(ST. GEORGE. UT - March 28. 2006) Dixie State College's football team along with the rest of the college's athletic programs - will make its debut at the NCAA Division II level this upcoming season. and the college has identified the new head football coach that will help usher in that new era. The college's athletic director Dexter Irvin today announced Ron Haun. a Dixie alumnus. as its new head football coach. Coach Haun was formally introduced to college's booster club today via telephone at the club's weekly luncheon. Most recently. Haun was the offensive coordinator at Weber State during the 2005 season. He is perhaps best known for the two decades he spent as the head football coach at the former Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho) in Rexburg. Idaho. "I'm really excited to be named head coach of Dixie State College." said Coach Haun. "It's a job I've coveted ever since I attended Dixie. I have Dixie blood in me. and that's hard to get rid of. I'm thrilled to death. We have a lot of friends in the area and acquaintances and we're looking forward to renewing those acquaintances and becoming an active part of the community. "I'm also looking forward to the young men we're going to be coaching." Haun continued. "We're going in a different direction now as we prepare for the NCAA. We're going to go out and actively recruit the best young men that we can get our hands on that people will be proud of. We will be well coached. and well trained. and our athletes will be contributing members of the community. I can't wait to get started." Between 1982 and 2001. Haun led Ricks College to a record of 178-40-2. 17 post-season bowl appearances. eight league championships including four in the Western States Football League (of which Dixie State has been a part). and two undefeated seasons in 1992 and 1994. On four separate occasions during that time. Ricks finished the season as the National Junior College runner-up. He was the winningest coach in the NJCAA during his tenure with Ricks. with a winning percentage of 82 percent. Coach Haun was inducted into the NJCAA Football Hall of Fame in 2002. Academically. his teams at Ricks consistently achieved a GPA of 3.0 or higher and were National Academic Football Champions in 1995 and from 1997-2001. Over 40 of his players were named Academic All-Americans. "Coach Haun brings the entire package." said Dixie State athletic director Dexter Irvin. "We're very. very excited to have him part of the Dixie family again. He's a great choice to lead our football team into the NCAA. and he is going to be a great part of our athletic program. We have a wonderful staff here. and he's going to be a great compliment to our athletic program and make us all better." Haun has continued teaching physical education classes at Brigham Young University-Idaho since the institution dropped its athletics program in 2001. He began his coaching career as an assistant at Skyline High School in Salt Lake City (1967-1975). He was later head coach at Murray High School in Salt Lake (1975-1979) where he won two state championships. He also worked as Ricks College's offensive coordinator from 1979-1982. He attended Dixie College in 1964 where he was quarterback and team captain. He completed his career as a student-athlete at Weber. where he played quarterback and was team captain as well. Coach Haun made it a point to reference his extensive network of connections within the state of Utah and how that will benefit recruiting efforts. Many of his former players are now coaches at varying high school and college levels in Utah. and he expects to draw on those resources. "We have to go after the Utah kids. and that's where I think I have an advantage." Haun continued. "I've recruited Utah kids for 20 years. We'll have a broad net. but I think our base will be Utah. I'm just so high on Utah football. There are just so many good football players in Utah that we'd be crazy not to use that as our base and use our contacts and go out there and get those kids to St. George." He also drew a comparison between Dixie State and Boise State. which went through a similar transition from the JUCO ranks to the NCAA. "(Boise State) is going to be our model. and that's what I envision." Haun stated. "Boise State made a great transition from a junior college to a powerful NCAA program. and they always won along the way. It's going to take a while. and it's at a different level. but Dixie has always won. and I'm going to uphold that tradition." Haun graduated with a bachelor's degree in education in 1966 from Weber State. He later earned a master's degree in education from Brigham Young University. He and his wife. Beverly. have two children. Trent and Rebecca. (Layton. UT/Northridge) #