HOUSTON – The start-up Houston Baptist University football program has tabbed Houston native Shannon Kelley as an offensive assistant coach, Huskies head coach Vic Shealy announced Friday. Shealy will wait until his staff is closer to completion to name coaches to specific positions.
 
“Shannon is a product of Houston high school football and has gone on to do great things with his life,” Shealy said. “This is a great opportunity for our program to have him come back to Houston, where he will not only be effective on the field, but also in recruiting and within in the community.
 
“He is bright, has great enthusiasm and energy, has a very professional demeanor and is an excellent communicator. It didn't take long in my time with him to realize he's a special guy and how effective he will be in his relationships with high school coaches and keeping Houston players at home.”
 
After several years as a successful partner in an investment firm and real estate developer in Houston, Kelley chased his dream of becoming a college football coach and landed as the quarterbacks coach at Fairmont State University, in his wife's hometown of Fairmont, W.Va. He coached the Fighting Falcons during the 2009 and 2010 seasons, while also spearheading fundraising efforts for the athletic department. Quarterback Logan Moore threw for 1,874 yards and 18 touchdowns, while rushing for 352 yards and five touchdowns in 2010 to earn West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Freshman of the Year honors.
 
Kelley most recently coached at California (Pa.) University, where he was the director of athletic fund raising and the running backs coach. Last season, junior running back Lamont Smith earned all-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division honors for the Vulcans, rushing for 1,113 yards and five touchdowns and catching 33 passes for 275 yards and three touchdowns.
 
Kelley played football at the University of Texas from 1984-88, lettering as a junior and senior. The Longhorns made three bowl appearances during his career, including a victory in the Blue Bonnet Bowl over Pitt. He graduated from Texas in 1989 with a degree in communications, then earned a master's degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas in Houston.
 
Kelley and his wife are the proud parents of four daughters.