Nevada undergoes extreme makeover

By Stephen Tsai
Advertiser Staff Writer

Chris Ault is back where he started, the seasoned man returning to the neighborhood of his youth, only to find time has not been kind.

Ault

Once, the Wolf Pack was one of the best of the West, dominating the Big Sky Conference and making a mark in the Big West Conference. Ault was 165-66-1 as head coach (1976 until 1992, and again from 1994 to 1995). In the summer of 2002, at age 55, he was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

By then, he was Nevada's athletic director and the department's most influential fund-raiser. He secured the money to expand Mackay Stadium and build $4.4 million Legacy Hall, which houses the coaches' offices.

But Ault has learned that money is not the only measurement of wealth.

"We lost the value and idea of tradition here," Ault said.

Nevada lost four of its final five games last year, including the final game to Boise State, 56-3, to finish 6-6 — its fourth consecutive non-winning season. In Chris Tormey's four seasons, the Wolf Pack did not finish higher than fourth in the Western Athletic Conference nor defeat cross-state rival Nevada-Las Vegas.

During the news conference to announce Tormey's firing, Ault spoke of the loss to Boise State, noting, "That was tough to sit through. We used to handle Boise. The roles are reversed and I don't like it. ... 'Torms' was a solid coach, but the fit wasn't there."

At the time, Ault had said he crafted a short list of eight to 11 candidates. "The job is open," he declared that day.

But three days later, school president John Lilley announced Ault would step down as athletic director and take over as football coach.

"When president Lilley asked me if I would like to coach again, I thought it was an exciting time to get back into it," Ault recalled. "I didn't think it would be easy. We had plummeted to the depths. I wanted to build it back up. My entire adult life has been spent here. I wanted to come back and make a difference."

Ault took responsibility for contributing to the program's problems. He had hand-picked Tormey to replace Jeff Tisdel after the 1999 season.

Tormey's teams had progressed each year. Last season, the Wolf Pack upset Washington. But a slump down the stretch, stagnant ticket sales and six players hit with felony charges in the past four years left Ault, he felt, with few options.

"When you hire somebody to coach the sport you helped build up, you do everything you can to make it go," Ault said. "You're darn right I was disappointed. After we beat Washington, I thought we turned the corner. We made some improvement. I guess the internal part of the program caught up with the external part."

Since taking over, Ault said he tried to implement "Nevada-tude."

"We eliminated quite a few players" after spring practice, he said.

Chance Kretschmer said the practices are more taxing. This year's workouts allow defenders to tackle ball-carriers.

"He demands a lot from us," Kretschmer said. "It's been a different change from last year. It's been real good."

Ault also installed his trademark one-back, four-wide passing attack. As athletic director, he insisted, he did not look at game videotapes or doodle plays in his office.

"Once you're a coach," he said of resuming his old job, "it never really leaves you."

When he accepted the job last year, Ault told reporters: "I realize now if you do this, your lifestyle is going to change. You are going to go from that expensive wine-and-cheese opportunity as an AD to beer and pizza. I am damn excited to have beer and pizza."

Still, it has not been easy to stomach the hangover from past problems. The Wolf Pack is 2-3, defeating Division I-AA Sacramento State and struggling Buffalo. With 68 scholarship players — the Division I-A limit is 85 — Nevada is a work in progress.

"This isn't easy," Ault said, "but I'm very competitive. I enjoy competition. It certainly re-energized me."

Reach Stephen Tsai at stsai@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8051.