Treveccan Stories: More than Magic

For entertainer and honorary doctorate recipient Stephen Bargatze, arriving at Trevecca marked the beginning of a life-changing redemption story.

In 1980, Stephen Bargatze stepped onto Trevecca’s campus as a broken man, his wife and baby son in tow.

It had been 10 years since Stephen, father of the now famous comedian Nate Bargatze, had graduated from high school, and that itself was remarkable.

At age three, a vicious attack by a bulldog required six years of reconstructive plastic facial surgeries and left him with a severe speech impediment. As a result, he’d constantly struggled in school.

Growing up, there’d been alcoholism, neglect and mistreatment in his home life. As a result, Stephen ran away, living on the street at times. He attempted to take his life twice. During his second attempt, he overdosed on drugs and was placed in a psychiatric hospital. “That’s where Ronnie came and got me,” he said.

Ronnie Bargazte was his first cousin, a well-known Middle Tennessee athlete and basketball coach at Vanderbilt who also coached at Trevecca during the 1978–79 season.

Ronnie invited Stephen to come stay with him and his wife, Malinda. “They were the most wonderful people—the first Christians I ever met who said they were Christian and actually lived that way,” Stephen said.