“So thankful to be a part of this community. I’m not from Akron. I didn’t go to school here but they welcomed me with open arms,” Sturtevant said. “It amazes me every sporting event that we have that you look out into the stands and they’re filled. It’s incredible support that the community gives our student-athletes. Whether we are home or away, we’re coming.”

It was an eventful first year at TVHS for Sturtevant as he and his wife, Kerianne, welcomed their first child. Their son Simon is just 3 months old.

“He is probably the happiest baby I’ve ever met in my life,” Sturtevant said.

The first year had a few challenging obstacles too, with the biggest in form of conference realignment. Sturtevant knew a change was coming with the Three Rivers Conference, but the situation unraveled faster than he had anticipated.

“My biggest achievement was advocating for joining a new conference. Unfortunately, when we wanted to leave this conference we wanted to leave in 2025-26. We were voted out of the TRC effective immediately,” Sturtevant said.

Schedules for all teams had to be reworked on the fly while a new conference was being created for the Vikings. Most athletic directors fill out their schedules years in advance, but Sturtevant had just a few months to put games together for his teams and coaches.

“It’s hard to fill a football schedule that is four years out, five years out,” Sturtevant said. “We now have a full varsity schedule and full JV schedule.”

His experience for the athletic director position started in college when he was a manager on the Butler University men’s basketball team. He learned from coaches Chris Holtmann and LaVall Jordan while at the Bulldogs.

Sturtevant spoke highly on Jordan.

“I loved that guy, everything people say about him is true. You will never find anybody more caring than him,” Surtevant said.

After college, Sturtevant had stops with the Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies of the National Basketball Association, working roles that included scouting and team operations. However, the pandemic in 2020 made him rethink his career plans.

“My first dream was to work in the NBA, and I was able to actually do that for a few years. Everything was great and I loved it and then COVID kind of hit and I decided it was time to try something else. So I moved back to Plymouth, where I’m from. I had a really fortunate experience to become the assistant athletic director at Plymouth High School,” Sturtevant said.

Michael Delp was the athletic director for Plymouth at the time and Sturtevant credits him for getting him established.

“Basically, I owe my life to him. He mentored me, he trained me. After a year and half at Plymouth I had the opportunity to apply for the job at Tippecanoe Valley and I got the job,” Sturtevant said.

Now, at 26, Sturtevant is confident he has found his right career path.