Change By Choice

By: Cass Ferguson

Hey, Hey, Hey “Sports As A Job” fam! In today’s world everyone’s story is different. We all come from different backgrounds. We all have different hobbies and interests, but here at “Sports As A Job”, we all have one thing in common and that is ‘sports’. Like it was said above, no two stories are the same and everyone deserves for their story to be told and heard by all, so, welcome to Mary Frances Ierlan’s story. Mary is the Arena Marketing Coordinator with the Milwaukee Bucks Inc. 

The path not intended but meant to be.

Mary’s story all began when she went off to university. Growing up in the New York area she knew she wanted to go to a school where it wasn’t too big, but at the same time, not too small either. She chose Marquette University, and this is where her story began.

Some of us just know that we want to work in sports and some of us find that sports is where we want to work later down the line, and that is just what happened to Ierlan. In her freshman year at Marquette University she was there to become a doctor, but little did she know that this is when she would find the love and passion for sports. At this point Ierlan said, “something needs to change”.

Not fully knowing what needed to be done, she started taking business/ communication classes, which allowed her to network and chat with industry professionals. With all this information in hand, Ierlan started working towards where she is today. Her roles varied from interning with the athletic department at Marquette University, where she said “we did pretty much everything; from shot clock, to tweeting games, to writing stories on the website, and so much more”. Now, she is working as the Arena Marketing Coordinator, but it wasn’t until after working with the athletic department at Marquette University where she said “Ok, wow I do really want to work in sports.”

While interviewing Ierlan there was a common theme she spoke to, with that being, “Hard work will pay off, but networking is what is going to last”. Ierlan said making relationships that last has been a success tracker for her since her story began. The people she has met have been reasons for her success, but the fact that she put forth the effort to network, she believes, is the biggest aspect to her success. 

As time went on Ierlan said that, “Each experience I was given led me to a new opportunity to learn more.” Her experiences at the Bucks, including PR, Digital Content/ Social Media gave her reasons to want to stay in sports, but she had an eye opener to the world of sports – working in sports means long days, but if you love what you’re doing then it doesn’t matter. 

The lessons from the journey learned and applied.

Coming full circle with her time at Marquette and finishing up her senior year, Ierlan said, “The spring of my senior year was honestly the most stressful.” Anyone in the same shoes knows that applying for jobs is stressful and can be a full-time job in itself. 

Ierlan noted that all your experiences on your resume are great, your network is great, but sometimes people need to realize that you will get negative responses, you will get ignored, but if you keep pushing something will happen, and that is just what happened. Ierlan noticed that the Bucks had posted a job. She leveraged her network she had built up, and in the end got the position as Marketing Coordinator. Fast forward to present day, her Marketing Coordinator role has expanded to not only marketing for the Bucks, but for the entertainment side (concerts, events, etc.). With the expansion of this role, she has had to be very realistic with her goals and dreams because she has experienced how competitive it is out there. People want to be in sports and there are only so many leagues, teams, and organizations out there to work for. Like it was said earlier, everyone’s story is unique and everyone’s story should be told, but if you were to tell someone your story in 3 simple words, how would you describe yourself? I asked Ierlan that exact question, and she answered with:

• Enthusiastic 
• Very driven/ Hard working 
• Respectful 

At “Sports As A Job” we want to be the connector. We want to provide people with opportunities to network, tell their story and so much more. No matter if you’re someone looking to break into the industry or someone who is looking for their next opportunity. 

Telling Mary Frances Ierlan’s story is something that needs to be done, and we believe that anyone can learn from her story. We did ask her if she had any piece of advice, what would it be and why, and this was her response:

• Create meaningful relationships – connect with someone, but don’t stop there, follow up with them, send them thank you cards or notes. Creating these relationships allows for doors to be opened that you thought never would. 

“Sports As A Job” would like to thank Mary for sitting down and telling her story. You can find Mary through the links down below. 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maryierlan/
Instagram: @mf_ierlan
Twitter: @mfierlan10
Website: https://www.maryfrancesierlan.com/