Ballinger ISD has hired Ty Lang to replace head football coach and athletic director Chuck Lipsey.
The hire was approved Monday night in a meeting of the Ballinger board of trustees.
Lang, whose most recent stint was eight years at Decatur, has coached for two programs that produced state semifinal seasons.
Lang replaces a coach – Lipsey – who retired in February after 21 years of head coaching.
Lipsey led the Bearcats to a 6-5 record last year and a first-round playoff upset of district champion Crane. He was 34-22 in five years at Ballinger. In 2020, he led the Bearcats to their winningest season in 25 years with a 10-2 mark.
The new Ballinger coach is no stranger to big playoff games.
In 2010, Lang coached under Bob Shipley at Brownwood. The Lions finished 14-1 and won four playoff games that year to get to the 3A state semifinals.
Lang coached under Mike Fuller at Decatur in 2018 when the Eagles finished in fourth place in district play but won four playoff games to make it to the 4A Division I state semis.
Lang was named offensive coordinator at Decatur in 2019 and the Class 4A Division I Eagles enjoyed back-to-back district championships and third-round playoff appearances in 2019 and 2020.
Fuller resigned from Decatur after seven seasons as head coach and Lang was named interim in June of 2021, with the district opting not to go ahead with naming a permanent replacement until after the season was over, according to a Fort Worth Star-Telegram report.
The Eagles finished with a 4-7 record and were fourth in district play, falling in the first round of the playoffs.
Lang is a 1999 graduate of Graham High School and earned his bachelor’s and masters degrees from Hardin-Simmons University. He has also coached at Colleyville Heritage.
He is married to Jackie, who is a teacher at Decatur, and they have two children.
Lang is the son of Brett Lang, who is the San Angelo and Concho Valley representative for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. The elder Lang is a retired high school football coach who was inducted into the McMurry University Hall of Honor in 1980.
In other coaching hires Monday, Ballinger hired Kinzee Willis to coach volleyball.
Willis was hired by Ballinger last year to replace Missy Vaughn as the head softball coach.
Willis assisted with volleyball this past season but was given the opportunity to take over the Lady Bearcats fledgling volleyball program, which was begun at the junior high level this year. The Lady Cats will compete at the junior varsity level next year.
Willis, an Abilene High graduate who assisted in both sports at Abilene High before taking over at Ballinger, is in her sixth year of coaching. The Hardin-Simmons graduate who earned her masters at Lamar is married and the couple has three children.
This is a developing story and will be updated
Amy McDaniel is a multimedia sports journalist. Send news tips to amy.mcdaniel@gosanangelo.com. Consider supporting West Texas journalism with a subscription to GoSanAngelo.com.