Juggling babies and ballgames

He could have named her “Lucky.” But when T.J. Shelton’s second child came into this world, he and his wife decided to name their daughter Micaela Marie. This, despite the fact that she was born on the first day of the seventh month (July), at 7 p.m. and weighed 7 pounds, 7 ounces.

With all of those sevens, it was pretty clear what he should do — go buy a lottery ticket (he’s still looking for the winner).

Even before Micaela came along, Shelton had a full plate every day. Not only is he the assistant athletic director for facilities and special events, but he’s also the adviser to the baseball, softball and swimming and diving programs, as well as the sport-club level crew team to help ensure their seasons run smoothly.

In short, he decides who gets to use which athletic facility when, and for how long.

“Planning is one of my priorities,” Shelton said. “You have to plan well in advance but still be flexible and adapt. You can’t just look at today or this weekend, but you have to sometimes look three months ahead to get a feel for the events.

“We get so many requests for facilities — right now I’m getting requests for a year out from groups wanting to rent our facilities.”

Of course, when he first started at the University, he had nowhere near that kind of preparation time.

After earning both undergraduate and graduate degrees at Wichita State University, where he played football, Shelton was looking for a job that combined recreational sports and intercollegiate athletics in the same venues.

Most Division I schools have the two separate, but smaller schools generally combine them. When he arrived here in August 1992, he had barely two months to get acclimated to his surroundings before the boom lowered.

The presidential debate was just around the corner.

“I really had no clue,” Shelton laughed. “I started in August, and in October we were hosting the first debate. Being my first year, I had no idea it was going to be that international with the scope and exposure of the University. I knew the academic reputation of the school, and to combine that with opening your building to have people looking at the complex and see what we have to offer was very positive.

“You learn that it’s a bigger stage than just athletics or just recreation — you really impact a wide variety of people. Being the pup, I was definitely more of the ‘Do this, do that,’ but it really helped me learn the building. It was amazing, though. I was looking around saying ‘holy smokes’ the whole time!”

He hasn’t slowed down since.

“When you are coming up, you just think life is going to move you along,” Shelton said. “I got promoted to facility manager, and a few years after that to assistant athletic director for facilities and special events, so the job has progressed, my responsibilities have progressed and that’s kept my interest in Washington University. That, and obviously the success that we’ve had with our athletic programs here.”

With so many varied events hosted by the University, it’s no wonder Shelton’s day planner is filled to overflowing as he tries to keep track of everything.

Whether it’s making arrangements for the Dalai Lama, Bill Gates or Spike Lee to visit (“You can see the scope of guests we have right there,” Shelton said), or preparing for an Olympic Festival, Olympic marathon and gymnastics trials, Commencement or community events, Shelton has more dexterity than a juggler on the street corner.

“T.J. is an excellent communicator and administrator who understands that good judgment, flexibility and sensitivity are positive leadership traits,” said John Schael, director of athletics. “He makes the most of every opportunity to improve the athletic department’s reputation on campus, and the University’s reputation at the local, regional and national level.

“From athletic events to special events, T.J. is the go-to person. Regardless of the complexities involved, he has a clear vision with respect to accomplishing the goal.”

Ah yes, the special events. Athletic events are nice, but Shelton relishes the opportunity to work with special, non-athletic situations similar to the one he found himself in shortly after his arrival on campus.

The University has played host to international, national, local and campus events — and each event brings something different.

“With my job, I really interact with a lot of different people on campus — custodial services, the groundskeepers for the athletic fields, a lot with our students because they work for us,” he said. “I work with a lot of different departments to schedule events, and that’s just on the campus.

“Then you bring in the community events, working with the St. Louis Sports Commission and the Special Olympics basketball tournament, the NCAA Division I women’s basketball championships and the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game. We cover a wide scope of activities that most people don’t usually associate with a University.”

“We’re big fans of T.J.,” said Marc Schreiber, director of marketing and communications for the St. Louis Sports Commission. “Like so many of his colleagues on campus, he is great to work with and always does a terrific job.

“From the Olympic Festival to the Olympic Torch Relay, we’ve been fortunate to have developed such a wonderful relationship with Washington University. We’re grateful to T.J. and the entire school for being so accommodating to the Sports Commission and so supportive of our events.”

Sometimes, as with the presidential debates, things run like clockwork. And sometimes there are a few glitches or hurdles that need some quick high-stepping to overcome.

One such time came with the 1994 Olympic Festival. The Field House in the Athletic Complex was the competition site for volleyball, which meant that on the first day, it had to be set up for practice with several courts on the floor.

Then, the venue had to be transformed overnight into an Olympic-quality volleyball court.

At the same time, the team handball competition was ongoing in the recreational gym. Bleachers seating 500 people had to be built in a hurry.

“It took a lot of volunteers from the Sports Commission to do everything overnight,” Shelton said. “We really had to adapt to the activities that were going on, because the facility wasn’t built for those types of things.”

It doesn’t slow down when the international and national events leave town, though. The Athletic Complex is a melting pot of sorts for people who want to work out, for club events, for student-run activities and for lectures and talks — not to mention the home court for some of the best sports teams in Division III.

It’s easy to see how things quickly pile up.

“We have athletic events and special events with student groups, which are really internal, so our turnaround time is sometimes pretty quick,” Shelton said. “We might have a basketball game Friday night, a student event Saturday and on Sunday we’re back to playing basketball again.

“We have high volume of activity. And that’s still with open recreation and with people coming in to work out or for the intramural sports, which go on year-round.

“This building never really sleeps.”

Now, even more than before, neither does Shelton. With Micaela joining 4-year-old brother Jordan and his wife, Stacia, Shelton definitely has his hands full.

But perhaps his daughter’s birth was a sign of good karma, because although busy, Shelton’s life is going very smoothly as he gives back to the school and community.

“The upcoming school year will offer a increase in activity with debate pre-planning meetings and the fall sport seasons getting under way in September,” he said. “I welcome the increase in events, as I see it as a challenge to provide quality services to all students, faculty, staff and members of the community.”