By Vivian DiSalvo (Class of 2026)
Like most UT alumni, if there’s a Tennessee basketball game on, Maggie Dawson is watching it. Most of the time, though, she’s watching from a hotel in a new city—with an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile parked outside.
That’s right—Maggie Dawson (’25), known in the Oscar Mayer universe as “Meatloaf Maggie,” has spent the last 10 months driving the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile around the country as a “hotdogger” with her copilot “Tailgate Trey.” While traveling the country in a hot dog-shaped vehicle, she still makes time to keep up with the Vols.
“My copilot and I are always watching every single game,” says Dawson. “Basketball games were so much fun as a student, and it’s something I still enjoy as an alumna.”
While a student, Dawson participated in Sigma Kappa sorority and club field hockey. She graduated in 2025 with a degree in advertising, minoring in journalism. She loved her time on Rocky Top and relishes every moment as a hotdogger, employing the advertising skills she gained from her time at UT.
She first saw the posting to be an Oscar Mayer Wienermobile spokesperson during the winter break before her last semester. Though it felt like a long shot, Dawson decided to go for it.
As a professor, there is no greater joy than watching a student launch their dream job or opportunity. Maggie is the perfect person you want running your communications team.”
Associate Professor Matthew Pittman
Maggie Dawson (right) was sitting in Associate Professor Matthew Pittman’s class when she got a job offer from Oscar Mayer.
Associate Professor Matthew Pittman helped Dawson put together a short video for the application. Pittman serves as the director of the Adam Brown Social Media Command Center for the College of Communication and Information and is well-known online for his viral videos, often filmed in the classroom as part of his teaching, which have garnered millions of views. In a full-circle moment, Dawson received her job offer while sitting in Pittman’s class.
“Maggie has always known what she wanted. On day one of advertising campaigns class, she asked us to help her film her video,” says Pittman. “As a professor, there is no greater joy than watching a student launch their dream job or opportunity. Maggie is the perfect person you want running your communications team.”
As a hotdogger, Dawson drives the Wienermobile to a new city every week, putting together four to eight events in each city. Ahead of each visit, she pitches local media and builds buzz around the iconic vehicle arrival. The Oscar Mayer Wienermobile acts as a “PR firm on wheels,” according to Dawson.
“It’s always fun when you drive past a person and catch the excitement on their face when they spot the Wienermobile,” says Dawson. “It’s just so special being in the Wienermobile’s orbit. Getting to be around the joy it brings and meet the people of each different community that we touch is so memorable.”
She even brought the Wienermobile back to Rocky Top—driving past her old apartment, the Sigma Kappa sorority house, and Circle Park. She also reconnected with Pittman and spoke to his class about her time as a hotdogger.
“That was the most fulfilling week for me,” Dawson says. “I showed my copilot the stadium, and we walked around campus. Day after day, it felt more and more special.”
Life as a hotdogger is a lot of fun, but it still requires storytelling expertise, which Dawson learned in her time at UT. From content creation to media pitching, UT provided the foundation Dawson needed to make Oscar Mayer’s story compelling and tailored to the communities in each city she visits.
In addition, Dawson runs the official Wienermobile Instagram with the 11 other hotdoggers. She also runs her own social media page as “Meatloaf Maggie,” where she documents all of her travels. This is one of her favorite parts of the job: getting to tell her own story.
When her term as a hotdogger ends in June, she’s moving back home to Delaware to work as a social media specialist, honing those skills she learned at UT and during her time as a hotdogger.
“I got to play with social media consistently throughout college, and then for my first job,” says Dawson. “I’m excited to pursue it for my next job too.”
No matter where she goes, she continues to support the Big Orange and knows it will continue to support her.
