athletic Director-External Operations at Montana State University from 2003-05. While at MSU, he oversaw the department's external relations, media relations, athletic development, corporate development, and marketing. He was promoted into that position after becoming the winningest volleyball coach in Montana State University history with a career record of 159-96. Prior to MSU, he was the head volleyball coach at Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR, and an assistant coach for Team USA Men's Volleyball in San Diego, CA.
After graduating from the College of Great Falls with a B.S. in Business Administration and Physical Education, he earned a Master’s of Science in Physical Education with an emphasis in program and curriculum and design at Montana State in 1983.
At every stop of his career before Gonzaga, Gantt has also been an adjunct professor, teaching Health and Physical Education classes along with his coaching and administrative duties. His paradigm for success was really solidified during his work with Dutch Baughman and Mike Roth at Gonzaga; approaching athletic success with a philosophy of student athlete development by "winning the 3 C's" – "Win in the Classroom, Win on the Court, and Win in the Community."
