BACK ROW: Stephen Aldridge (Box Office Manager), Chuck Futrell (Owner-Championship Catering), Russ McBride (Regional Sales Manager).  FRONT ROW: Justin Green, Whitney Jones, Ashley Yarbro, Lynn Weems, Russell Rockett.

It's also given Union University students and graduates a once-in-a-lifetime stab at working for a professional baseball team. The Diamond Jaxx employs a full-time staff of 13 and a part-time staff of about 100 to make every game, homeand away, a success.  That's not including the separately-owned concessions company, Championship Catering.

Union students and alumni have plugged into the Diamond Jaxx operation on almost every level. From concession workers to ushers to box office manager, Union students are tapping into the unique opportunities a professional baseball team offers.

Chuck Futrell, a 1993 graduate of Union, owns and operates Championship Catering and employs five Union students. Outside of concessions, each home game requires about 50 pairs of hands. At any given game, about 15 of those are Union students or graduates.   While Diamond Jaxx operations are an excellent source of exciting part-time jobs, the organization has also become an invaluable opportunity for students involved in the university's new sports management program. 

The program, which was begun in 1997, enables students to major in sports management and intern in a sports management environment. According to Diamond Jaxx President David Hersh, "There's nothing more important than having a training experience for people who are going to school to major in sports management. We've become the practical application of textbook knowledge."

Stephen Aldridge expects to be the program's first graduate when he completes his studies in December of this year. Since last June, Aldridge has been working for the Jaxx, first as an intern and now as a member of the full-time staff. Aldridge began his involvement with the Double A team by selling season tickets. In January, team management asked Aldridge to learn the box office system and has since appointed him Box Office Manager.

The experience, Aldridge says, has fulfilled a dream that many could only hope to realize. "This is an awesome opportunity to work with a pro baseball team. This has always been a big dream of mine, and now I had the chance to do it," Aldridge says.

Union students prepare barbecue for the
Union Night tailgate party at Pringles Park.

Russ McBride, a 1996 Union graduate, saw the Diamond Jaxx as a chance to blend his desire for community involvement with his career. "The glamorous part of the job ended on our first game day. We come into work at 8:45 a.m. and can't leave until the last pitch is thrown. But I'm doing something I love. Meeting people and watching kids' faces light up makes the long hours worth it," McBride, now Regional Sales Manager for the Diamond Jaxx, says.

While a student, McBride played baseball for the Union Bulldogs and majored in communication arts with a public relations emphasis. Becoming a regional sales manager for the Diamond Jaxx has been a natural fit for his academic training and four years of experience on Union's baseball team.

As Hersh attests, real world experience isn't the only reward of Union's involvement at Pringles Park. "For us to commit to Union is an easy choice," says Hersh. "We constantly need good people in our business, and the people who have been coming from Union have been outstanding in every way.