Most of Katie Patton’s earliest memories are set to the soundtrack of college football : the shriek of whistles piercing the air, the crack of shoulder pads colliding, her father’s booming voice directing his players as she climbed on sleds like they were jungle gyms.

While her father coached — making stops at Northwestern, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh, Eastern Michigan, Indiana, and Miami (Ohio) — Patton observed from the sideline. She cheered on her brother while he played at Northern Illinois before he became a coach, too.

Then she decided it was her turn.

Just 24 years old, Patton became one of the highest-ranking women in Division 1 college football when she was promoted in April to be Harvard’s director of football operations. She’s the youngest DFO in Division 1, Harvard’s first fema

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