Former Nevada football coach won 233 games while leading the Wolf Pack.
Nevada Appeal file
The 56th annual Governor's Dinner is scheduled for July 15 at the Governor's Mansion in Carson City. Longtime Nevada football head coach and athletic director — and member of the College Football Hall of Fame — Chris Ault will headline one of Northern Nevada's premier summer events.
Ault’s career at Nevada spanned six decades and included time as a player, coach and administrator. He was at Nevada continuously from 1976-2012 as a coach and athletic director.
Prior to his decades in the college ranks, Ault was a coach for three Northern Nevada high schools, including as an assistant at Fallon (1968).
COACHING CAREER
The winningest coach in Wolf Pack history with a career record of 233-109-1 over 28 seasons, Ault guided Nevada from Division II to I-AA (now FCS) glory in the Big Sky Conference in the 1980s; then into I-A (now FBS) and the Big West Conference in 1992; and then into the WAC and Mountain West. Along the way, he won 10 conference championships and took the Wolf Pack to postseason play 16 times, including 10 bowl games over 12 FBS seasons.
Ault is also known for the creation of the Pistol offense in 2005, a scheme now employed by hundreds of teams at every level of football. He remains the only coach in NCAA history to have his team lead the nation in passing offense (1995) and rushing offense (2009).
Ault was originally hired by Nevada in 1976 at the age of 29, the youngest college coach in the country at the time.
LEADING THE DEPARTMENT
Ault also laid the foundation for the success of multiple Wolf Pack programs as athletics director, hiring some of Nevada’s most successful head coaches, such as Trent Johnson (basketball), Jian Li You (diving), Michelle Gardner (softball), Devin Scruggs (volleyball), and Curt Kraft (track).
Ault returned to the sidelines a final time in 2004 and took Nevada to eight consecutive bowl games and a pair of WAC championships in 2005 and 2010 before finally stepping down following the 2012 season.
The 2010 Wolf Pack went 13-1 overall, won the WAC championship, beat Boston College in the Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl, and was ranked No. 11 in the final polls.
GOVERNOR’S DINNER
The 56th annual Governor's Dinner kicks off with a private VIP reception featuring live music and cocktails at 5 p.m.; the backyard opens to other guests at 6 p.m., with the dinner and program at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $350 per person and tables of 10 for $3,500. VIP tickets, which include the pre-event VIP reception, pictures with Ault and Governor Lombardo, and premier reserved seating for the dinner and program, are $500 a person with tables at $5,000. The registration deadline is July 8.
AULT, BY THE NUMBERS
Seasons: 28 (all at Nevada)
Record: 233-109-1
Conf. titles: 10
Bowl games: 10
High AP rank: 11 (FBS); 1 (FCS)