Ash to Lead Bobcat Football
6/11/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Rob Ash, a 27-year head coaching veteran who led programs at Juniata College and Drake University to conference championships and national prominence while maintaining high academic standards, became Montana State University’s 31st head football coach on Monday.
Ash said he is enthusiastic to begin leading Bobcat football. “I am tremendously honored to be chosen as Montana State University’s new football coach, and I promise to build a program that the University and its supporters will be proud of,” said Ash, 55. “I have enormous respect for the institution, its academic and athletic traditions, and for Peter Fields and President Gamble. I love the support here, I love the academic prestige of the school, and I’m excited for this opportunity.”
Ash brings outstanding credentials to a Bobcat program that punctuated five straight winning seasons with a trip to the quarterfinal round of the 2006 NCAA Division I Playoffs. The Des Moines native compiled a 125-63-2 record in 18 seasons at Drake, earning Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year honors in 2004, 1998 and ‘95. Including nine seasons at NCAA Division III Juniata, Ash is 176-99-5 in his career. “The football program here at Montana State is far from broken,” Ash said. “We have history, tradition, and broad support which allow us to implement our philosophies and principles for behavior to build a foundation of success for the individuals in this program for years to come.”
“I am very excited with this opportunity to move our football program forward,” said Fields, noting that Ash rose to the top of MSU’s list based not only on his team’s success on the field but its high academic and social standards. “Rob Ash embodies all the attributes that we were looking for in our new coach. His teams are known to work hard on the field and in the classroom while doing the right things in the community. President (Geoff) Gamble and the members of our search committee all feel that Coach Ash and the staff he assembles will ingrain these qualities in our program as we move into a very bright future.”
Ash said he embraces the opportunity to begin shaping Montana State’s football future immediately. “I haven’t moved very often in my career so I’m not real experienced in that aspect,” he said. “But, I consider myself a very organized person. I look forward to assessing what needs to be done here to keep things on track in spite of a very fast timeline. The first order of business will be to establish relationships, beginning with our players and extending up through the University’s administration and outward to our boosters and fans.”
A 1973 graduate of Cornell (Iowa) College with a BA in history, Ash began his coaching career at his alma mater in 1976. After a four-year stint as an assistant at Cornell, he accepted head coaching duties at Juniata in Huntingdon, Pa., in 1980. After posting a 4-5 record in his first season there, the Eagles posted winning marks in six of the next eight campaigns, leaving Juniata with a 51-36-3 record, the most wins in school history.
Returning to his native Iowa to take the reigns at Drake in 1989, Ash led the Bulldogs to 7-3 and 6-4 records in his first two seasons. After posting a 4-6 mark in 1991, Ash’s Drake squads stood 30-8-2 over the next four years. His 125 wins stands as the most in school history.
A Little All-America as Cornell’s quarterback in 1972, Ash was a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-America who earned a Post-Graduate Scholarship and Top Five Award from the NCAA. Ash earned a Master’s degree in history from the University of Michigan in 1975, and completed his Master’s in physical education at the University of Iowa in 1980. The Des Moines native graduated from Ottumwa (Iowa) High School in 1969.
Ash said his coaching philosophy is built on the concept that wins aren’t restricted to the football field. “We instill a commitment in our players to win every day,” Ash said. “We want our players to win in the classroom and win in the community by making quality choices. Winning on the football field follows, as does shaping the lives of these young people in a way that will lead to success throughout their lives.”
Fields indicated Ash has accepted the terms of a three-year deal that pays an annual salary of $130,000 with incentives that have yet to be finalized.
Ash said he is enthusiastic to begin leading Bobcat football. “I am tremendously honored to be chosen as Montana State University’s new football coach, and I promise to build a program that the University and its supporters will be proud of,” said Ash, 55. “I have enormous respect for the institution, its academic and athletic traditions, and for Peter Fields and President Gamble. I love the support here, I love the academic prestige of the school, and I’m excited for this opportunity.”
Ash brings outstanding credentials to a Bobcat program that punctuated five straight winning seasons with a trip to the quarterfinal round of the 2006 NCAA Division I Playoffs. The Des Moines native compiled a 125-63-2 record in 18 seasons at Drake, earning Pioneer Football League Coach of the Year honors in 2004, 1998 and ‘95. Including nine seasons at NCAA Division III Juniata, Ash is 176-99-5 in his career. “The football program here at Montana State is far from broken,” Ash said. “We have history, tradition, and broad support which allow us to implement our philosophies and principles for behavior to build a foundation of success for the individuals in this program for years to come.”
“I am very excited with this opportunity to move our football program forward,” said Fields, noting that Ash rose to the top of MSU’s list based not only on his team’s success on the field but its high academic and social standards. “Rob Ash embodies all the attributes that we were looking for in our new coach. His teams are known to work hard on the field and in the classroom while doing the right things in the community. President (Geoff) Gamble and the members of our search committee all feel that Coach Ash and the staff he assembles will ingrain these qualities in our program as we move into a very bright future.”
Ash said he embraces the opportunity to begin shaping Montana State’s football future immediately. “I haven’t moved very often in my career so I’m not real experienced in that aspect,” he said. “But, I consider myself a very organized person. I look forward to assessing what needs to be done here to keep things on track in spite of a very fast timeline. The first order of business will be to establish relationships, beginning with our players and extending up through the University’s administration and outward to our boosters and fans.”
A 1973 graduate of Cornell (Iowa) College with a BA in history, Ash began his coaching career at his alma mater in 1976. After a four-year stint as an assistant at Cornell, he accepted head coaching duties at Juniata in Huntingdon, Pa., in 1980. After posting a 4-5 record in his first season there, the Eagles posted winning marks in six of the next eight campaigns, leaving Juniata with a 51-36-3 record, the most wins in school history.
Returning to his native Iowa to take the reigns at Drake in 1989, Ash led the Bulldogs to 7-3 and 6-4 records in his first two seasons. After posting a 4-6 mark in 1991, Ash’s Drake squads stood 30-8-2 over the next four years. His 125 wins stands as the most in school history.
A Little All-America as Cornell’s quarterback in 1972, Ash was a First Team CoSIDA Academic All-America who earned a Post-Graduate Scholarship and Top Five Award from the NCAA. Ash earned a Master’s degree in history from the University of Michigan in 1975, and completed his Master’s in physical education at the University of Iowa in 1980. The Des Moines native graduated from Ottumwa (Iowa) High School in 1969.
Ash said his coaching philosophy is built on the concept that wins aren’t restricted to the football field. “We instill a commitment in our players to win every day,” Ash said. “We want our players to win in the classroom and win in the community by making quality choices. Winning on the football field follows, as does shaping the lives of these young people in a way that will lead to success throughout their lives.”
Fields indicated Ash has accepted the terms of a three-year deal that pays an annual salary of $130,000 with incentives that have yet to be finalized.
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