Picture this: A few years ago, a successful promoter in the music industry in Nashville gets a phone call. On the other end is a friend and colleague in entertainment marketing, the head of Monterey Artists, with an unusual business proposition. It seems that an upstart company in professional wrestling plans to take on the behemoth World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). They are looking for a marketing and promotions guru to guide them into place as the preeminent wrestling circuit in the world. Who would take such a risk? Who would have the guts to pick up the gauntlet and to challenge the group whose name has become nearly synonymous with professional wrestling?

Meet Dixie Carter (BBA 86), president of TNA (Total Nonstop Action) Entertainment. She’s an Ole Miss grad and a gold mine of energy and advice. She’s also fearless when a new risk or opportunity gives her a chance to throw her hat in the ring. She, and the company she heads, testify to the great things that can be accomplished with a positive outlook, dogged persistence, and faith in oneself and one’s work.

Born and raised in Dallas, Texas, Carter chose to attend The University of Mississippi at the urging of a friend. When this persuasive friend had a change of plans, Carter ended up in Oxford on her own. It wasn’t easy getting settled at a university where she didn’t know a soul and everyone else seemed to know everybody, but Carter quickly discovered myriad ways to get involved at Ole Miss.

She says without hesitation that her time at Ole Miss was the best experience of her life. She laughs now as she reflects on the collegiate experiences that set her on her present track and continue to be relevant in her career. She got an early taste of entertainment marketing as part of the Student Programming Board, which gave her the opportunity to book concerts and bring other events to campus. Ironically, she even arranged for Jerry Lawler and the Memphis Wrestling crew to make a pilgrimage to entertain the Rebels. She could never have predicted that wrestling would enter her life again and become the root of a job that she adores.

Although her professional life began chiefly in the movie business, Carter’s interests in entertainment marketing and promotions eventually focused on the music industry. She was living in her native Dallas, doing rewarding work and finding success, but she realized that she needed to take a big risk, to make a big leap, in order to grow personally and professionally. And leap she did, starting her own company in music promotions in Nashville. When she recalls this move, she shares an important lesson and piece of advice: Always challenge yourself. A person must forget about his comfort zone to take on new challenges and travel down new, and sometimes unexpected, roads, she says. Armed with an optimistic attitude and open eyes, anyone, anywhere, can have a wonderful and challenging job that she loves, Carter believes.

Carter made a name for herself quickly in Nashville, the cradle of country music. She was not explicitly looking for new opportunities, she says, when the call came that led her to TNA Entertainment. Carter admits that she was not necessarily a fan of professional wrestling, but the positive approach that marks all of her endeavors won out. She was impressed by TNA’s focus, professionalism and new ideas for professional wrestling, so she climbed into the ring and joined the team.

TNA is the brainchild of former WWE and WCW (World Championship Wrestling) champ Jeff Jarrett, who took a big risk of his own in sparking this new beast in the world of professional wrestling. Wrestling has been a part of American sports and entertainment for many years, but with only one major company with a $900 million market cap behind all of the activity, there was definitely room for competition. TNA focuses on action, athleticism, family fun and innovation. A unique six-sided ring and a mixture of styles such as the Ultimate X and the Six Sides of Steel are just a few examples of TNA’s fresh vision and thinking outside the ring. TNA is associated with the former NWA (National Wrestling Alliance), and its pool of talent includes familiar names from WWE and WCW such as Raven, Jeff Hardy and Ron “The Truth” Killings. They are also cultivating new faces on the wrestling scene, including competitors such as A.J. Styles and America’s Most Wanted.

Thus far, TNA’s focus has been on pay-per-view, but they blasted into the cable market in October when their “iMPACT!” series premiered on Spike TV as part of Spike’s “Slammin’ Saturday Nights.” A massive new audience is seeing the distinctive fun and action TNA offers, and Carter’s excitement at this growth is contagious. The possibilities for TNA seem limitless, and the entire series is clearly bound for glory. In fact, “Bound for Glory,” their “crown jewel” event, made its pay-per-view appearance on Oct. 23. “Bound for Glory” is a celebration for the entire TNA family and included InterAction, a fan fest where wrestling lovers can meet, greet and mingle with their heroes. This important connection between athlete and acolyte is part of what makes TNA so successful.

Success is born out of hard work and dedication. Carter loves her job and laughs that she still has to “pinch herself” when she takes the walk from her hotel to the sound stage at Universal Studios in Florida, where TNA currently films its programs (the TNA crew plans to hit the road in the future, taking the six-sided ring to cities across the United States and the world). She may not have planned a career in wrestling, but Carter says this curve in her path has opened up an expanse of possibilities and potential with a cadre of smart, driven and passionate colleagues.

The music business, Carter elaborates, is somewhat limited because it centers purely on record sales. Her work with TNA has a great deal more to offer, including cable and pay-per-view broadcasts, DVD distribution, video games, licensing and merchandising, and global tours. TNA faces one competitor in the market, and Carter feels this competition makes TNA all the stronger and more determined. The smaller competitor works harder, she notes, because challenging a Goliath requires a David to provide a product or service that is either completely new and different from—or a whole lot better than—the products that are currently offered. This principle applies to any business, but particularly to entertainment, and TNA is poised to take the wrestling world by storm with a product that is both different, and better, than anything else out there, she says.

A blistering work schedule and a great deal of travel leave Carter with little spare time, but her family is the center of her nonworking life. Her new baby, Reese Estelle, is her joy, and she relishes time spent with her family in any setting. They have a ranch in Texas, complete with horses, which is an ideal getaway. Carter feels that her work and her personal life complement each other, each making the other more sweet. With firm, specific priorities and clear perspective, it is possible to have both personal and professional happiness, she says.

Carter encourages people, whether they are just starting on a career path or whether they are looking for a new start or a jump-start, to be persistent and find a way to do what they love.

This philosophy has served Carter well. She was on her way to a successful career even before she completed her undergraduate degree. A marketing major, she had discovered a talent for promotions and public relations. An internship with Dallas-based Levenson and Hill—her first day on the job included encounters with Tom Hanks and Jackie Gleason—blossomed into a full-time position after she graduated from Ole Miss in 1986. A good internship well-served pays off: Carter stayed with Levenson and Hill eight years and was a vice president by the time she was 27 years old.

Internships are crucial for folks who are just starting out, Carter says. They give students a chance to build practical experience in their fields while also putting them in a good position to make contacts and to soak up the atmosphere of the world in which they hope, eventually, to make a living. Carter practices what she preaches at TNA, where she welcomes interns from Ole Miss and other universities. Under her tutelage, interns perform as many duties as their interest and skill levels allow. She will give ambitious interns every chance to learn as much as they can, hustling them from meetings to appearances and exposing them to every aspect of the world of entertainment marketing. She encourages all students to take advantage of internship programs and to “bust their tails” as they pursue their dreams.

Carter’s professional dreams now are intertwined with TNA. The future of the venture is wide open, she says, with NASCAR tie-ins, world tours and multiple shows on the horizon. TNA programming already airs in 118 countries worldwide. Its loyal fan base reaches as far as Korea, where, in only nine months, TNA has already outperformed its competitor.

Stay tuned, Carter says, for TNA to be on every television and in every DVD player across the globe. BF