Chris Ault

Head Coach

26th Season

Nevada, 1968 and 1971

As the coach enters his 26th season guiding the Wolf Pack program, one that he grew from the Division II level to a current streak of five-straight FBS bowl appearances, this year also marks Ault’s 39th year at the university. His experience at Nevada began as a student-athlete when he starred at quarterback in the 1960s and continued with his unparalleled success as a coach and athletics director.
Ault will leave many legacies at the University of Nevada and his impact on the game has been immense, perhaps no more noticeably so than he creation and development of the Pistol offense. The offense has become one of top attacks in the nation, especially on the ground as Nevada led the nation in rushing in 2009 (by nearly 50 yards per game). The Wolf Pack became the first school in the history of college football to have three players rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season.
This from a coach who made his mark in the 1990s with a dazzling and record-breaking aerial attack. To put it in perspective, consider this: In NCAA recorded history (the NCAA record book dates back to 1937), Chris Ault is the only coach ever to have his team lead the nation in passing offense (1995) and rushing offense (2009).
In 2009, Ault also hit a major milestone in his career as career victory No. 200 was achieved (37-14 at home at Mackay Stadium over Louisiana Tech). He was the 54th coach in NCAA history (all divisions) to win 200 games in a career and just the 30th coach to win 200 games at one school. Ault notched his 200th victory in the 11th-fewest amount of games (294), behind, Joe Paterno, Tom Osborne, Bo Schembechler, Woody Hayes, Jim Tressel, Pop Warner, LaVell Edwards, Bobby Bowden, Bear Bryant and Vince Dooley and tied with Amos Alonzo Stagg.
In terms of major college coaches, only 10 coaches have coached at one school for longer than Ault’s 25 years at Nevada. And when you whittle that list down to active coaches, only Joe Paterno has been coaching at Penn State for longer than Ault has been roaming the sidelines for Nevada.
Ault enters his 26th season ranked sixth among active FBS coaches in victories with an all-time ledger of 206-96-1. He has won eight conference titles in his career and taken the Wolf Pack to 13 postseason appearances, including seven bowl appearances.
When he was asked to return to the sidelines for the 2004 season, Ault made a bold promise – that winning at Mackay Stadium was paramount and once that was established, the Wolf Pack could move toward winning championships and bowl games. And the coach, one of just two active coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame, has delivered.
In 2005, Ault directed Nevada to a 9-3 overall record, the team's best in nine years. The Wolf Pack tied for first in the WAC with a 7-1 league mark, securing Ault's eighth conference crown as a head coach with a thrilling, nationally televised victory over then 16th-ranked Fresno State. The team then capped off its outstanding season with a 49-48 overtime victory over Central Florida in the 2005 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl.
For his efforts, Ault was named the WAC Coach of the Year by his peers, his sixth conference coach-of-the-year accolade. He also coached 10 all-conference honorees, the second-most by any WAC member in 2005, including Offensive Player of the Year B.J. Mitchell.
In 2006, Ault directed Nevada to an 8-5 overall record, the program's second straight winning season. He guided the team to a 5-3 record in the WAC and the school's second straight bowl appearance, a narrow 21-20 loss to the University of Miami in the MPC Computers Bowl in Boise, Idaho. Seven of his players received All-WAC postseason honors.
The 2007 season was capped by a program-record third straight bowl appearance. The year produced the Western Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year Colin Kaepernick and Ault’s Pistol offense again led the conference in rushing.
And the offseason brought another cherished honor to the Ault trophy case. In the spring of 2008, the San Bernardino County Chapter of the National Football Federation named the annual quarterback of the year award as the “Chris Ault Quarterback Player of the Year Award.”
“Ault's accolades go beyond the honor of being named for a quarterback award,” said Jeffrey Johnston, a chapter official. “What went into the decision was he was not only a great quarterback in his day but also the contributions he continues to make to the game of football. He's had a great career as a coach, and he has influenced the lives of countless players.”
The 2008 season furthered Ault’s reputation as one of the great offensive minds in college football as another season’s worth of evolution of the Pistol offense gave the Pack the WAC Player of the Year in Kaepernick and the rushing champion (Vai Taua) for the third time in four seasons.
Now in his seventh season of his third stint at the helm of his alma mater, Ault has turned the corner in restoring championship-caliber football to the University of Nevada. With five straight bowl appearances in tow and several solid recruiting classes in the fold, excitement surrounds Ault and the Wolf Pack as it prepares for another run at the conference championship and bowl bid in 2010.
The winningest coach in school history, Ault has the distinction of being the first coach in the nation to lead a team to a bowl berth in its first year as an NCAA I-A (now FBS) program. In 1992, Ault guided the Wolf Pack to the Big West Conference championship and a berth in the inaugural Las Vegas Bowl.
Ault was first hired at Nevada in 1976 to resurrect Wolf Pack football. In 17 years in his first tour of duty, he guided the program from a non-conference NCAA II affiliation into the Big Sky Conference and from I-AA domination to I-A distinction in the Big West Conference, including a bowl berth in Nevada’s first year at college football’s highest level. He would go on to win Big West titles in each of his three years as head coach at the I-A level: in 1992, 1994 and 1995. In 1991, he engineered the greatest comeback in NCAA history (35 points vs. Weber State) and has directed 26 second half come-from-behind wins.
After a one-year hiatus from football in 1993 and serving only as athletics director after holding both posts for seven years, he returned to the sidelines for the 1994 and 1995 seasons, promptly winning back-to-back Big West Conference titles and a second appearance in a bowl game with the 1995 Las Vegas Bowl. In 1996, he stepped aside to devote all of his time to his duties as athletics director.
Ault’s tremendous success on the field was recognized in the summer of 2002 when he was inducted into the National Football Foundation’s College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Ind. At age 55 when he was enshrined, Ault was one of the youngest coaches to ever be elected to the Hall of Fame and the only Nevada coach so honored.
His contributions to the game and innovations are as impressive as his coaching accomplishments. The current overtime format in college football was introduced by Ault by way of the Big Sky Conference in 1980 – though the original rule gave each team the ball at the 15-yard line instead of the current 25-yard line. The middle screen – also known as a wide receiver screen or jailbreak screen – was developed at Nevada and debuted in 1981.
Ault’s association with the University of Nevada dates to 1965 when the San Bernardino, Calif., native came here as a quarterback. Four decades later, he has left his mark in the record book as a quarterback, championship coach and respected administrator.
In 1998, he was named Nevada’s Football Coach of the Century as part of the 100 Years of Wolf Pack Football celebration. The next year, he was voted the Northern Nevada Coach of the Century by the Reno Gazette-Journal.
Among his many coaching honors, Ault was included in Sports Illustrated’s list of the 50 greatest sports figures of the 20th century from the state of Nevada in 1999 and has been elected into four halls of fame. In 1991, he was inducted into UNLV’s for his role as an assistant coach on the school’s 1974 undefeated team; in 1993, the University of Nevada’s for his accomplishments as head coach; in 1997, Pacific High School’s for his success as a prep standout in San Bernardino; and in 2002, the creme-de-la-creme, the College Football Hall of Fame for his accomplishments as a head coach.
Ault’s fierce competitiveness led the university administration to name him athletics director in addition to his head coaching duties in the summer of 1986. He held just the athletics director title from 1996 through March of 2004.
Unparalleled success as an administrator followed him at his alma mater, and a glance around at the impressive athletics facilities and office complex demonstrate his foresight and fundraising ability. Beginning with Nevada’s across-the-board jump from Division I-AA to Division I-A in 1992 and continuing through the University’s proactive pursuit of on-field excellence, Ault has cultivated a deep-seeded community pride in the Nevada program. 
Two of his final endeavors as athletics director have left a lasting imprint on Wolf Pack sports. He was the driving force behind the funding of tuition and fee waivers for both state universities to help meet the rising cost of education and spearheaded the fundraising efforts for the construction of what is now called the E.L. Cord Athletics and Academics Performance Complex, which consists of four primary anchors: The Primm Strength and Conditioning Center; the Cashell Football Center, the Hart Health and Sports Medicine Center and the Petersen Athletic Academic Center.
Ault received his bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Nevada in 1968 and earned his master’s in administration in 1971. He is a member of the Phi Kappa Phi National Honor Fraternity.
He has been married to his wife, Kathy, for 42 years. They have three children, all of whom attended Nevada – Lisa, Chris Jr., and Amy – as well as nine grandchildren. Ault was born Nov. 8, 1946 in San Bernardino, Calif.

Education
University of Nevada
Bachelor of Arts Degree - Education
Master’s Degree - Administration

Athletics Experience
As a Coach
2004-present: Head Coach, Nevada
1994-95: Head Coach, Nevada
1976-92: Head Coach, Nevada
1973-75: Assistant Coach, UNLV
1972: Head Coach, Reno High School
1969-71: Head Coach, Bishop Manogue High School
1968: Assistant Coach, Churchill County High School   
As an Administrator
1986-2004: Athletics Director, Nevada
As a Player
1965-67: Quarterback, Nevada
1961-63: Quarterback, Pacific High School

Notable
With his three terms as the Pack’s head coach Chris Ault has become one of the most legendary and decorated coaches in the West.  Here is just a sample of his stellar ledger:
-Won eight conference championships
-Nevada’s winningest coach and the all-time winningest coach in the Big Sky Conference
-Has taken Nevada to postseason play 13 times (seven bowl appearances)
-Engineered the greatest comeback in NCAA history (35 points vs. Weber State in 1991)
-Directed 32 second-half comeback victories in his career.
-Sports Illustrated’s list of 50 greatest sports figures of the 20th century from the state of Nevada, 1999
-Nevada Football’s Coach of the Century by the Reno Gazette-Journal, 1998
Elected to four athletic Halls of Fame:
-UNLV (inducted 1991 as assistant coach on 1974 undefeated team)
-University of Nevada (inducted 1993 as head football coach)
-Pacific High School, San Bernardino, Calif.
(inducted in 1997 as a prep standout there in the 1960s)
-National College Football Hall of Fame (inducted 2002 as a head coach)

Milestones
At 23, became youngest high school head coach in the state of Nevada at Bishop Manogue in Reno.
At 29, became head coach at Nevada, the youngest college coach in the nation.
At 40, became athletics director in addition to head coaching duties at Nevada, one of the youngest to do both jobs.
At 55, was elected into the National Football Foundation’s College Hall of Fame, one of the youngest coaches ever inducted.
At 62, won 200th of his coaching career, doing so in the 11th-fewest amount of games amongst the 54 coaches in NCAA history who have accomplished the feat.