Michael S. Eldredge was born in Ogden, Utah on July 28, 1950. He has a B.A. from Weber State, and an M.A. from Utah State. He spent 6 years in the Navy, including one deployment to Vietnam in 1972. He resigned his commission and headed home to law school, graduating in 1980 with his J.D. from J. Reuben Clark  Law School at BYU. He has practiced law for 25 years, and teaches at the University of Phoenix. He and his wife Michelle reside in Salt Lake City. They have 4 sons and 4 daughters.