The son of a farmer, Aiken was born near Wheeling, West Virginia, and later moved to nearby Tiltonsville, Ohio.

He was a senior on the 1921 team under head coach Greasy Neale which played California to a scoreless tie in the Rose Bowl.

[5][6] In those first two seasons, the team was led on the field by quarterback Norm Van Brocklin,[7][8] a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Halfback John McKay, future head coach at USC and the expansion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, transferred from Purdue and was a key member of the 1948 and 1949 teams.

[8] After four seasons in Eugene, Aiken resigned as head coach at Oregon in June 1951,[9][10] and entered the lumber business in Roseburg.