Tanner Gardner Leads Pepperdine Athletics Into a New Era of NCAA Division I Sports
Tanner Gardner, Pepperdine University’s director of athletics, did not expect to work in the business of wins and losses.
After becoming a three-time All-American wrestler at Stanford University, Gardner thought his time in the sports world was up. With a bachelor of arts in public policy and a master’s degree in sociology, he was ready to trade in his singlet for a suit and become a leader in the world of consulting. That’s when God intervened.
Tanner Gardner speaks with President Jim Gash
“In 2009 I dug deep within to discover what I wanted for myself in the next 10 years, and the Lord told me that I should work in college sports,” Gardner explains. “That year I wrote my essay for business school about becoming an athletic director.”
After this divine revelation, Gardner began to take active steps toward achieving his goal. He earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and after two more years at the Boston Consulting Group, Gardner secured a job at Rice University where he eventually worked his way up to the role of deputy athletic director for external affairs. This rare combination of formal academic training and practical job experience prepared Gardner to achieve his goal and lead a major Division I athletics program.
Yet, before ascending another rung up the ladder, the right opportunity had to present itself—one where the institution’s mission and Gardner’s Christ-centered purpose aligned. Last spring, after more than a decade of work, such a door opened on the West Coast when a school known for its distinctive academic excellence, spiritual development offerings, and culture of kindness called. In March 2024, Pepperdine University appointed Gardner as director of athletics, entrusting him with a pivotal leadership role during a transformative period for NCAA Division I sports.
Managing the Moment
Among the many challenges of leading a dynamic and competitive athletics program across a variety of sports—17 at Pepperdine—Gardner must also navigate an evolving athletics landscape complicated by mega-conferences, an always-active transfer portal, and new name, image, and likeness (NIL) regulations.
Despite these obstacles, Gardner confronts the evolving world of college sports with confidence. Drawing from his extensive background, he feels prepared to lead Pepperdine into a new era of athletics marked by mission, innovation, and a steadfast commitment to his Christian faith.
“What I’ve learned up until now is how to lead an organization and solve problems,” says Gardner. “Ultimately that's what I'm doing at Pepperdine.”
Gardner sharing his vision for athletics
In 2021 the NCAA began permitting college players to profit from their name, image, and likeness, prompting some schools to alter their athletics strategy.
At many institutions, athletic directors responded by reorienting their culture around collectives—cohorts of donors interested in providing significant support for the school’s recruitment efforts. They pursued brand partnerships and sought endorsements from sports agencies and other entities to attract top-tier talent from around the world. In effect, some programs replaced their historical cultures with high-risk, high-reward initiatives designed to financially entice elite athletes to their schools.
Under the leadership of Pepperdine’s former director of athletics Steve Potts (JD ’82) and now Gardner, Pepperdine University has remained true to its winning strategy in the midst of this scramble. “We understand what we're best at, and we're leaning into that first and foremost,” says Gardner. “We're trying to pursue championship athletics built on Christian values, academic excellence, and community. No matter how things change around us, we maintain that foundational commitment.”
With these guiding principles in place, Pepperdine has begun to adapt to the new environment on a sport-by-sport basis. The University has introduced student-athletes to Influencer, a company that helps college competitors find NIL opportunities that fit their goals. And they’ve created their own Waves Excellence Collective, which allows Pepperdine fans to directly support their favorite teams and players.
These new components of Pepperdine’s athletics strategy do not define the foundation of the Waves athletic programs. Rather, in Gardner’s mind, they merely rest atop the bedrock of the institution's Christian mission.
A Mission-Centered Approach
Gardner emphasizes that Pepperdine is uniquely positioned to navigate this new era of collegiate sports. Preparing students for lives of purpose, service, and leadership provides a clear guiding mission for the school’s athletics programs.
“I've been part of athletic communities at Stanford, Harvard, and Rice,” Gardner explains. “More than any of them, Pepperdine is very clear on its values and mission. What's distinctive about us is our Christian focus. We support academic excellence. We support athletic excellence. And we do both those things for the glory of God.”
In alignment with the institution’s values, Gardner is building Pepperdine’s athletics programs with a focus on three core components—academic success, competitive success, and community. He points to the major investment Pepperdine is making in its athletic facilities as proof of this concept.
Gardner discussing The Mountain
Anticipated for completion in 2026, one of the University’s most significant capital projects, the Mountain at Mullin Park, will feature a 3,600 seat arena; a fitness, wellness, and recreation center and an additional weight room for student-athletes to use. In addition to this major campus development, Pepperdine recently broke ground on a golf clubhouse located at Firestone Fieldhouse, where both the men’s and women’s golf teams will receive new locker room space, golf simulators, an indoor putting green, and a full suite of modern, analytical swing technologies.
These upgrades, as well as other, smaller enhancements that have been made across various sports, illustrate Gardner’s three-fold focus. With the new facilities, student-athletes are given a greater chance to succeed academically, as they no longer have to leave campus to attend practice or train—allowing more time for them to invest in their studies. Athletic excellence will flourish as well; Waves student-athletes will be given a distinct advantage with state-of-the art equipment and additional practice space. Finally, the University’s considerable investment in sports will help draw the student body and the broader Los Angeles community together under one roof, cultivating a vibrant atmosphere rooted in competition.
By focusing on academic and competitive success and community involvement at Pepperdine, Gardner hopes to give Waves a transformative college experience similar to his own.
“I want our athletes to have the same experience that I did competing in Division I sports” he says. “When they leave here, I want them to say, ‘That experience changed my life, and I could never give back to Pepperdine what it gave to me.’”
Paying It Forward
Athletics became a primary part of Gardner’s life when he was cut from the basketball team in the seventh grade. Standing then at four feet nine inches, he wasn’t considered tall enough to contribute on the court, but a wrestling coach thought his height could work as an advantage on the mat.
Throughout high school, Gardner earned an impressive reputation as a wrestler, completing two undefeated seasons and two state championships in the process. This hard work and success led to the young wrestling recruit’s first trip to California, where he visited and ultimately committed to compete for Stanford University.
Gardner with his family
In Palo Alto, Gardner became a three-time All-American wrestler, earned two degrees, and grew deeper in his faith. In short, his experience was nothing less than life-changing. “College athletics changed my life,” he says. “I was transformed personally, professionally, athletically, and spiritually. In five years at Stanford, my life was fully changed.”
While competition carried Gardner toward college, he recognizes that the sport of wrestling was ultimately a minor part in this transformational equation. Instead, it was the people around him—the teammates, mentors, and coaches—who had the greatest impact and reoriented his world. Now, as a director of athletics at a university where five teams stand strong within the NCAA’s top 25 national rankings, he still remembers that people, not games, have the ability to positively change one’s life.
“The biggest way I try to impact our student-athletes is with hiring decisions,” says Gardner. “It's so important that we hire great coaches, because they have the most personal interaction with our student-athletes. Our vision is to have a championship athletic program based on Christian values. It’s vital our coaches imbue that in their programs.”
Follow the Leader
In his first three months on the job, Gardner onboarded three new coaches in three of Pepperdine’s high visibility sports to help transform the lives of Waves student-athletes.
Ed Schilling was named the men’s head basketball coach; Katie Faulkner was named the women’s head basketball coach; and Tyler LaTorre was named the head baseball coach. These three joined a roster of 11 other coaches who have helped champion Pepperdine’s athletic mission with a spirit of integrity, commitment, and passion.
“The coaches and I are in a business that's measured on the scoreboard, and at the end of the day, that is the publicly perceived measure of success,” Gardner explains. “But at Pepperdine, we care about more than just winning and losing. The student-athlete experience is paramount, which will be colored significantly by a culture that aligns with our values.”
Posted on the wall in Gardner’s office is a sign displaying seven attributes—attitude, effort, accountability, authenticity, communication, collaboration, and curiosity. Each of these seven pillars is foundational to the values-driven culture of Pepperdine athletics and its new director of athletics. By holding his coaches and himself responsible for modeling these traits, Gardner believes the lives of student-athletes will be impacted.
Gardner offering remarks
In practice, play, or outside the realm of athletics entirely, Pepperdine coaches are called to a higher standard. Gardner insists that their goals for a Waves athlete extend beyond competition and into life. This commitment distinguishes the University’s athletics program from other institutions in an era when NCAA sports are increasingly defined by big budgets and constant turnover.
Live It Out
Tanner Gardner represents a holistic AD model—one founded in faith, integrity, and high standards—in an unstable AD world. As the leader of Pepperdine athletics, he challenges himself on a daily basis to live out the mission of the institution. Doing so, he believes, holds others accountable to the University’s goal of moving young people closer to Christ, but he is also confident that it will lead toward competitive success.
“I want my legacy to be that we won a lot of championships, changed the lives of our student-athletes, and did it all together with our Pepperdine community,” he explains. “And throughout the journey, I want to glorify God in it all.”