Texas A&M Sports Management Student Working For Rangers During World Series

A woman in a pink blazer walks across a baseball field holding out her hand. The mascot of the Texas Rangers, Ranger Captain (a large fuzzy horse in a Rangers uniform), can be seen behind her — Sports management senior Paige Zizka is an intern with the Texas Rangers, who are playing in the World Series for the first time in over a decade.
Bailey Orr/Texas Rangers

Among her coworkers in the Texas Rangers front office, there are two things that make Paige Zizka stand out: the bright pink blazer she wears on the field, and her copious use of the word “howdy.”

An intern in the promotions department at Arlington’s Globe Life Field, Zizka is one of a handful of Aggies helping manage the World Series-bound team — and she wants everyone to know it.

“I answer every email, every text message, every phone call with ‘Howdy.’ That’s the biggest thing I’ve taken from A&M … and I brought that to the Rangers,” she said. “I don’t care how important the email is, I don’t care if we’re on the biggest world stage, I will always say ‘howdy.’”

A sports management senior and long-time student worker for Texas A&M Athletics, Zizka has been with the Rangers since March, managing fan engagement opportunities such as prize giveaways and the Jr. Rangers Kids Club and helping coordinate on-field activities like the national anthem and first pitch.

“Anything and everything that goes on during that game that isn’t the actual playing or coaching, that’s what we’re in charge of,” Zizka said. “Most recently for the postseason, I directed giant flags coming out onto the field, an honor guard coming out to center field, and I’m standing right there in the middle, running all of it.”

a photo of a woman in a pink blazer next to a mariachi band in a baseball stadium — Part of Zizka’s job involves coordinating performances and other in-stadium entertainment.
Bailey Orr/Texas Rangers

Now, as the Rangers make their first World Series appearance since 2011, Zizka is finishing her internship on a major high note, helping put on one of the biggest events in all of sports. She still remembers how she felt on Oct. 23, when her team defeated the Astros to secure their spot in the championship.

“I was sitting in my living room in College Station when we won the ALCS. My roommate’s boyfriend is a big Rangers fan, and the rest of my roommates are Astros fans, so we were all on the edge of our seats,” she recalls. “After the game, I ran out into the street, we did a champagne shower, and I said, ‘OK, let’s get to work.’”

Catching Curveballs

Despite her newfound enthusiasm for pro baseball, Zizka says she’s always been a football fan at heart. Growing up in Katy, Texas, she became interested in an athletics career after covering sports for her student news team, following the school’s football squad all the way to the state semi-finals.

She already had her sights set on A&M, where she planned to major in business. But after an exciting season supporting her team from the sidelines, she decided to study sports management instead.

“A&M has one of the best sports management programs in the U.S., so I was like, ‘OK, this is the perfect place for me,’” Zizka said. As soon as she got to campus, she got to work, taking a job with the athletic facilities team, helping with upkeep and operations at Kyle Field and other Aggie sports venues. An athlete in her own right, Zizka also joined the A&M cycling team, which she led to a national championship just last year.

On top of all that, she still found time to complete internships and build relationships with a network of sports managers across the state.

After a chance interaction on social media with a senior member of the Rangers’ management, Zizka ended up sending over her resume, landing a gig with the team soon after. Since then, she’s been traveling back and forth from College Station to Arlington, making the most of the unexpected opportunity.

Dallas Stars mascot Victor E. Green (a large green fuzzy monster wearing a Rangers jersey on top of a his Stars jersey) stands next to a man in a rangers jersey and a woman in a pink blazer — Zizka during a Rangers game at Globe Life Field in Arlington.
Bailey Orr/Texas Rangers

Eight months later, as Zizka wraps up her internship and prepares for the next chapter of her career, she hopes she can set an example for younger students, showing aspiring sports management majors just how much they can do with the degree.

For now, Zizka is focused on doing everything she can to support her team, as the Rangers attempt to pick up their first-ever World Series title. The whole organization is under a lot of eyes and a lot of pressure — but Zizka says that’s exactly what drew her to this career in the first place.

“Last night I drove straight from College Station to the stadium, and seeing ‘World Series’ painted on the field, there’s no other feeling like it,” Zizka said ahead of Game 1. “I love this kind of stuff. I love the big moments, the high stakes. Everything I’ve done in my past — pressure washing Kyle Field, folding tablecloths, all the little stuff — this makes it all worth it.”