Maia Pentecost is a marketing student at the Gary W. Rollins College of Business at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. Originally from Clarksville, Maia discovered her path into sports marketing in high school and has since turned that passion into a role as community relations coordinator for Chattanooga Red Wolves SC.
In this student Q&A, Maia reflects on the loss that shaped her sense of purpose, the moment RCOB felt like home and what it’s like to build a career in a historically male-dominated industry.
What do you love most about soccer?
I love how much it brings fans together. It really gives everyone a good community to be a part of — it’s a great community. I recommend it to anyone. It has different aspects of the game that everyone can get a part of — the defense, wanting your team to win — so it’s a really big community.
How much were soccer and sports a part of your life growing up?
Soccer and sports were a huge part of my life. I started playing soccer at four. I also started dancing around the same time. So, every day I was either doing soccer or dance, and that stayed with me all the way until I graduated high school at 18. I did competitive dance for 10 years, but danced overall for 15. And I’ve taught and coached both soccer and dance. They played a really big part in my day-to-day life and in making me who I am.
How did you land on sports marketing as a career path?
Sports marketing came together for me in high school. Our wrestling team had a bunch of my friends on it, and they put out an ad saying they were looking for a student to help with their marketing. They labeled it “sports marketing.” I remember thinking, “That’s not a real job. This seems fun, not like straight corporate marketing.” I really wanted to get into something I had a passion for, and sports is a huge passion of mine. Putting that fan engagement together with marketing — which I love for the creative side and the planning — was a really big deal for me.
What was your first visit to the Rollins College of Business like?
I toured with my mom, and it was just really different from any other college I’d toured. I’d toured Austin Peay and other UT system schools, and this just felt very business-oriented. The first thing you see when you walk in is the SMILE Fund space, because the SMILE Fund is such a big deal here. That was my first sign that this was serious, like this is actually a legit business college.
Then you walk deeper in and you literally see “Rollins College of Business” right there, and you see career connections throughout the building. It felt like this school actually cared about what I was going to do with my business degree and was building me up with experiences, tools and ways of learning. Through high school, I didn’t know if I was even going to go to college. I was taking it a day at a time, finding a place where it clicked like that. I thought, “This is where I want to be. I can do this. “I felt very supported at RCOB, especially with everything they offer.
How did your childhood shape how you see your future?
I lost two friends during my freshman year of high school, and it really changed my mindset on how I view everything day to day. You don’t know if you have tomorrow — it’s a matter of seconds and minutes. So, any decision you make needs to have a purpose or a passion behind it. I think that really pushed me into the sports marketing industry because I have such a passion for it, and I really just want to make a community where people feel safe.
That’s part of my motto: if you’re going to do something, do it for a reason. I’m still in touch with friends from that time and their families, and we still have scholarships for them at my high school that I’ve helped with a little. Knowing I can honor their legacy really motivates me, because you never know when someone’s going to pass away. Having a community of my own — one I found here with Chattanooga Red Wolves SC — has really helped me become a better person.
What was it like landing the role with Chattanooga Red Wolves SC?
I was very excited. I ended up interviewing from my mom’s office at her work. They told me on the spot, “We’d love to have you.” I ran out and told my mom, and it was one of those girly, exciting moments — and then it got really serious fast. I remember thinking, “I have a job now, this isn’t just fun anymore, this isn’t just college.” Then by the end of July, they offered me a part-time role, and now I run the community relations department. It’s a huge deal that they trust me with that.
What does your role as community relations coordinator involve?
I coordinate any events that involve our players going out into the community for appearances, and any partnerships we bring in on game day. We’ve partnered with the Chattanooga Zoo, and we run Paws on the Pitch, where we bring in local dog shelters. Anything where we’re giving back to the community or inviting them in has to go through me. There’s a lot of scheduling and communicating with a lot of different people, but it’s a lot of fun.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced in this role and what are you proudest of?
Honestly, the biggest challenge I faced personally was thinking I’m just an intern — people don’t need to talk to me. That changed really quickly, because people started going through me to get to my boss. I had to learn everyone’s names and realize they actually want to talk to me — they want my opinion. I didn’t think my opinion would be that important, but it was. I felt very seen in this space, especially coming from a younger demographic.
What I’m proudest of is probably all the nonprofits I get to work with. Every time we invite them out and give them a ticket link, half the money raised goes right back to them, and we’ve raised a lot of money for local nonprofits that way. I also think about Paws on the Pitch. We had three different dog organizations out, and a bunch of dogs actually got adopted from that. Every dog needs a home, so that’s something I love seeing happen.
What have you learned about being a woman in a historically male-dominated industry?
You cannot be scared to talk because if you’re not going to talk, no one’s going to care what you have to say. There are a lot of times I’m in meetings introducing myself, and people are shocked I’m actually talking. Then they’re shocked by my title because they’re used to such male-dominated sports. But if you look at the new marketing systems in sports, it’s really gearing toward young females. Especially in this office, it’s a very safe space, very welcoming. We’re all very friendly, we’re all friends. It’s not very intimidating here, even though it could be in other fields.
Is there a specific class, professor or project at RCOB that’s shown up in your work at the Red Wolves?
One class that’s helped me a lot is my Entrepreneurship Skillset and Mindset class with Professor Adam Wolcott. We did a project where you look around campus, see something that’s an issue, and figure out how to fix it. I decided to come up with different ideas on how to get fans engaged more and get the community involved — brainstorming, trying to problem solve. A lot of what we do here is problem solving, especially on game days, so having that mindset already established really helps me go through the checklist he taught us and connect it back and forth.
My Success Seminar class also really taught me how to network. I have to make a lot of connections in this job. Even sending out an email — I learned from that class how to format it and look professional because now I’m in a professional setting. Everything I learned has carried over into the business world, especially the networking aspects, because I’m constantly going to networking events, taking players out and networking even when I go to schools with them.
What advice would you give another student who’s not sure how to get started?
I would tell them to put yourself out there, especially if you want to do an internship. You don’t know what’s out there in the business world unless you put yourself out there. I wouldn’t have gotten this job if I hadn’t said, “Let me email them and see if they’re accepting anyone.” If you put yourself out there and are confident in yourself and your abilities, then you’re set to do whatever you want to do in the world.
Let’s see where business takes you.
From the soccer pitch to the sales pitch, let’s see where business will take you. Learn more about our programs at the Gary W. Rollins College of Business.
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