STEPHENVILLE ? Tarleton defensive line coach and special teams coordinator Todd Ivicic has resigned to take the defensive coordinator job at Incarnate Word.

Ivicic, who has coached at Tarleton the last three seasons and helped the Texans to a 22-9 record during his tenure, will help jumpstart the new football program at UIW.

The Cardinals are set to bring in their first recruiting class in the spring, and all new recruits will be redshirted the 2008-09 season with the first football games in the history of Incarnate Word set to kickoff in the fall of 2009.

“Todd has done a really good job for us on the defensive line and on special teams,” said Tarleton head coach Sam McElroy. “He also did a good job recruiting for us in central Texas. This is an exciting opportunity for Todd, and he wants to be a defensive coordinator. We wish him the best, and we hope he is very successful.”

Ivicic finished his third season as an assistant coach of the Tarleton Texans. He closed his second year coaching the defensive line after spending his first year as the offensive line coach.

Under the direction of Ivicic (pronounced EYE - vah- check), the Texan offensive line has made way for several good running backs. In 2005, the line blocked for one of the best running backs in the country last season in Derrick Ross. Ross led the Lone Star Conference with 1,512 yards gained in 2005, and the offense averaged 383.4 yards per game. Tarleton gained 1913 yards passing and 1921 yards rushing in 2005 to finish sixth in the LSC in total offense.

In 2006, the Texan defensive line was instrumental in holding opponents to a league-low 90.5 yards per game on the ground. He also coached LSC South Division Defensive Lineman of the Year Tywain Myles.

In 2007, Ivicic again coached all-conference performer Myles and helped the Texans to the second highest sack totals of the season. The Texan special teams were No. 1 in the Lone Star Conference in kickoff returns, No. 1 in punting and No. 3 in punt returns.

Prior to his stint at Tarleton, Ivicic completed six seasons at Stephen F. Austin and 14 seasons as a collegiate coach. Ivicic joined the SFA staff in January, 1999. In 2003, he coached three of four starters along the defensive front who earned All-Southland Conference honors. He also coached the special teams, who blocked eight kicks on the year. His defensive front produced SFA's only first team All-SLC pick in 2004 and added six more blocked kicks.

Prior to his time at SFA, Ivicic was the defensive line and special teams coach at Sam Houston State from 1995-98. He was the defensive line coach at Blinn Junior College in 1993-94 and was a graduate assistant at SHSU in 1991-92. He coached SHSU in the 1991 Division I-AA playoffs and coached Blinn Junior College in the Mineral Water Bowl in 1993.

Ivicic played defensive end for the Bearkats in 1989 and 1990 after transferring to SHSU from Blinn Junior College. He was a linebacker at Blinn in 1988 after playing at Trinity Valley Community College in 1987 as a defensive back. He was a three-time regional qualifier in track in high school and was named All-Central Texas as a defensive back in 1985. Ivicic was a defensive back and a runningback in high school.

The Texan coach received a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from SHSU in 1991 and a master's degree in kinesiology from SHSU in 1993. Ivicic is a 1986 graduate of Taylor High School.