Mary-Carter Eggert walked into the Westin Excelsior Rome and was in immediate control.

She promptly morphed an ornate table in a side room jutting off the lobby into her command center.

The Tennessee director of basketball operations shuffled key-filled envelopes into groups as they arrived in waves. She texted individuals when their room was ready. She delivered the keys. She coordinated getting the right pieces of luggage to the correct room. Eggert worked until the table was bare and the room void of luggage. Only then did she retreat with her husband, Chris, to their room on the second floor with tall windows and green wallpaper.

“I don’t see Tennessee basketball being what it is without her,” guard Josiah-Jordan James said.

Everything went smoothly that sweltering August day in Italy because that is what Eggert does. While everyone else ventured out to enjoy the first moments in the Eternal City, she selflessly labored to ensure seamless operations.

Eggert is the team mom, the scheduler, the big sister, the helper, the go-to resource, the organizer, and everything in between for Tennessee. She is the behind-the-scenes superwoman who makes everything work for the Vols as they barrel through March Madness.

Broken television in a hotel? Call Mary-Carter Eggert

Eggert rolled into the hotel room shared by Jahmai Mashack and Jonas Aidoo at the Westin in Charlotte during the opening rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The television wasn’t working and it needing fixing.

She pulled a drill from her Gucci bag and a spare flatscreen TV out of her Louis Vuitton bag. All Mashack could hear was the drill while he waited in the hallway.

OK, it didn’t happen quite as Mashack initially described. But Eggert is so on top of everything it doesn't seem so far-fetched.

“She called the hotel maintenance people and they came to replace the original TV, but we like to joke that MC was the one who carries spare everything in her bags,” Mashack said.

Eggert has stepped in to help Mashack more than once. He has forgotten items ranging from his phone to clothes in hotel rooms. Eggert always gets them back — and quickly.

“We would not be able to function without her,” Mashack said.

Mary-Carter Eggert empowers, mentors women in sports

Hanes Robinson was the self-appointed shyest person in the world when she arrived at Tennessee. Then she started working as Eggert’s right-hand woman as a sophomore.

There’s no room for being shy when you are driving a golf cart with six people on it for a recruiting visit.

“She pushed me out of my comfort zone,” Robinson said. “She trusted me and gave me a lot of responsibility.”

Robinson entered the UT world thanks to some connections from her experience as a basketball manager at Greensboro Day School. Vols associate head coach Justin Gainey attended the school. Freddie Johnson, the head coach, knows coach Rick Barnes and Eggert.

Robinson reached out and ended up as a manager.

“It’s not very common to have girl managers,” Robinson said.

It’s also not common for a woman to be the director of basketball operations at a high-major school, but Eggert holds the post and is widely respected in it. That made Eggert a perfect role model for Robinson, who is locked on a career in sports now after she was uncertain previously.

Robinson noted Eggert’s attention to detail as a major strength. She never was caught off guard because she had contingency plans stacked for any possible situation. Robinson parlayed that learned skill into her current role at the Tennessee Fund.

It’s hardly the only one. Robinson can rattle off lesson after lesson from her stint with Eggert, who helped bring more out of Robinson than she could have imagined.

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“She is the best person to be around,” Robinson said. “Everyone around her loves her and it is very evident that she loves everyone as well.”

Santiago Vescovi needed assistance in getting his driver’s license

Santiago Vescovi fell into a whirlwind when he arrived at Tennessee in December 2019. He stepped into a team in flux in the middle of a season. He was in a new country and suddenly playing college basketball.

“Even though I had already been away from my family for like two years, I still had a lot of things I didn’t know how to do,” said Vescovi, who is from Uruguay.

That included getting a driver’s license. Eggert walked Vescovi through the process. She knew the steps and the details. Eggert set up a time for Vescovi and former players Uros Plavsic and Oliver Nkamhoua to take the written test in Knoxville, one of the requirements to get their license.

“If we didn’t have her, this program wouldn’t be running the way it is,” Vescovi said. “She doesn’t do it for her own name. She does it because she truly cares.”

How Mary-Carter Eggert handled Alabama travel issues in March

Tennessee was supposed to fly home right after it beat Alabama in Tuscaloosa on March 2. Fog made that impossible.

Eggert went to work immediately. She got an extension on the hotel rooms the Vols had left hours prior. That was only the first step as March 3 featured more obstacles.

“She was just like, 'This is what it is and we are going to figure it out,' ” director of recruiting Lucas Campbell said. “She sat in the little lobby area of the hotel and just stayed there the whole day. You never felt like she was panicked or anything.”

The Vols wound up stuck in Tuscaloosa for almost 24 hours. There were problems getting a pilot and flight attendant back to Tuscaloosa the morning after. Eggert had to come up with plans on the fly to make sure players were fed, comfortable, and as unaffected as possible.

Eggert hammered her phone to figure out solutions at each turn with an unwavering demeanor.

Campbell has a wide-ranging view of Eggert’s work. He played at Tennessee, was the director of basketball operations at ETSU, and now is on staff with Eggert. He has seen her do it all and knows she can handle anything.

He said the most impressive thing she does is tackling anything players request without ever indicating it means extra work for her.

“They have no idea and she does a great job of not letting them know because I don’t think she wants them to think they can’t ask her something,” Campbell said.

Zakai Zeigler needed aid when his car got stuck in the snow

Zakai Zeigler got stuck in the snow when Knoxville was pummeled with a winter storm in January. He was at a loss, trapped just short of his apartment complex’s parking garage and helpless.

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“The first person I thought to call was MC,” Zeigler said.

He did that, calling Eggert for help. She sent someone to come to Zeigler’s aid. He declared no one else was answering his calls. He didn’t want to name names of those who didn’t assist him.

He was glad to state that Eggert was the saving grace who picked up and came through.

“She holds everything together,” Zeigler said.

How Mary-Carter Eggert got it done during the COVID-19 pandemic

Eggert was the boots-on-the-ground person in Tennessee’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020-21 season.

“She risked her life to be around this program during that time,” James said.

Eggert had to organize new plans at hotels with players having their own room instead of sharing. Film sessions and team meals had to be spaced out.

She took on the task of bringing meals to players’ rooms on campus and setting up ways for  players to spend time together. She stressed camaraderie-building moments within the restraints and rules of the pandemic season.

James was a sophomore then, getting a full look at how much Eggert meant to the program.

“I am indebted to her for all she has done for me,” James said.

Mary-Carter Eggert embodies all that Tennessee basketball is

Forward J.P. Estrella approached Eggert in the locker room at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

The freshman wanted to know what time Tennessee was heading to the court to practice. Eggert had the answer. She always has the answer.

“She is the reason the program runs every day,” Vescovi said.

Everyone around the Vols program will say that.

Eggert is the only one who would never say such things. The Vols hold the phrase INAM — it’s not about me — as a mantra. Eggert is the embodiment of it. Vescovi insisted she is the ultimate example of the principle the program seeks to live by every day. She believes she is the last person deserving attention. What she does daily is seen everywhere but she stays unseen while affecting every aspect of the program.

Because of Eggert, everything works from coach Barnes' schedule and obligations to what players are eating when they arrive at a hotel for a road game. She is holding and moving hundreds of strings at once and makes it seem simple.

“She just does everything," Zeigler said. “Without her, it wouldn’t be us.”

In a rare moment of down time, Eggert settled into a blue chair in the dining area of the Hotel Helvetia & Bristol Firenze in Florence, Italy, in August. She plugged in her international adaptor and charged her phone, staying ready to fill any needs that could come up.

Eggert was in control then. She knows no other way.

Mike Wilson covers University of Tennessee athletics. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ByMikeWilson. If you enjoy Mike’s coverage, consider a digital subscription that will allow you access to all of it.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Meet the superwoman who keeps Tennessee basketball running in March Madness