“Union was hosting a basketball tournament on my wife’s due date,” Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Communication Steven Aldridge said. “My first daughter ended up being late, which worked out perfect, ’cause she was due right in the middle of the big tournament. Even if it would have happened right in the middle of the tournament, I have no doubt that everybody else would have shouldered up and covered what I couldn’t cover.”
Aldridge has spent a large chunk of his life in Jackson, working for Union. Even though he grew up thinking that after he graduated college he would head right back to his hometown, he has been in Jackson for the vast majority of three decades, working and teaching for Union. He has multiple students who work for him in the athletics department as grad assistants, as well as in other roles.
“Mr. Steven is so kind and patient,” said Grace White, a senior journalism major who has worked for Aldridge since last summer. “He wants to give his best for every sport and coach and athlete because he loves sports, people and this university. This is what you want from someone in his position, and he does these things so well.”
Aldridge grew up in a small town in Mississippi called Myrtle where he graduated from the local high school in 1994. Aldridge has loved sports ever since he was young. He played baseball and basketball, the only two sports his school offered at the time. His love of sports was shared by his father, who drove the bus that the team used to go to all their games.
“I grew up traveling, even before I was playing,” Aldridge said. “When I was young, I would travel to some of the ball games on the weekends. Come to all the home games and stuff, ’cause dad was always there.”
Aldridge’s first introduction to Union was through sports. The basketball team from Myrtle High School played at a tournament that was hosted by Union, the FCA Coca-Cola Christmas Tournament. While Union was hosting the tournament, the teams were all from high schools. Myrtle High School played at Union during Aldridge’s freshman year and his junior year, both at the same tournament.
“I was thinking Union was kinda neat,” Aldridge said. “I was Baptist, this was a Baptist school. So, when I started going to college fairs, I would see Union there and so I started picking up stuff, get to talking to folks. I got accepted and I got the opportunity to be the manager of statisticians for the baseball team.”
Even before he had graduated, Aldridge was already starting to put down the roots in the town he would live in for the next two decades. Working for the baseball team helped Aldridge pin down what he wanted to do with his life and career, as well as helped him pay his way through school.
“I left Myrtle to come to Union, and within two hours of them saying graduation was dismissed I was planning on being back in Myrtle,” Aldridge said. “I had always been a homebody. I had grown up that way. I met some folks here and things just fit. God had placed me here. I met my wife here at Union. A lot of people say that.”
Often times, God has different plans for our lives than the ones we expect for ourselves. A small town life in Mississippi can turn into a long and successful career at a university in Tennessee. After the winter term of Aldridge’s freshman year, he remained fully on campus for the rest of his time at Union. He worked during the summer for money to put towards tuition and took classes in the winter. Jackson had truly become his home. I am sure that his charming personality is one of the reasons he has done so well at Union over the years but also the care he has for his workers.
“He understands how difficult it is to learn different sports, so he is very patient when he is teaching his workers how to do different things,” White said. “He wants everyone to be successful, and it really shows in how he leads and teaches.”
The relationships Aldridge has crafted over the years have truly cemented him in Jackson for the better. From the church he attends to the students who learn and work under him, he has carved out a life for himself.
“This is where I want to be,” Aldridge said. “I love the people here, we always got good days or bad days but you’ll get that anywhere you go. I love working at Union and getting to be around so many great people. Many have been here as long or longer than I have, and some are fairly new. I believe relationships and loyalty are very important. This is where God has placed me, and until he chooses otherwise, I want to continue to be a part of this family.”