Louisiana Tech University has announced the creation of the Gantt Graham Endowed Scholarship in honor of the former Bulldog football head and student equipment manager, a Ruston native who passed away suddenly Dec. 29.
The endowment will provide scholarship funding to a Louisiana Tech student equipment manager for the Louisiana Tech football team with a preference given to students from Ruston High School and Lincoln Parish.
Graham, who was 30, was both a Ruston High School and Louisiana Tech graduate. He served as a student equipment manager for the LA Tech football team during the entirety of his time as a student at LA Tech from 2009 to 2013. After graduation, Graham worked with the University of Houston football team from 2015 to 2017 before returning to Louisiana Tech as the head of equipment operations for the Bulldog football team from 2017 to 2019.
“Gantt Graham loved Louisiana Tech University and he believed in its collective mission and vision,” the Graham family said in a statement. “He embodied all of its tenets that have become and continue to be the foundation of this great institution. One of these tenets resonates in particular when you think of Gantt. This tenet is Loyalty. Loyalty is the strongest attribute that makes relationships last forever. Gantt was not one to just say it, he lived it. I will ever loyal be to thee, my Alma Mater.”
Graham, the son of Randy and Sally and brother of Matthew, Thomas and Lindsey, had a deep love for sports, especially football. Gantt and the Graham family had been heavily involved in serving both the Ruston community and Louisiana Tech. All three Graham brothers have ties to the Louisiana Tech football team as Matthew and Thomas were both deep snappers for Tech.
“Gantt grew up watching his brothers play football for the Bulldogs and developed a passion for Tech Athletics at a young age,” said longtime Louisiana Tech Associate Athletics Director Malcolm Butler. “His infectious smile and personality could be seen around the practice fields and Joe Aillet Stadium even when he was in elementary school and high school. He was such a big part of the Tech football program for the majority of his life. This is a great way to honor the memory of a young man who brought so much joy to those around him.”
An endowment fund is a permanent, self-sustaining source of funding. Endowment assets are invested and, each year, a portion of the value of the fund is paid out to support the scholarship while the principle continues to be invested. In this way, an endowment fund can grow and provide support for its designated purpose in perpetuity.
To help support the scholarship endowment, please visit https://bit.ly/36EuSiQ.
For more information or questions, please contact Associate A.D. for Development Alan Savage at (318) 497-7987. Checks can be made out to the Louisiana Tech University Foundation and note Gantt Graham Endowment in the memo line. Checks can be mailed to PO Box 3183, Ruston, LA 71272.