“I don’t think about those things much anymore. I did when I was young as a coach. I realize now how unimportant they are.”
To say the least, this isn’t exactly what I expected to hear from Mark Campbell, Union University’s women’s basketball coach, when asked about his latest achievement. This season, he became the fastest collegiate basketball coach at any level to reach 700 career wins.
Campbell started his career as a coach at Union back in 1994. His assistant basketball coach from Lipscomb University came here to be the head men’s coach, and Campbell decided to come with him as an assistant coach. In 1999, he became the head coach for the women’s team and has been here ever since.
“I knew I wanted to coach since I was 9 or 10 years old,” began Campbell. “This was an opportunity for me to step in and help on the floor and teach.”
Campbell, recounting the past with a fond grin, spoke of the overwhelming peace he experienced in deciding to become and stay the head coach, a peace only matched in his decisions to marry his wife, adopt two of his children and become Union’s next athletic director.
“Sometimes you just know God is right in the middle of it,” said Campbell. “It’s been so clear. It’s been communicated not only through his word but through prayer and external events that have happened. I just look and see his hand.”
Campbell puts a major emphasis on relationships and trust on and off the court, which is why he has stayed at Union for so long.
“Most people try to move up in what the world would consider moving up,” Campbell said. “I think the Bible is really clear about the advantages of being in community and the accountability of relationships, so I’ve been very thankful to be in the same place a long time.”
For Campbell, staying in one place with his family is more important than moving up to a flashier school that may make his name well-known. He learned in his career that the milestones people strive for are often not as fulfilling as they think, and then they just strive for the next goal.
Even as a child, when Campbell first started playing basketball, his favorite part was not the achievement of milestones but the relationships he made from being on a team.
“I slept with my basketball when I was 2,” Campbell said. “I don’t really know what got me into it; I just was drawn towards it and enjoyed being a part of a team probably more than anything else.”
His parents were not hugely into sports, though Campbell did recount shooting hoops with his dad, especially when they added a three-point line in their driveway in 1986, the same year they added a line at the high school level. This, he says, is what led him to be able to play in college, ultimately leading to where he is now. Little decisions and little moments later led to big decisions.
“Sometimes we have interests that lead us in certain directions so that they can be used in a bigger story,” Campbell said. “At that point in time, God was developing an interest for me, with me not knowing that he would use it to participate in a greater story.”
As seen in his coaching philosophy, Campbell strives to participate well in this greater story. Coaching is far more than wins and losses; coaching is an opportunity to serve and help his players learn to serve, develop character and build relationships.
“I enjoy it all,” Campbell said. “I enjoy the initial struggles of understanding and teaching, getting to know people. I enjoy the conflict, even the mistakes I and others make. It’s an opportunity to grow durable fabric that will allow us an intimacy that brings out the best in everybody because we trust one another. That whole process, even losing at the end of the season, is us becoming a family that trusts one another.”
Despite Campbell’s enjoyment of every moment as a coach, he admits his own shortcomings when things aren’t going as he sees them in his ideal mental picture. Even in this, though, he sees a chance for growth and sanctification.
“Competition brings out my imperfections because I see things perfectly and see how short we fall, whether it’s in practice or games,” said Campbell. “My tone in my voice is not good sometimes. My facial expressions aren’t good, and sometimes I get angry. God’s word says that if I’m angry, it’s equivalent to murder.”
According to Campbell, coaching basketball is the most sanctifying part of his life. He doesn’t get angry with his wife, and very rarely is he angry with his kids. He encourages us to lean into the places where we feel weakest, for God will use those areas to bring us closer to him and his glory. By leaning into our weaknesses and relying on the Lord, we are accepting that God is able to change in us what we can’t change on our own. Campbell, recognizing his own shortcomings, strives to lean on the Lord to reach a place where he consistently shows the fruit of the Spirit.
Steven Aldridge, the sports communications director of athletics, plainly sees the fruit of the Spirit in Campbell’s coaching and everyday life.
“Mark relates everything he does to his faith and wants his life to count for Christ,” said Aldridge. “He demonstrates daily his desire to study the Bible and walks through those things with his team and co-workers. He teaches what is really important in life.”
Aldridge also commented on Campbell’s trustworthiness and leadership, which he said he would trust in any situation.
In this next stage of life, Campbell will be the athletic director here at Union, while remaining the women’s basketball coach, and he’ll get to practice even more leadership as he works towards his one goal on and off the court: to grow in Christ-likeness.
Photo by Laila Al-Hagal
