The Texan football team has inarguably had a rocky season this fall. Between a 3-7 overall record and the resignation of head coach Cary Fowler, Athletic Director Lonn Reisman faced high expectations of both fans and players when he set out to find a new head coach for the Tarleton State University team.

“There were a lot of applicants for this job,” said Reisman at Friday’s press conference announcing the new coach. “This is an outstanding job in the state of Texas and Tarleton State University. I went through all 90 plus apps for this job, and as I went through each of those apps, one man kept coming to the forefront of my mind. It is the winningest coach of this university, as a four-year university – Todd Whitten.”

Whitten sat beside Tarleton President Dr. F. Dominic Dottavio and Reisman at the press conference, maintaining an air of humble silence as the men bragged on his many accomplishments as a football coach.

“When coach [Reisman] and I started down the path of filling this position, we had a couple of criteria in mind,” said Dottavio during his opening remarks. “We wanted somebody who ideally had head coaching experience, who knew the state of Texas, knew the recruiting base, knew the Division I coaches, knew the Division II coaches… and finally, we wanted somebody who is a proven winner. We’re bringing back somebody who has all those qualities in Todd Whitten.”

Whitten addressed the crowd, introducing his family (including his son, Tate Whitten, who will be a senior on the team next season). He then presented his goals for the team.

“Four things I want to talk about,” said Whitten, “four things are gonna happen. Number one, these boys are gonna be in school. That’s non-negotiable – they’re going to graduate. Second thing, we’re gonna win. Somehow, some way, we’re gonna find a way to win on Saturdays… Next, and this is very important to me – we’re gonna have fun. Football’s a game, and if something funny happens, it’s okay to laugh. I’m gonna set this program up in a way that you guys [addressing players present for the conference] enjoy going out to that field house and standing on that turf. And the last thing – it’s one of our core values – I want you guys to learn how to give things back, and to do things for others. Service, that’s one of our core values.”

Whitten has served as head football coach at Tarleton twice before, in 1996 and from 2000-2004, making him the second coach in Tarleton history to return for a third run (W. J. Wisdom served three times as well). The four-time LSC Coach of the Year winner also has a 70-51 overall record as an NCAA head coach and 11 seasons as a head coach under his belt. His record at Tarleton is 45-23 (two wins behind Wisdom’s 45) and 26-8 at Memorial Stadium, giving him the fourth-highest win percentage in Tarleton head coaching history.

“We think he is the right man, at the right time, to come back to a place that he and his family call home,” said Dottavio.

Whitten statistics courtesy of Tarleton Athletics.