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Danielle Bartelstein is in her second season as the senior director of football operations for football head coach Justin Fuente. She oversees the daily administrative and operational duties within Virginia Tech’s football program, the handling of team travel, and other assorted responsibilities to ensure that the program functions smoothly and efficiently.

“She possesses all of the attributes that I wanted in this role,” Fuente said. “She’s extremely organized, works hard, is passionate about helping us win and understands the high standards we’ll have for our program. Most importantly, she always has the best interests of our student-athletes and their families at heart.”

Bartelstein is the only female in such a role among Power 5 schools and one of just four among all Football Bowl Subdivision schools. The Chicago, Illinois native came to Tech after working for a year as a senior advisor for Hance Scarborough, LLP, a prestigious law firm in Austin, Texas, where she assisted in the overall management for the former U.S. Congressman and Chancellor Emeritus at Texas Tech University. However, she possesses a lot of experience in working with football programs, having served in various operational capacities at Texas Tech, TCU, and Stanford.

Prior to working for Hance Scarborough, Bartelstein served as the director of football relations at Texas Tech from 2013-15. She was responsible for the day-to-day recruiting operations. This included coordinating all official and unofficial visits, developing seasonal recruiting campaigns, and evaluating and organizing all off-campus recruiting activities. She also assisted in the logistics of team travel and the operation of summer camps.

Before heading to Texas Tech, Bartelstein worked at TCU as the assistant director of football operations (2010-12) under head coach Gary Patterson. While at TCU, she worked with Fuente, who served as the quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator at the time. She helped coordinate team travel, organized and maintained the recruiting database, and served as the contact for high schools and junior colleges. She was also the liaison to pro scouts.

Her first stop in college football occurred at Stanford, where she worked as a volunteer for then-head coach Jim Harbaugh. She helped with summer camps and game-day logistics.

Bartelstein’s interest in sports came at a young age, as she learned about the game of football from her grandfather, Steve Reid, who was an All-America lineman at Northwestern during the 1930s and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1985. When she went to Illinois, where she received her undergraduate degree, she volunteered to help with the football program – her first step toward a career in the sport.

She graduated in 2006 and moved to California to start teaching. She missed football, and with her summers free, she approached the Stanford football program in hopes of finding an opportunity. Her work there and the relationships that she cultivated ultimately have led her to Virginia Tech.