Hart resigns as Fernley football coach

When it was over, Dave Hart said he could hold his head up high.

Hart's tenure, which lasted 25 years, officially came to an end on Tuesday night when the Lyon County School Board during its meeting asked for and received his resignation as Fernley High's football coach.

The Fernley administration recently made the decision to fire Hart, a decision that Hart decided to appeal. The process of his appeal came to an end at Tuesday's meeting.

After a lengthy meeting that included the board meeting in closed session for two hours, the board decided to ask for Hart's resignation.

"I think they wanted to support me, but they wanted to support the administration, too," Hart said. "They asked me to resign.

"I wasn't ingnorant. I could see the writing on the wall. I wasn't going to win. It's been a great 25 years."

Hart said there were more than 300 in attendance who gave him support, including coaches and players from Dayton and Yerington. He also added "there were a few people who were against me."

The meeting was emotional with law enforcement having to be called to the scene twice, Hart said.

While not going into the specifics of why he was forced to resign, Hart said it came down to the district's policy of giving coaches one-year, extra duty "at will" contracts and the administration's unwillingness to renew his contract.

Hart said he can still teach at Fernley, but would like to continue as a football coach somewhere. "I'm still young," he said.

Fernley went 4-6 under Hart last year and failed to make the Northern 3A playoffs. But Hart's teams had their share of success during the 1980s and 1990s. "I felt like I made a difference," Hart said.

Hart said he couldn't express enough his appreciation for the all the support from his family, coaches, players, former players and coaches and players from other programs.

"I was really touched," he said. "It meant a lot to me. I couldn't help but walk out with my head up."