Tommy Sadler: Forty-two Years at Union Built on Relationship and Humility
Union University’s director of athletics Tommy Sadler has announced he will retire following the 2022-2023 school year.
According to a press release from Steven Aldridge – Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Communication – Sadler has served at Union for 37 years in various roles, including director of public relations from 1985 to 1986, director of corporate and foundation support from 1986 to 1996, associate director of athletics from 1996 to 2008 and director of athletics from 2008 to the present.
Sadler attended Union from 1972 to 1976 and played baseball. He was also part of the 2021 class inducted into the Union University Sports Hall of Fame. When he retires, Sadler will have been involved with Union in some capacity for a total of 42 years.
Sadler sees it as an honor to have been able to be part of Union for so long.
“I’ve been able to work with different areas of the university,” Sadler said, “and it’s the people here that have made it very enjoyable to come every day and enjoy my work because I’ve had the opportunity to work with really good people. It doesn’t seem like 37 years, but I guess when I add them up it is.”
During his time in the Union department of athletics, Sadler has seen many changes. As the associate director of athletics and then director of athletics, he was a part of adding the sports of softball in 1995, men’s soccer and volleyball in 1998, women’s cross country in 1999, men’s cross country in 2001, women’s soccer in 2005 and women’s golf in 2012.
He also helped in the fundraising and planning of the building projects for the Fesmire Baseball and Softball fields, Smith Memorial Soccer Complex and the Fesmire Field House.
As the director of athletics, Sadler successfully led Union through the three-year membership transition back to the NCAA after 40 years of NAIA membership. Since Union’s return to NCAA Division II in 2012-13, Sadler has made his impact known, not only at Union, but at the conference and national levels.
Sadler functioned as the baseball liaison athletic director for the Gulf South Conference for eight years.
He also served on the NCAA Regional Baseball Advisory Committee (RAC) for five years, including four years as chair, and then served for four years on the NCAA Division II National Baseball Championship Committee, including one year as chair. He was the NCAA Site Representative for three region tournaments.
Sadler also has several career honors including TranSouth Conference Athletic Director of the Year and the Union University Staff Member of the Year.
Sadler is only Union’s second athletic director in the last 50 years. Before him, Coach David Blackstock held the position from 1972 to 2008. When asked about Coach Blackstock, Sadler spoke very highly of him and credited him as being one of the reasons that he has been able to get to where he is today.
“Webster has not come up with words yet to tell you how grateful I am that he was part of my life,” Sadler said. “He started out being my coach and my mentor and later became my best friend, so that was a relationship that evolved. Every day I’m thankful that he came into my life.”
Sadler also believes there are benefits to having two close friends taking up the mantle of athletic director for 50 consecutive years.
“Things don’t change a lot when you have best friends who follow in the same job,” Sadler said. “Most of what I learned I learned from Coach Blackstock. He was very people-oriented and very relational, and I’ve tried to do my best to be the same way and to help meet [the coaches’] needs, to help meet the needs of student-athletes, to have better facilities, and that’s what we’ve tried to do is to help people.”
Mark Campbell, Union’s women’s basketball head coach since 1999, has had a front row seat to the efforts that Sadler has made to better the athletic department.
“The biggest thing when you look over a career and you look over a time with somebody, is relationship and trust,” Campbell said. “And I can say with Tommy, from the very beginning that he loves Union, he loves everything about it; and he is somebody I consider a friend and have a great relationship with him. And I trust him. We are both imperfect people, but when it comes down to it, I have a great relationship with him, and I trust him. And I could work for him as long as I coach, and I would enjoy it.”
Union President Samuel W. “Dub” Oliver also spoke about the impact that Sadler has made on him and the help he gave him after he was named the 16th president of the university in 2014.
“As someone new to Union, I really relied on people who had a long history with the university to help me know both the institution and the people who make it up,” Oliver said. “Tommy knows and loves Union and is extremely loyal to the university and our mission. He welcomed me and helped me get integrated in the community quickly. He has helped me understand the Gulf South Conference, and he has sought to assist in every way that he can to advance the mission of Union.”
In the time Oliver has been at Union, he has seen how Sadler has done his best to better the athletic department and the university overall.
“Tommy’s longevity at the university and within the athletic department are extremely valuable,” Oliver said. “I mentioned before that he is loyal, and you can see this in his consistent diligence in doing whatever he can to advance the athletic department, the various teams, and Union as a whole. This is an individual who is already in the Union Athletic Hall of Fame, and he still gets up every morning figuring out ways to serve students, coaches, his colleagues and our mission. Ultimately, Tommy sees all of that as serving the Lord.”
Sadler’s influence has even reached out into the Jackson community. Gary Grisham, the president of the Bank of Jackson and former Booster Club president at Union, commended Sadler for the work he has been able to do at Union.
“Tommy had his dream job,” Grisham said. “Only the few do. He knew how blessed he was. He showed it every day. Whatever he lacked, his love for the university and his strong work ethic more than compensated. Very happy for Tommy. Enjoy, my friend. Job well done.”
Sadler has definitely made an impact on Union and the surrounding area during his time here, and it is obvious that he has given it his all because of his love for the university and for the people.
“I love this place,” Sadler said. “When I leave, I’ll have been here as a student and a worker for 42 years, and that’s a little more than a fifth of the university’s history. It changed my life when I came here, and I’ll be forever grateful.”
(PHOTO: Tommy Sadler)
