Several word suggestions appear when typing “Maria Taylor” into a web browser, but three that don’t are “certified public accountant.”
It’s not for a lack of trying on her part.
“I thought when I went to school, I wanted to be a biology/pre-med major and become a team doctor, but then I changed to business, took both accountings, real estate and finance,” Taylor says. “My mom was a certified public accountant. I would go with her to take your daughter to work day — we were always at my mom’s office. I knew everything about her job, so in my mind, that was what you did when you grow up. You go to an office, and you work in business.”
Taylor is not a team doctor, nor is she an accountant, but you knew that. As a host, analyst and reporter for ESPN, Taylor is on television more often than, well, “The Office.”She co-hosts “College GameDay” and “NBA Countdown,” sideline reports “ESPN Saturday Night Football” and Sunday NBA games, and is part of the reporting team for the NFL and NBA drafts. A basketball and four-time All-Southeastern Conference volleyball player during her time at UGA, Taylor hosts or has hosted the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament and Women’s Volleyball National Championship.
But when the camera isn’t rolling, the burgeoning sportscaster stays true to the business roots of her youth. She earned her MBA from the Terry College in 2013, four years after her broadcast journalism degree — because if sports taught Taylor anything, it was to prepare for all possibilities.
“I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, but I knew an MBA was something I wanted,” she says. “I deferred my enrollment for a year because things were picking up in broadcasting, but you never know — when you start in a career you don’t know anything. I didn’t know if broadcasting was going to work out, whether I was in the right field, whether sports is something that turns into a way you can take care of yourself. I moved home and was working part-time and going to school part-time — I felt like a complete human being working toward something. It ended up being one of the best decisions I ever made.”
As Taylor moved her way from assignment to assignment in the broadcast world — first as a reporter and host for IMG College at UGA, then to ESPN2 and SEC Network as a college football sideline reporter, before moving to GameDay and Saturday Night Football in 2017 — she sought steady guidance from veteran broadcasters on how to improve. “You want to know how to be an analyst, or how to create your stories,” she says. “Or if you’re a sideline reporter, how do you do that? They may seem like stupid questions, but they make all the difference.”
Working to find those mentors made her realize her profession needed more of them. Her first MBA course was a leadership class led by Laura Little, and it helped Taylor define her leadership style. Subsequent classes included case studies of business quandaries — should Netflix become fully digital, and why IBM needed more diversity. The culmination of her experience and her studies spurred entrepreneurial instincts, which in turn became the Winning Edge Leadership Academy.
Launched in 2015, Winning Edge provides networking, financial resources and workforce training to develop a generation of diverse leaders in the sports and entertainment industry. It partners with companies, universities, collegiate conferences and professional sports teams to offer students an opportunity to connect and discover a future in the sports business.
“I planned to match up students who wanted to get into sports — and it didn’t have to be broadcasting, maybe you want to be an athletic director or work in sports marketing,” says Taylor, who co-founded the academy with Corinne Millen. “In the early days of a career, having people believe in what you’re doing matters. Having someone take five minutes out of their day to talk to you is going to make a huge difference in the way you approach your career. A lot of our kids are first-generation graduates, so they don’t even know where to start. We’re that sounding board and bridge connecting the dots between a base of women and minority candidates to these businesses, teams and schools that have great jobs.”
“Maria Taylor is a light, a bright shining light,” says Alexis Randall (BSFCS ’08), who played volleyball with Taylor at UGA and has remained close with her since. “When you invest so much time into young people, when you’re bringing them in and helping their careers, it’s the coolest thing. She is never going to pull you down. She’s going to lift you up. She’s going to bring you with her.”
Winning Edge hosts summer retreats where students learn about career opportunities. In 2019 they watched television production at Turner Sports, took a behind-the-scenes look at Atlanta Braves’ Truist Park, and talked sports marketing with the crew at Jackson Spalding. A two-day summer summit includes a dinner pairing students with young professionals and industry veterans, and throughout the year the academy makes campus visits, working with athletic departments and colleges to broaden internship chances for its students. Taylor reached back to her time at Terry to partner Winning Edge with the Institute for Leadership Advancement, which is helping her find ways to fund her nonprofit.
But the biggest influence on the academy’s success is Taylor — and her time in front of the camera.
“Someone reached back and lifted me up. If not, I’m not here,” she says. “I’m hoping the legacy I leave behind is that there are young girls at home or minorities who think, ‘I can do whatever I want because she’s out there working a national championship game or doing something we haven’t seen done before.’”
The present is busy for Taylor, but the future is unlimited. She can see herself behind the camera in a producer capacity — her time at ESPN and work with Winning Edge has her curious about all aspects of broadcasting. She can also see herself outside of sports, moving into a news role like one of her mentors, Robin Roberts, who anchors ABC’s “Good Morning America.” It was Roberts who lifted Taylor up when she started her career, giving her advice she applies to her daily routine.
“She said every day you show up to work you need to have everyone around you believe it is the best day ever for you. That you would not want to be in any other place,” Taylor says.
“Everyone who ends up doing well in life makes their workplace better. You want to be that friend that makes everybody feel a little bit better. She challenged me in that way — that no matter what you’re going through, try to find new ways to help others and don’t be so focused on you that you forget that there are others.”