Women at TCU are claiming their place in the male-dominated sports industry.

Mark Cohen, director of athletic media relations, said TCU baseball acquired its first female director of baseball operations last summer.

Meredith Montgomery, director of baseball operations, is working in an almost exclusively male position, Cohen said.

Montgomery said she doesn’t know the number of women who hold her position at other schools, but she said a majority of people with her job title are men looking to pursue a coaching job.

“I really think this job is perfectly suited for a woman because it is very administrative and you have to be organized and be on top of things,” Montgomery said.

Head baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle said the university decided to hire Montgomery for a variety of reasons, including her work ethic and dedication to the university in the past.

Cohen said NCAA restricts the number of coaches a team can have. This rule is in place so larger schools do not end up having more coaches than smaller schools could fund.

It creates a level playing field across university sports, he said.

Because of the NCAA regulations, Schlossnagle said he decided to hire someone who was excited about the administrative aspect of athletics instead of someone looking to pursue coaching.

“We normally end up having a frustrated coach who wants to coach but can’t,” Schlossnagle said.

Brandie Davidson, assistant director of athletic media relations, works with university’s baseball and volleyball teams.

“I don’t see myself as a woman in a man’s world,” Davidson said. “I just do my job.”

Montgomery has worked for university sporting events since her freshmen year of college. Schlossnagle approached her about taking the job as director of operations because of her work for the TCU media relations department during college, Montgomery said.

Montgomery graduated from TCU in 2009 and worked in the media relations department during her undergraduate years. She said she worked under Brandie Davidson covering multiple sports, including football, volleyball, basketball and baseball.

As director of operations, Montgomery manages travel and community service for the team and serves as the liaison for the marketing department, she said.

“Anything the coach needs me to do, I am pretty much in charge of,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery does not spend all her time as director of operations. She is currently taking six hours of night classes in order to earn her master’s degree in education in May. The graduate assistant position pays for her graduate school, she said.

Montgomery said she hopes this is a gateway job for a position in collegiate athletics. She said she hopes to continue her career working at TCU.

“I hope that girls see me and say, ‘If she can do it then I have a shot to do it,'” Montgomery said.