Elizabeth Toth (left) poses with the ship’s wheel trophy after SIU beat Southeast Missouri earlier this season. Kristen Sayyalinh keeps an eye on the Leathernecks at home and hundreds of miles away at North Dakota State. (Photos courtesy GoLeathernecks.com and Elizabeth Toth)
By Barry Bottino
Every football team has unsung heroes. The reserve defensive lineman who blocks a kick. An offensive lineman who makes a key block. Or, a special teams player who provides valuable field position.
When Western Illinois hosts Southern Illinois at 3 p.m. Saturday in Macomb, an unsung hero from both programs will be there watching, cheering and, perhaps, worrying about what could go wrong.
WIU’s Kristen Sayyalinh and SIU’s Elizabeth Toth have as much to do with their team’s performances – according to those around the programs – as the players do. Both women serve as their school’s respective director of football operations. They determine when, where, what and how a team eats, sleeps, travels and practices, both at home and hundreds of miles away.
This is believed to be the first time that two Illinois FCS teams have females in the DFO role.
“Being a DFO requires a good work ethic,” said Sayyalinh, a Rockford native. “There are a lot of behind-the-scenes responsibilities that most people don’t think about when it comes to college football.”
When telling friends and family about the job, the descriptions are often all-encompassing.
“The first thing I say, even if they don’t know anything about football, is anything that you can think of that’s not coaching, I have a hand in it,” said Toth, who grew up in Cleveland.
And the job doesn’t begin and end with only the players in the program.
“It’s for recruits that are flying in,” Toth said. “It’s for people (SIU head coach Nick Hill) wants to interview. For everything, it’s anything you can think of.”
A path to football
Both Sayyalinh and Toth had unique journeys into football.
A golfer since age 7, Sayyalinh played collegiately at NAIA Kansas Wesleyan for head coach Hannah Hendrickson, the wife of then-KWU head football coach Myers Hendrickson.
In December 2021, Hendrickson was hired by WIU, where he played wide receiver, as head coach.
“Throughout my four years as a student-athlete, the Hendricksons were always kind and would help me with anything I needed, especially being far from home,” Sayyalinh said.
After graduation, Sayyalinh said that relationship continued.
“The athlete-coach relationship I had with Hannah turned into a networking opportunity for me,” she said.
When Hannah Hendrickson, who golfed at Wichita State, reached out about graduate school, Sayyalinh embraced the opportunity to apply for the role as WIU’s DFO, which is a graduate assistant position.
“Having the opportunity to come to Western and work with Coach Hendrickson has been a welcoming and smooth transition since I have already gotten to know the Hendricksons,” said Sayyalinh, who is studying biology for a potential career in wildlife rehabilitation or conservation.
Growing up in a single-parent household with her mother, Toth admits “we didn’t know a lick about football.”
But as soon as she stepped foot on campus at Eastern Michigan University as an undergraduate student, that changed.
She helped the football program via video work, in recruiting and as a member of the equipment staff. She also delved into operations under EMU’s Dylan Saccone.
“He was so enthusiastic about things,” Toth said. “He said if I was willing to learn, he was willing to teach. He knew everybody. He talked to everybody. That’s how I wanted to be.”
DFO appreciation
At SIU, Hill is quick to praise Toth, who has a degree in sport management from EMU and a master’s in education leadership from Quincy University, where she was the program’s first DFO.
“It’s definitely a position that oftentimes doesn’t get enough recognition and should, especially at our level,” he said of FCS football. “We don’t have a secretary here. We’ve got one person that does everything. We try to do a good job of letting her know how much she means to our program.”
While interviewing candidates for the job, Toth had some unique attributes that stood out.
“She has a love for football,” he said. “Shoot, she’s on the sidelines and she understands the game. She is locked in on the sidelines with everything that goes on.”
Toth also brought some on-field experience to SIU.
“She came from Quincy, where she was the GA and she actually signaled the defensive calls,” he said.
When a graduate assistant on the defensive staff left the program, it left Quincy one person short on the field.
“We’re sitting in a staff meeting and I said, ‘I want to do it,’” Toth said. “I’m the type of person that I don’t care if it’s my job. If we need help, I’m there.”
So, she began signalling calls in practice, sat in on defensive meetings and learned what all the signals meant before transitioning to a job on the field.
“That was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” she said.
Personal touch
For Hendrickson, having a female DFO is far from a symbolic hire.
“It’s really big for me personally, with my wife being a Division I athlete and a coach, and having a daughter myself,” he said. “Women belong in the game of football. Women in sport do an incredible job of being role models for young people.”
During his time at Kansas Wesleyan, the NAIA adopted women’s flag football as an “emerging” sport on campuses across the country. Hendrickson and his players regularly assisted the players and coaches as the program grew.
“That was a new thing at the time, and it went really well,” Hendrickson said.
Last season, 23 NAIA schools fielded women’s flag teams, including nine from the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.
“We want to grow the game of football, and not just through males,” he said.
Hendrickson was especially impressed when the officiating crew for WIU’s Oct. 14 home game against Missouri State included three female officials. “That was a great crew,” he said. “Women in sport is something that so many kids can look up to.”
When things go wrong
Moving a group of players, coaches, staff members and boosters can come with some hiccups.
When the Leathernecks played at Southern Utah earlier this season in Cedar City, Utah, the team originally was scheduled to fly into Las Vegas and bus 170 miles to SUU’s campus.
Before the season, a flight into Cedar City became available.
“The thing people don’t realize is that there are two charter bus companies on every flight,” Hendrickson said of the bus from Macomb to the airport in the Quad Cities, then a bus to take the team to its destination. “(Kristen) did a great job staying on top of that.”
For road games, meals are a major part of the planning. And all of that falls on Sayyalinh.
In its first seven games this season, WIU made flights to four road games.
Those trips often entail a breakfast box meal on the bus to the airport and catered sandwiches at the airport.
For a night game, Hendrickson said the team’s road itinerary often includes a team breakfast and a pregame meal, along with postgame food either on the way to the airport or on the plane.
“There’s so much that goes into that job that people don’t see,” said Hendrickson, who describes the role as a barrage of scheduling in the offseason then daily planning and itineraries in season.
“For an away game, people think you just go to the hotel and the meal is ready,” Hendrickson said with a laugh. “That’s less than 1% of what goes on. Kristen has done a phenomenal job.”
At SIU, the job’s all-encompassing nature can drain a DFO’s schedule.
“At times, during certain parts of the year, it gets pretty stressful and a lot of people need your time and energy,” Hill said. “When things aren’t going right – whether it’s a scholarship check or financial aid or classes or somebody needs something or a parent calls – they all go through Elizabeth. She’s got a great demeanor for it.”
Rewards and challenges
The challenges of a DFO’s job often can consume an entire day, and then some.
But there are plenty of rewards to be earned.
“The biggest challenge is definitely having to manage my time,” Sayyalinh said. “Being a full-time graduate student and a DFO requires a lot of time.”
Sayyalinh said she appreciates being a role model and hasn’t ruled out a potential career in football.
Being around the Leathernecks also is a familiar, and rewarding, experience.
“Once I got to college, it made me realize how much I loved being on a team,” she said. “Being able to pursue my degree while still being part of a team is a great opportunity.”
For Toth, who was part of the NFL Women’s Summit in 2021 and a year-long Tampa Bay Buccaneers Women’s Summit, adjusting to Division I football from D-II Quincy, has provided additional challenges.
“I try to do my best to think about all the things that could go wrong,” she said, especially when on road trips. “If we’re 10 hours away in Ohio, I can’t run back to my office and grab something.”
She also is learning the compliance side of athletics at SIU, which was not on her plate at Quincy. “You’re thrown into the fire, and you learn it,” she said. “I love having a hand in everything.”
When it comes to rewards, Toth’s answer was simple.
“Winning,” she said.
For her, that entails “everything I can do in my power to help the team get a good night’s sleep, to make sure their bellies are full. To watch how passionate they are about this sport, and seeing their emotions on the field, it’s awesome.”
This week’s WIU opponent
The Salukis are ranked No. 11 this week in the Stats Perform media poll and No. 12 in the American Football Coaches Association rankings. Their 17-10 loss in Carbondale last weekend to No. 1 South Dakota State was one of only two single-digit wins by the Jackrabbits this season. The other was a 20-16 SDSU win against unanimous No. 2 ranked Montana State. … Southern ranks second nationally in run defense, giving up only 80.1 yards a game. The defense also ranks third in sacks per game (3.29) and are led by ultra-talented safety P.J. Jules, who leads the team in tackles (64), tackles for loss (9.5) and pass breakups (seven). … The offense is led by newly crowned all-time school passing yardage leader Nic Baker, who is completing 68.1% of his passes. In its two losses, the Salukis have averaged 6.5 points a game, while piling up nearly 30 points a game in its five wins.
Kickoff: 3 p.m.; TV: ESPN-Plus; Radio: Q981FM.com.
Key matchup to watch
WIU secondary vs. SIU wide receivers: On paper, this looks like a great area of concern for the Leathernecks, who rank last in the MVFC in passing yards allowed per game (247.3) and yards per pass play (10.1) and second-lowest in pass TDs allowed (15). On the other hand, SIU ranks third in passing yards gained per game (230) and boasts two of the top pass catchers in the league in Vinson Davis (32 catches, 405 yards, 1 TD) and Izaiah Hartrup (29 catches, 352 yards, three TDs).
What’s at stake?
With a win, Western can snap its current 20-game losing streak — the longest in school history — and also extend its lead in all-time series. WIU leads the rivalry, 36-26-4.
Quick hits
Despite playing one less game than others this season, WIU senior safety Bradyn Smith leads the Missouri Valley and ranks 14th nationally with 10.3 tackles per game. … The Western passing game has receiveda big boost from new starter Matt Morrissey. He ranks third in the conference with 220.3 passing yards a game and has thrown the fourth-most TD passes (10) in the league. His favorite targets are wide receivers Jaylin Jackson (36 catches, 378 yards, three TDs) and Jay Parker (34, 301, 2). … Western’s pass rush has struggled to get to the quarterback this season, producing only five sacks, the lowest total among all MVFC teams.
Barry Botino is a co-founder of Prairie State Pigskin and a 19-year veteran of three Illinois newspapers. He has covered college athletics since 1995.
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