Kristan Kelly

Kristan Kelly joins Fortify College Athletics as a consultant, bringing over 10 years of experience in NCAA Division I Compliance. Before joining Fortify, Kelly served as the Senior Associate Athletics Director for Compliance at San Jose State University since August 2021. In this role, she was part of the executive leadership team, overseeing Athletic Compliance and Student-Athlete Services, and serving as the sport supervisor for Men’s Basketball, Women’s Soccer, and Men’s & Women’s Cross Country and Track & Field programs.

Prior to her time at San Jose State, Kelly spent seven years at the University of Memphis (2014-21), where she initially served as the lead compliance officer for football and men’s basketball. In 2015, she was promoted to Assistant AD for Compliance, where she led the Memphis Compliance office and developed policies and procedures to ensure that institutional rules aligned with NCAA and conference regulations.

Kelly's career in compliance began at Saint Louis University, where she spent two seasons (2012-14) as the compliance coordinator. In this role, she provided rules interpretations for coaches, student-athletes, and staff, and worked closely with the NCAA and the Atlantic-10 to educate the department on rules and regulations. She also assisted with outreach to former student-athletes for degree completion opportunities.

Kelly holds a Juris Doctorate from the University of Missouri School of Law, earned in 2009, and a bachelor’s degree in Investigative and Medical Sciences from Saint Louis University, completed in 2006.