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Mind you, Denny’s is no ordinary story. Rather, it’s one filled with calculated choices. His decision to attend SFSU ultimately led to a successful career as a computer programmer who, along with his business partner, built, grew, and sold their company. Denny will be the first to tell you that he wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. In fact, he had doubts that he would even be successful in college and beyond. That success, though, is well proven, and Denny is happy to share the fruits of that success by lending a helping hand to students in need.

Despite his claim that he was not a great student, Denny applied to and was accepted at San Jose State, Fresno State, and SF State. “I picked San Francisco. That’s where the Giants and Niners were and that’s where you could see a good Broadway play,” he says with a laugh.

Turned out to be a great decision. Focusing his studies on business and inspired by his success in classes in Statistics and Programming, Denny graduated with a degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Quantitative Management. From SFSU, Denny was off to his Army stint where he served as editor of the base newspaper in Alaska. He returned to California and was hired as a salesman for Univac as business computing gained wider acceptance.

Sales, however, were not Denny’s strength. Discouraged, he was about to quit Univac, but his manager saw something in him that stood out and Denny was moved over to support businesses that bought or leased Univac computers. This gave Denny the chance to develop his programming skills to the point where he was teaching companies with computers how to program them to maximize their efficiency. Soon, however, the appeal of travelling across Europe captured his attention, so Denny gave up his Univac job.

After living in a van as he traversed through London, Amsterdam, France, Germany, Spain, and Morocco, Denny returned to San Francisco and connected with an SFSU fraternity brother, Tom Luther (no relation), and tended bar in his restaurant a few nights a week. In the upper floors of the building that housed the restaurant, Denny’s future business partner and former IBM salesman Jack Baird was making a living as a computer programming consultant, focusing on getting doctors, dentists, medical groups, and hospitals to sign up for medical and dental billing services. The benefit for the businesses was that with the computerized billing systems, they would get paid in just a week instead of the traditional 30 to 45 days.

Originally from Florida, Keith moved to California in 1989 and began his academic journey at Skyline College before transferring to SF State. It was a decision shaped by both opportunity and family: his brother was wrestling at Skyline, and transferring to SF State allowed Keith to continue his education while staying locally connected to his family. “It was the right choice, the right time, and a good opportunity for me,” Keith reflects. 

Keith credits his time at SF State with teaching him invaluable lessons about perseverance and purpose, particularly through the wrestling program led by the legendary Coach Lars Jensen. The program’s emphasis on supporting first-generation students and reflecting the Bay Area’s diversity resonated deeply with Keith, who saw the wrestling team as a microcosm of SF State’s mission and its commitment to equity and opportunity.

When the wrestling program faced potential cuts, it was Coach Jensen’s leadership and the team’s impact that preserved it. “Coach Jensen connected the dots very effectively. He tied the mission of the University — supporting first-generation college students and students from all walks of life — in a very meaningful way to our roster. We resembled that mission,” Keith recalls. 

The wrestling program proved indispensable because its athletes represented what SF State stood for — access to education and opportunity for all students. “That really stuck with me,” Keith says, “and it honestly has been profound in my career.” An outcry from SF State alumni ultimately helped save the program.

This experience instilled in Keith a commitment to representing value and contributing to the greater good — principles that have guided his multifaceted career across athletics, enrollment management, marketing, and operations. “Everything I do is about proving return on investment,” Keith says, “and demonstrating the value that anything we're doing brings to the institution.”

“Everything I do is about proving return on investment.” 
—Keith Spataro (B.A., Kinesiology/Physical Education, ’95)

Philanthropy is a natural extension of Keith’s gratitude for the opportunities he received. Through the Spataro Alumni Wrestling Scholarship, he and his wife aim to support future generations of Gators. “We’ve been fortunate that we've been able to help change some students’ lives,” Keith shares. Connecting with scholarship awardees has been deeply rewarding for them both: “It’s always meaningful when you can put a face and name to your giving.”

The tight-knit wrestling community also inspires Keith’s giving. He remains thankful for the sport that shaped his life, crediting its “do it yourself” nature with honing his self-reliance and endurance. But wrestling also taught him the value of a supportive community that lifts one another toward success. Keith fondly recalls the potluck dinners Coach Jensen organized after student-alumni matches, where connections flourished and donations flowed. He was astonished when alumni handed Coach Jensen checks for the wrestling program in testament to their shared dedication to the team. “We couldn’t survive or be successful without that [money],” Keith realized at the time. Witnessing that generosity left a lasting impression and cemented his commitment: “I knew that when I had the capacity, I needed to do the same thing.”

“We couldn’t survive or be successful without that [money]. I knew that when I had the capacity, I needed to do the same thing.” 
—Keith Spataro (B.A., Kinesiology/Physical Education, ’95)

Keith vividly describes wrestling as a sport that demands extraordinary physical and mental toughness. Wrestlers are pushed to extremes — through weight cuts, relentless training, and physical exhaustion — while required to face their opponent, alone, in the center of the mat. It is a grueling test of both body and mind, where success depends entirely on individual effort. Yet what stands out most to Keith is the respect and camaraderie amongst teammates. Looking across the mat and seeing a teammate enduring the same challenges creates a distinctive bond, one forged through shared struggle and perseverance. “In wrestling, we’re just trying to survive,” Keith reflects, “but we need each other to do that.”