Mark Ivey, a long-time assistant at Appalachian State, was named defensive line coach at the University of Louisville, head coach Scott Satterfield announced.

Before joining the Louisville staff, Ivey spent seven seasons with the Mountaineers, coaching the outside linebackers and the defensive line.

Ivey was promoted to interim head coach following Satterfield’s departure to Louisville, guiding the Mountaineers to a 45-13 win over Middle Tennessee in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

In guiding Appalachian State to a win in the first Sun Belt Championship Game and picking up a bowl win, Ivey worked with a defensive line that included All-Sun Belt first-team pick MyQuon Stout, who recorded 21 tackles. Ivey’s coaching development helped three walk-ons become regular contributors as part of a nine-man rotation. 

Before the 2018 season, Ivey was promoted to assistant head coach to go along with his duties as the defensive line coach.

Assisting on the defensive side of the football, Appalachian State’s defense ranked 17th nationally in 2017 with 38 sacks.

In his first three seasons with the Mountaineers, Ivey’s linemen combined for more than 52.5 sacks and 109 tackles for loss for a defense that led the ctonference in total defense and scoring defense in consecutive campaigns. In 2016, Appalachian State allowed the fewest points in conference play of any FBS team, finishing in the Top 10 nationally in scoring defense, and the top 20 in both total defense and rushing defense.  

Under Ivey’s guidance, Ronald Blair, who was named the Sun Belt’s Defensive Student-Athlete of the Year, ranked first in the Sun Belt for tackles for loss with 19 and second in sacks with seven. Blair was selected in the fifth round, with the 142nd pick in the NFL Draft, by the San Francisco 49ers.

In 2013, three of Ivey’s outside linebackers ranked among Appalachian State’s top eight in tackles. Despite not starting a game as a true freshman, Kennan Gilchrist ranked fourth on the team and among the Southern Conference’s top 40 with 59 stops, en route to earning freshman all-conference honors.

Serving as the special-teams coordinator from 2012-13, Ivey oversaw a unit that led the SoCon with a gaudy 40.6-yard net punting average. Punter Bentlee Critcher became only the second true freshman in school history to earn NCAA Division I FCS all-America recognition after ranking second among all FCS punters with a 45.9-yard punting average.

The 2012 season saw the Mountaineers rank second in NCAA Division I FCS with a 40.8-yard net punting average on the strength of 45.9 yards per punt by all-American Sam Martin.

Before returning to Appalachian State in 2012, Ivey spent 16 years as a successful high school coach in Florida, including 10 seasons as head coach at Cypress Lake in Fort Myers (2002-06) and Barron Collier in Naples (2007-11). In five seasons at Barron Collier, he led the Cougars to a 36-19 overall record and state playoff appearances all five years. BCHS won three-straight district championships from 2007-09, doubling the number of district titles that the school had claimed in its first 29 years of existence.

As a player, Ivey was a linebacker and defensive lineman at Appalachian State from 1991-95. After redshirting as a true freshman in 1991, Ivey recorded 166 tackles in 47 games from 1992-95.

As a senior, he started 12 games and tallied 66 tackles, four sacks and eight tackles for loss to help lead the Mountaineers to an 11-0 record and the 1995 Southern Conference championship. In all, he started 28 games at defensive tackle and was a part of four NCAA Division I-AA playoff teams during his collegiate career.

A native of Collinsville, Va., Ivey was an all-district and all-region gridiron performer at Martinsville. He made 230 tackles over his final two prep seasons and was also a two-time district champion in wrestling and an all-district and all-region honoree in baseball.

Ivey graduated from Appalachian State in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in industrial technology. Ivey and his wife, Rosa, have three daughters: Britini, Maggie and Gabriella.

IVEY AT A GLANCE
Coaching Experience
1996:
 Port Charlotte (Fla.) H.S. (assistant coach)
1997: Cape Coral (Fla.) H.S. (assistant coach)
1998-2001: Gulf Coast (Fla.) H.S. (assistant coach)
2002-06: Cypress Lakes (Fla.) H.S. (head coach)
2007-11: Barron Collier (Fla.) H.S. (head coach)
2012-13: Appalachian State (outside linebackers/special teams)
2014-17: Appalachian State (defensive line)
2018: Appalachian State (assistant head coach/defensive line)
2018 (Dec. 4): Appalachian State (interim head coach/defensive line)

Playing Experience
1991-95:
 Appalachian State (LB/DL)

Alma Mater: Appalachian State, 1996
Hometown: Collinsville, Va.
Birthdate: July 11, 1973
Wife: Rosa (Drawdy)
Daughters: Britini, Maggie and Gabriella

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@UofLSheriff50. Louisville native, University of Louisville Business School Grad c/o 2004. Co-Founder of TheCrunchZone.com

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