In honor of "Women’s History Month," DCTF shines the light on 10 women who are influential in the space of Texas High School Football.

These women span campus administration, athletic administration, state governing bodies, and the media, and all have a big part to play in the wonderful sport of Texas High School Football! Keep in mind they aren’t the only influential women out there and there’s so many more that are doing amazing things!

Get to know these 10 women (listed in alphabetical order):

Jennifer Frazier, Athletic Director, McKinney ISD: Frazier serves as the athletic director in McKinney ISD, which features three UIL high schools. Additionally, Frazier has served as the Region 3 Director in the Texas High School Athletic Directors Association.

Virginia Flores, Athletic Directory, Cy-Fair ISD: Flores, a state championship head coach in girls basketball, was named Cy-Fair ISD Athletic Director in May 2023 after serving in an assistant athletic director role in the district under now UIL Athletic Director Ray Zepeda. Flores leads the athletic department in Cy-Fair ISD, one of the state’s largest districts with a dozen UIL high schools.

Erin Hartigan, FanDuel Southwest: Hartigan is a longtime host and reporter who has covered everything from the NBA and MLB to college football and Texas high school football. She is the host for Fan Duel’s Friday Night Scoreboard and has worked the desk at multiple UIL Football State Championship games. Erin, who played college softball at West Texas A&M, began her career covering TXHSFB recruiting at Scout.com.

Chivonne Kiser, Assistant Athletic Director, Denton ISD: Kiser, a Southern University Hall of Famer in volleyball, came to Denton ISD after working as an athletic coordinator in Katy ISD. She works alongside legendary Denton ISD Athletic Director Joey Florence and has earned the respect of football coaches in the DFW area.

Brenda Marshall, Athletic Director, Corpus Christi ISD: Marshall is the long-time athletic director in Corpus Christi ISD, which is among the largest school districts in South Texas featuring six UIL high schools. She will be inducted into the Texas HS Athletic Directors Association Hall of Honor. Marshall has served as CCISD Athletic Director since 2007. She won the 2024 Jody Conradt award from the THSCA.

Grace McDowell, Assistant Athletic Director, University Interscholastic League: McDowell served as Frisco ISD Athletic Director from 2021-2023 and Assistant Athletic Director from 2014-2020. In June 2023 the UIL announced she would be named the assistant athletic director of the organization that governs all public school extra-curricular activities in Texas.  

Jeni Neatherlin, Superintendent, Hutto ISD: Neatherlin, a former coach who moved into administration, currently serves as the Hutto ISD Superintendent, a fast-growing district in the Austin area. She founded the search firm Solid Oak Leadership, which has since merged with TDL Sports to help schools find leaders, including athletic administration and head football coaches. Neatherlin has been a guest speaker at the THSCA Coaches Convention with an emphasis on working with young coaches and helping them grow in their careers.

Libby Pacheco, Chief Operating Officer, Texas High School Coaches Education Foundation: Pacheco, a former volleyball coach, is the COO for the Texas High School Coaches Education Foundation (THSCEF), which is an effort to develop funds from a range of donors in support of professional education programs that strengthen and reinforce professionalism for high school coaches throughout the state. Her work within the Texas High School Coaches Association (THSCA) keeps her at the forefront of Texas high school football.

Ashley Pickle, Executive Producer, Dave Campbell’s TexanLive: Pickle, who joined Dave Campbell’s Texas Football in 2019, is the Executive Producer of Dave Campbell’s Texas Football and Dave Campbell’s Texan Live. She is also the co-creator, host and executive producer of Dave Campbell's Texas Football Tonight, a 2.5 hour live gameday experience streamed every Friday night of the Texas high school football season on Texanlive.com in partnership with the University of North Texas. She is the co-host of the weekly live show “Women Talking Football” and the producer of the DCTF flagship podcast “Texas Football Today.” In her work with TexanLive, Pickle works with school districts and broadcast personnel setting up hundreds of streams of TXHSFB games each season. Additionally, Picke is the in-game host for the Goodyear Cotton Bowl. She is also a freelance color commentator for ESPN+ and analyst for Fan Duel Sports Southwest where she has worked the sidelines and desk for multiple UIL Football State Championship games.

Leslie Slovak, Athletic Director, Richardson ISD: Slovak is the first ever female athletic director in Richardson ISD, which consists of four UIL high schools in the DFW area. Slovak additionally serves as the president of the Texas High School Athletic Directors Association.