Kent Haslam - Director of Athletics - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Kent Haslam

Title:
Director of Athletics
Email:
Phone:
243-5348

Kent Haslam was named the 17th Director of Athletics at the University of Montana on Sept. 17, 2012. He was hired after previously serving as the department’s Associate Director of Athletics for Development since 2006.

Haslam’s tenure has been highlighted by some historic developments and improvements.

He oversaw the addition of women’s softball, the first sport added at Montana since 1994, a program that began competing in 2015. He secured the largest private gift in department history, one that led to the construction of the department-changing Washington-Grizzly Champions Center.

He negotiated a five-year contract with Nike, and he has hired head coaches for football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, soccer, volleyball, softball, cross country, men’s tennis and women’s golf.

Since Haslam was hired, Montana has made the largest overhaul of facilities in school history, making more than $40 million worth of improvements, with a vast majority of the funding coming from private sources.

Grizzly Softball Field and the Jackson Contractor Group Indoor Hitting Facility were completed in time for the inaugural 2015 season. A few months later, the $2.5 million Eric and Blair Sprunk Student-Athlete Academic Center opened on campus.

The following academic year, the Bill Ruegamer Indoor Golf Facility opened, which gave Montana a much-needed winter practice facility.

In November 2014 the department announced a $7 million commitment from Kyle and Kevin Washington on behalf of the Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation to help fund construction of the $14 million Washington-Grizzly Champions Center.

Opened in October 2017, the 51,000-square-foot facility features a new football locker room, an all-sport weight room and meeting rooms, and improvements to Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

The gift was the largest donation to the Department of Athletics in University of Montana history.

A new men’s basketball center opened in April 2022 followed the next month by the Coyle Recovery Room, benefiting the health and recovery of all student-athletes. A new women’s basketball center is scheduled to begin construction in 2025.

In October 2024 the 110,000 square foot Grizzly Indoor Practice Facility opened, ushering in significant new opportunities for not only Grizzly student-athletes, but the community and campus at large. The $10 million facility funded entirely by generous donors, added a full turf football field, six sprint lanes along with a throws and jumps area, providing year-round training opportunities. The facility is the only indoor training center of this size in the region.

Haslam served a six-year term on the NCAA Division I Football Championship Committee from 2018-2024. He was named chair of the committee during his final year which included service on the NCAA Football Oversight Committee.

Montana’s 300-plus student-athletes have maintained a minimum of a 3.0 cumulative GPA every semester Haslam has been the AD, and the Grizzlies have continued setting new standards in the area of community service.

Since Haslam was hired, the Grizzlies have won Big Sky Conference championships in men’s and women’s basketball, football, men’s and women’s tennis, soccer and softball and made numerous NCAA national championship tournament appearances. The Grizzly football team made a run to the national championship game in January 2025.

Montana hosted the combined men’s and women’s Big Sky basketball tournaments in both 2013 and ’15, before the league went to a neutral-site format, and the Grizzly football team continues to be among the FCS leaders in home attendance.

Haslam’s diverse career in sports includes positions in professional baseball, a management role at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games at Salt Lake City and college athletics.

Haslam began his career at Montana in January 2006, working as the chief development officer for the Department of Athletics while serving as the department’s liaison with the UM Foundation.

In six-plus years in that position, he managed a portfolio of more than 150 donors and helped solicit and secure six- and seven-figure gifts and joint gifts to the Department of Athletics that benefited other programs across campus as well.

The Department of Athletics generated on average more than $4 million per year in private support through gifts and pledges. He also was a key team member that helped fund expansions and improvements to Washington-Grizzly Stadium.

Prior to arriving at Montana in early 2006, Haslam worked as the Associate Director of Athletics for External Operations at Northern Arizona. He was hired at NAU in May 2000.

Haslam oversaw the areas of marketing, promotions, sports information, broadcasting, ticketing and game management. He also was the supervisor of the women’s soccer, women’s swimming and diving, and men’s tennis programs.

Haslam served as manager of media and communications for the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee from 1998-2000. He returned to the city for the 2002 Olympic Games and served a month-long assignment as supervisor of the Olympic News Service.

From 1993-98, Haslam was the director of communications and corporate development for the Triple-A Salt Lake Buzz.

In 1997, he served as team travel coordinator, Japanese translator and media liaison for the Anaheim Angels during spring training. He translated for Angels pitcher Shigetoshi Hasegawa and handled Japanese media requests.

Haslam is a 1993 graduate of BYU, with a degree in broadcast journalism and Japanese. He earned his master’s degree in educational leadership from NAU in May 2004. Haslam is married to the former Holly Huber. The couple has five children: Braxton, Andersen, Avery, Layne and Kyler.