Rob Ash

Last updated

Rob Ash
Biographical details
Born (1951-07-09) July 9, 1951 (age 73)
Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.
Playing career
1970–1972 Cornell (IA)
Position(s) Quarterback
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1976–1979 Cornell (IA) (assistant)
1980–1988 Juniata
1989–2006 Drake
2007–2015 Montana State
2016 Arkansas (offensive analyst)
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
1990 Drake (interim AD)
Head coaching record
Overall246–137–5
Tournaments2–4 (NCAA D-I playoffs)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
4 PFL (1995, 1998, 2000, 2004)
3 Big Sky (2010–2012)
1 MAC Northern Division (1981)
Awards
Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year Award (2011)
3× PFL Coach of the Year (1995, 1998, 2004)

Robert W. Ash (born July 9, 1951) is an American former college football coach. He served as the head football coach at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania from 1980 to 1988, Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa from 1989 to 2006, and Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana from 2007 to 2015, compiling a career college football coaching record of 246–137–5. His record was 75–51–4 at the NCAA Division III level and 171–86–1 at the NCAA Division I-AA/FCS level.

Contents

Early life and playing career

Ash was born in Des Moines, Iowa. He played college football as quarterback at Cornell College of Mount Vernon, Iowa and earned Little All-America honors and First Team CoSIDA Academic All-America honors as a senior in 1972. Ash graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1973, earning an NCAA Top Five Award and an NCAA Post-Graduate scholarship.

Early coaching career

After a four-year stint as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Ash was hired in 1980 as head football coach at Juniata College, an NCAA Division III school in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. [1] After posting a 4–5 record in his first season in 1980, Juniata posted winning marks in six of the next eight campaigns. Ash finished with a 51–36–3 record as the Indians head coach.

Drake

Ash recorded a 125–63–2 record in 18 seasons at Drake, including four Pioneer Football League (PFL) championships. He was named the PFL's Coach of the Year in 1995, 1998, and 2004. Ash ended his tenure at Drake with five consecutive winning seasons.

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.

Montana State

Ash was hired at Montana State on June 11, 2007. Ash's Bobcats went 6–5 in his first season as coach.

In 2009 Ash, was named second vice president of the American Football Coaches Association. Per AFCA tradition, Ash moved up to first vice president in 2010 and became president in 2011 before giving way to Harvard coach Tim Murphy the following year.

In 2010, Ash guided the Bobcats to a 9–2 regular season record, including a 7–1 mark in the Big Sky Conference. MSU defeated arch rival Montana 21–16 on the road to win the conference championship and an automatic berth to the FCS postseason. Ash was named the 2010 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year.

In 2011, Ash guided the Cats to another share of the Big Sky Conference title, sharing with the University of Montana, and going to the NCAA playoffs. The Bobcats beat the University of New Hampshire by one in the second round before losing in the quarter finals to Sam Houston State. After the season, Ash was named the 2011 Liberty Mutual FCS Coach of the Year.

The 2012 season resulted in a one loss regular season for the Bobcats, and a share of the Big Sky Conference championship, their third in three seasons. Ash was named the Region 5 co-coach of the year for 2012 by the American Football Coaches Association.

Ash was fired at the end of the 2015 season.

Arkansas

On June 2, 2016, Ash was hired by Arkansas to be the offensive analyst for head coach Bret Bielema. He served during the 2016 football season. [2]

Championship Analytics, Inc

Rob Ash is employed as Director of Coaching Development. CAI is a company Coach Ash used while at Montana State during the 2014 and 2015 seasons. While still coaching at Montana State University Ash started pitching coaches about CAI after the 2014 season, he officially started working for CAI in January, 2017. [3] [4]

Head coaching record

YearTeamOverallConferenceStandingBowl/playoffs TSN#Coaches°
Juniata Indians (Middle Atlantic Conference)(1980–1988)
1980 Juniata4–54–3T–3rd (Northern)
1981 Juniata6–2–16–1T–1st (Northern)
1982 Juniata6–44–3T–4th (Northern)
1983 Juniata2–81–7T–7th
1984 Juniata3–6–12–5–17th
1985 Juniata8–37–22nd
1986 Juniata9–27–2T–2nd
1987 Juniata7–36–3T–4th
1988 Juniata6–3–15–3T–4th
Juniata:51–36–342–29–1
Drake Bulldogs (NCAA Division III independent)(1989–1992)
1989 Drake7–3
1990 Drake6–4
1991 Drake4–6
1992 Drake7–2–1
Drake Bulldogs (Pioneer Football League)(1993–2006)
1993 Drake8–23–2T–2nd
1994 Drake7–33–23rd
1995 Drake 8–1–15–01st
1996 Drake8–34–12nd
1997 Drake8–32–33rd
1998 Drake 7–34–01st
1999 Drake7–42–23rd
2000 Drake 7–43–1T–1st
2001 Drake5–51–3T–4th (North)
2002 Drake5–61–34th (North)
2003 Drake6–61–3T–4th (North)
2004 Drake 10–24–01st (North)
2005 Drake6–42–23rd (North)
2006 Drake 9–26–12nd
Drake:125–63–241–23
Montana State Bobcats (Big Sky Conference)(2007–2015)
2007 Montana State 6–54–4T–4th
2008 Montana State 7–55–3T–3rd
2009 Montana State 7–45–34th
2010 Montana State 9–37–1T–1stL NCAA Division I Second Round 1111
2011 Montana State 10–37–11stL NCAA Division I Quarterfinal 77
2012 Montana State 11–27–1T–1stL NCAA Division I Quarterfinal 55
2013 Montana State 7–55–3T–4th2020
2014 Montana State 8–56–2T–2ndL NCAA Division I First Round 2020
2015 Montana State 5–63–5T–8th
Montana State:70–3850–23
Total:246–137–5
      National championship        Conference title        Conference division title or championship game berth

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montana Grizzlies football</span> University of Montana college football team

The Montana Grizzlies football program represents the University of Montana in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) of college football. The Grizzlies have competed in the Big Sky Conference since 1963, where it is a founding member. They play their home games on campus in Missoula at Washington–Grizzly Stadium, where they had an average attendance of 26,978 in 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montana State Bobcats football</span> Football program of Montana State University

The Montana State Bobcats football program competes in the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA's Division I Football Championship Subdivision for Montana State University. The program began in 1897 and has won three national championships. It is the only college football program in the nation to win national championships on three different levels of competition, NAIA, NCAA Division II, and NCAA Division I-AA. Through the 2022 season, the Bobcats had played in 1,049 games with an all-time record of 525–492–32.

The 2009 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference in the 2008 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bobcats were led by second-year head coach Rob Ash and played their home games at Bobcat Stadium. They finished the season 7–5 overall and 6–3 in the Big Sky to finish in third place. Demetrius Crawford was the team's leading rusher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drake Bulldogs football</span> American college football program

The Drake Bulldogs are an NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision non-scholarship college football program representing Drake University. They currently compete in the non-scholarship Pioneer Football League and have been charter members of the conference since 1993. Drake began playing intercollegiate football in 1893.

The 2010 Drake Bulldogs football team represented Drake University as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Chris Creighton, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing third in the PFL. In May 2011, Drake played in the 2011 Kilimanjaro Bowl, the first college football game held on the continent of Africa. The team played its home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

The 2006 Drake Bulldogs football team represented Drake University as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during the 2006 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by 14th-year head coach Rob Ash, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 9–2 with a mark of 6–1 in conference play, placing second in the PFL. The team played its home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

The 2000 Drake Bulldogs football team represented Drake University as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during the 2000 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Rob Ash, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 3–1 in conference play, sharing the PFL title with Dayton and Valparaiso. The team played its home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

The 1998 Drake Bulldogs football team represented Drake University as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during the 1998 NCAA Division I-AA football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Rob Ash, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 7–3 with a mark of 4–0 in conference play, winning the PFL title. The team played its home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Montana State Bobcats football team</span> American college football season

The 2011 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2011 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Rob Ash, the Bobcats compiled an overall record of 10–3 with a mark of 7–1 in conference place play, sharing the Big Sky title with Montana. Montana vacated its share of the title on July 26, 2013, after the NCAA determined that Montana had played its final six games with ineligible players. Montana State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they defeated New Hampshire in the second round before falling to Sam Houston State in the quarterfinals. The Bobcats played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana/

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Montana State Bobcats football team</span> American college football season

The 2012 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2012 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bobcats were led by sixth-year head coach Rob Ash and played their home games at Bobcat Stadium. They finished the season 11–2 overall and 7–1 in Big Sky play to share the conference championship with Cal Poly and Eastern Washington. The received an at–large bid into the FCS playoffs where they defeated Stony Brook in the second round before falling to Sam Houston State in the quarterfinals. It was the second straight year the Bobcats were knocked out of the playoffs by Sam Houston State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2013 Montana State Bobcats football team</span> American college football season

The 2013 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2013 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Rob Ash, Montana State compiled an overall record of 7–5 with a mark of 5–3 in conference play, tying for fourth place in the Big Sky. The Bobcats played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Montana State Bobcats football team</span> American college football season

The 2014 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2014 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by eighth-year head coach Rob Ash, the Bobcats compiled an overall record of 8–5 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for second place in the Big Sky. Montana State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where they lost in the first round to South Dakota State. The Bobcats played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Montana State Bobcats football team</span> American college football season

The 2015 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2015 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Rob Ash in his ninth and final season as head coach, Montana State compiled an overall record of 5–6 with a mark of 3–5 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for eighth place in the Big Sky. The Bobcats played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2016 Montana State Bobcats football team</span> American college football season

The 2016 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2016 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by first-year head coach Jeff Choate, Montana State compiled an overall record of 4–7 with a mark of 2–6 in conference play, placing in a four-way tie for ninth place in the Big Sky. The Bobcats played their home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 Montana State Bobcats football team</span> American college football season

The 2010 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University in the 2010 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Rob Ash and played its home games at Bobcat Stadium. The team finished the regular season with an 8–3 record, making them Big Sky Conference co-champions alongside Eastern Washington. The team qualified for the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, in which they were eliminated in the second round by the North Dakota State Bison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Drake Bulldogs football team</span> American college football season

The 2018 Drake Bulldogs football team represented Drake University as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during 2018 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Rick Fox, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 7–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, tying for second place in the PFL. The team played its home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2019 Montana State Bobcats football team</span> American college football season

The 2019 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Jeff Choate, the Bobcats compiled an overall record of 11–4 with a mark of 6–2 in conference play, placing in a three-way tie for third in the Big Sky. Montana State received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division I Football Championship playoffs, where, after a first round bye, the Bobcats defeated Albany in the second round and Austin Peay in the quarterfinals before losing in the semifinals to the eventual national champion, North Dakota State. The team played home games at Bobcat Stadium in Bozeman, Montana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 Montana State Bobcats football team</span> American college football season

The 2009 Montana State Bobcats football team represented Montana State University as a member of the Big Sky Conference in the 2009 NCAA Division I FCS football season. The Bobcats were led by third-year head coach Rob Ash and played their home games at Bobcat Stadium. They finished the season 7–4 overall and 5–3 in the Big Sky to place third.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Drake Bulldogs football team</span> American college football season

The 2021 Drake Bulldogs football team represented Drake University as a member of the Pioneer Football League (PFL) during 2021 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by third-year head coach Todd Stepsis, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 2–9 with a mark of 1–7 in conference play, tying for ninth place in the PFL. The team played its home games at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, Iowa.

The 2007 Montana State Bobcats football team was an American football team that represented Montana State University in the Big Sky Conference during the 2007 NCAA Division I FCS football season. In their first season under head coach Rob Ash, the Bobcats compiled a 6–5 record and tied for fourth place in the Big Sky.

References

  1. ↑ "Robert Ash Is Chosen As Juniata Grid Coach". The Daily News. Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. February 27, 1980. p. 2. Retrieved April 25, 2022– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  2. ↑ "Ex-Montana State coach Rob Ash vying for Lamar job". Billings Gazette. Retrieved January 9, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Coaching turning to analytics to make decisions".
  4. ↑ "Former Montana State coach Rob Ash hired at Arkansas".
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.