Chris Ault looked like 29 going on 14 when he was hired as the University of Nevada football coach in December of 1975, so young that a photographer covering the press conference thought he had shot the soon-to-be-introduced coach’s son rather than the coach himself.
Thirty-five years later, Ault remains the coach at Nevada, in his third tour of duty. He’s a youthful-looking 64, a College Football Hall of Famer and the toast of the college football world following the Wolf Pack’s stunning 34-31 upset victory over unbeaten Boise State in Reno late Friday night.
It was a crackling good game that required overtime and ended well past midnight in Chicago. If you went to bed …
Nevada tightened up its defense, overcame a 24-7 halftime deficit and tied the game at 31-all on senior quarterback Colin Kaepernick‘s final-minute touchdown pass. But it still required two miracles: Boise kicker Kyle Brotzman missed a chip-shot field goal on the final play of regulation, and another on Boise’s only possession of overtime. When Nevada converted from 34 yards on its first OT possession, the Wolf Pack had a heard-earned win in what was alternately billed as the biggest game in school history and the biggest sporting event in Reno since the Jack Johnson-Jim Jeffries heavyweight title fight left the town bankrupt in 1908.
“Turned out to be an amazing night,” Ault said when I reached him Saturday morning. “We’ve been close so many times. I kind of felt like another chance was slipping away when we got down 24-7 at halftime, and I was [ticked] off. I said to the kids, ‘Look, let’s just play. Forget all the hype, forget all the talk about what’s at stake. Let’s just have some fun and play football.’ That’s pretty much what we did. Our kids and our coaches really pulled it together. I’m so happy for them.”
In a small corner of his psyche, Ault was pretty happy for himself, too. Nevada had lost 10 in a row to Boise, the No. 3-ranked team in the nation and a 14-point favorite on the Wolf Pack’s home field as it lobbied for a spot in the BCS Championship game. For all his accomplishments, Ault is a competitor down to his toes. He finally had a signature win to offset the disappointment he felt each time his Wolf Pack had been on the cusp of a big-time breakthrough.
There was a loss to Eastern Kentucky in the NCAA Division I-AA title game when Ault was still a young coach. There was a breathtaking comeback against Miami that fell just short in the Humanitarian Bowl a few years back. There was a crushing loss to Notre Dame when Ault fulfilled a lifetime ambition by coaching a game in Notre Dame Stadium just last year.
“That one still hurts,” he conceded.
But maybe not as badly after Friday’s big win on a very big stage.
Typical of Ault, he was on his way to the office when I reached him Saturday morning. It was not quite 7 a.m. in Reno.
“I’ve got work to do,” he said.
I was at that press conference when Ault was introduced as Nevada’s coach. I covered him in his earliest days with the Wolf Pack, and what I remember most vividly is feeling like I needed a nap after trying to keep up with him.
Ault’s three terms as Nevada’s coach were interspersed with two as athletic director, during which he oversaw a massive upgrade of the school’s program’s and facilities. Almost singlehandedly, he has made Nevada a player in intercollegiate athletics. I can’t think of a man this side of Knute Rockne who has contributed more to a single school. But he has returned to the sidelines each time Nevada has needed him to restore football to the level he achieved.
Chris Ault’s smile said it all Friday night. He earned that moment.
Good piece in Chris, Dan! Best, Warren