May 15, 2025
MARIETTA, Ga. — Georgia Baptist Jayme Pendergast is the Director of Athletics at Marietta’s Life University. Although she describes herself as an introvert, she is a highly motivated, extremely gifted, and incredibly confident young woman.
Pendergast was born in Findlay, Ohio, the second largest city in the Northwestern part of the state, about 45 miles south of Toledo. Her parents had her baptized in the Methodist church in Findlay, but she explained, “It seemed like we were just going to church to check the box. I don’t think we were actively living or breathing a vibrant Christian faith.”
After graduating from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, with a degree in exercise science, Pendergast went to the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and earned a master’s degree in Sports and Exercise Psychology. While in Greensboro, Pendergast attended Westover Church. “It was an eye-opening experience for me. It was a large church with so much energy. It was an inflection point for me – the point at which my life was changed spiritually.”
After graduating from UNC Greensboro in 2008, she became the assistant director of academic support for athletics at Elon University in Burlington, N.C.
In October 2016, Life University President Dr. Rob Scott appointed Pendergast as the Director of Athletics.
Jayme and her husband, Tripp, and their son, Brooks, and daughter, Logan, are actively engaged in Piedmont Church in Marietta, where Dr. Ike Reighard is pastor. Jayme was baptized at Piedmont as a testimony of her salvation. In addition to her involvement at Piedmont, she is engaged in a small group Bible study with Pastor Mike Linch at NorthStar Church in Acworth.
Last September, Pendergrast received a telephone call from Chesney Sallee, Vice President of Membership Value and Governance for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). As soon as she realized that Sallee was calling, she thought, “Oh, this can’t be good.”
However, Pendergast’s apprehension quickly turned to joy when she was informed that she had been selected as the NAIA Executive of the Year. At the Women Leaders National Convention held in Baltimore in October 2024, the well-deserved recognition was officially announced.
Pendergast received the award for her contributions to Life University’s athletic success. She has added 14 new varsity teams, growing the department to more than 600 student-athletes and giving the school the largest athletic program in metro-Atlanta.
The athletic department is not only known for the number of participants, but in the last two years alone, student-athletes have earned 20 individual national championships, six team championships, and 116 All-American honors.
Pendergast believes that building character into the lives of the university’s athletes is vitally important and has started a Fellowship of Christian Athletes ministry on campus led by Adrian Escobedo, a graduate student and rugby player.
Leading by example is important to Pendergast. “My journey has been inspired by my faith, and my goal is to lead in a way that serves others, that reveals the right values. I believe God has given me the spirit of discernment. I seem to be able to see God’s gifts in others, and I want the Lord to use me to empower them to use their gifts.
“If I see a coach with great potential, I try to help him/her maximize the gifts God has given them. I encourage them to double down on what they do well, to swallow their insecurities and go for it.”
For college athletes who perform dual roles, the academics-athletics conflict often becomes formidable, but Pendergast believes that there is as much to be learned outside the classroom as inside. She explained, “We must stop arguing about the balance between academia and athletics and focus on the whole experience.”
Indeed, participation in athletics teaches valuable lessons such as discipline, resilience, teamwork, perseverance, sportsmanship, and the importance of goal setting and achievement. Physical exertion also contributes to physical and mental health and can empower athletes to resist the temptation of substance abuse.
When asked about balancing work with family life, Pendergast commented, “Kids need to grow up in an environment where parents enjoy and feel good about what they do rather than see their parents weary and unfulfilled. Tripp and I love what we do, and when we come home, we enjoy our children. We do spend time together.”
Jayme Pendergast is in the minority when it comes to female athletic directors in the NAIA institutions of higher learning, but she is proving that she can do the job as well as, if not better than, most men.
