Return to glory Head Football Coach Whitten seeks championships, renovated stadium
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B y H a r ry Batts o n
he winningest football coach in Tarleton’s NCAA era, Todd Whitten, returns to the Texans’ sideline this fall, with an eye on a conference championship and a smile about the plans to renovate Memorial Stadium. Whitten, who coached the Texans for six years during two previous stints in Stephenville (1996 and 2000-04), joins legendary coach W.J. Wisdom as the only coaches with three different tenures as Tarleton’s head football coach. “I’m excited to be back at Tarleton,” says Whitten, 51. “This is a very special place.”
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A 27-year veteran at the collegiate coaching level, Whitten has been a head coach for 11 years, including five seasons at Division I Sam Houston State. The Dallas native boasts a 70-51 NCAA coaching record. His Tarleton record of 45-23 gives him the second-most total wins in school history behind Wisdom (71) and the fourth-highest winning percentage (.662). In announcing Whitten’s appointment as head coach, Athletic Director Lonn Reisman extolled his “ability to win football games and reestablish our program as a contender—not just in the Lone Star Conference, but on the national level.” An innovator, the Stephen F. Austin University Athletics