Recognizing Women in Sports: Texas State’s first female Football Director of Operations

Amira Van Leeuwen | Staff Reporter

Originally from Lansdale, Pennsylvania, Kelly Keresztury came from a sports-oriented family, but unlike her family, she didn’t quite get that athletic gene. 

“In the fall up North, we played field hockey, and it just didn’t really take,” Keresztury said.

She played for about a year and then decided she wanted to pursue something else.

Keresztury began her athletic career working as a student equipment manager at North Penn High School. After she graduated, she attended West Virginia University, where she worked as a student equipment manager for the Mountaineers and then became a graduate assistant within the athletic department.

“I just really liked to be behind the scenes,” Keresztury said.

She also worked at Rice University for several years selling athletic apparel for a company called Gamewear. She “got out of the game” for a while until Texas State University gave her a call. Keresztury had just been married and knew some of the coaches at Texas State. They said they needed a Director of Football Operations, and Keresztury got onboard.

Kerestzury said working as Texas State’s Director of Football Operations was great and everything she had hoped for.

She worked under Former Texas State Head Football Coach Dennis Franchione with Associate Athletics Director of Compliance Kelsey Solis, Executive Senior Associate Athletics Director of Development and Administration Travis Comer and current Director of Athletics Don Coryell.

Now, Kerestzury works as the Assistant Athletic Director for New Braunfels ISD.

Kerestzury said it started off as a joke between her and New Braunfels Athletic Director Jim Streety.

“I was like, would there be, especially with New Braunfels eventually splitting into two high schools, would there ever be an opportunity for me, you know, in a sense to move up,” Kerestzury said.

Kerestzury said there was a bit of stalling from New Braunfels, but it was understandable.

“We’re one high school right now with two middle schools, there doesn’t need to be an assistant AD necessarily,” Kerestzury said. But New Braunfels Superintendent Dr. Cade Smith said he thought they should get the ball rolling.

After they opened the position up, Kerestzury applied and a couple of weeks later found out she got the job.

“I’m really grateful because I didn’t come from the coaching background. I’m coming more from on the sideline and I think that’s pretty cool,” Kerestzury said.

Kerestzury said her favorite part of her job is game day.

Working in a predominantly male field, Kerestzury said she thinks it’s important to focus on representing who you work with.

“Coach Spavital is gonna go out and play football,” Kerestzury said. “He’s not really too worried about if the gates at Gate One open on time, he’s not going to be worried about if the popcorn ran out of popcorn, and that’s where I’ve always kind of strived to make him or other coaches look good whether it’s male or female,” Kerestzury said.

Despite being so successful in her career, Kerestzury also says she’s experienced inequities at her jobs, especially during her time as an equipment manager.

“I can tell you, there was time that I was low-balled for jobs that I know if I were a male, I would have been offered, you know, X, Y and Z. I had turned down opportunities or passed up on opportunities because I knew I was being low-balled,” Keresztury said.

She also recalls traveling with Texas State and Rice and being mistaken for the cheer coach.

Keresztury said she defends Title IX and attributes it to one of the reasons she has been successful in her career.

Title IX is a federal law passed in 1972, that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or education program that receives funding from the federal government. 

“Title IX is making sure that I have the same opportunity as a man, and I’m here because of Title Nine. In the role that I play, because of the opportunities that have presented themselves. And I’m very much grateful, but the inequalities, are, unfortunately, plenty, and I can tell you that, unfortunately, they still exist,” Keresztury said.”

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