In August, Skyline Sports reported that Montana State ninth-year head coach Rob Ash was in the final year of his three-year contract, a deal that expires in June of 2016.
On Monday, November 2, Skyline Sports acquired a new contract for Ash that the head coach, MSU athletic director Peter Fields and MSU president Waded Cruzado each signed in August of this year.
[restrict paid=”true”]Montana’s Board of Regents did not approve the contract until late last month. Ash’s new contract has all the terms and conditions as his previous contract with the exception of the end clause (see here).
The final page of Ash’s contract extension, a deal he signed on August 7 of 2015 and expires on June 30 of 2018, states:
“Each Year of this Agreement, the parties will meet to mutually discuss the option to enter into a new 3-yar Agreement on the terms and conditions agreed upon. Any such extension will be by separate written agreement and contingent on Board of Regents approval. MSU may offer an extension at any time during each year of the Term, and may begin negotiations on or after March 1 of each contract year. Such negotiations and subsequent decision on extension must be concluded no later than May 1 of this year.”
Ash receives a base salary of $174,538 with incremental raises possible each year. He gets guaranteed appearance bonuses totaling $30,000 each for the Cat Chat and Bobcat Pregame radio shows and for the Bobcat Sports Report television show. Each year he participates in fundraising activities, social activities, booster functions (social and golf), public speaking engagements and ticket sales campaigns, the university pays him $21,500, bringing his baseline annual salary to $256,038.
Ash also receives a courtesy automobile and can explore endorsement opportunities to supplement his income. He also receives an undisclosed amount of money from football camps hosted by MSU. He gives all the profits from the camps in their entirety to his assistant coaches. Ash may also supplement his coaches salaries through money raised by the MSU Quarterback Club or the Coaches Excellence account.
His contract also has incentives that pay his country club dues at Black Bull in Bozeman and for his wife, Margaret, to expense travel to all MSU games. Ash receives a ticket package as part of his contract that includes: six season tickets for football, four season tickets for each women’s and men’s basketball and eight individual tickets for all home games, including playoff games.
Ash has the ability to earn as much as $446,038 including bonuses in a fiscal year.
Other clauses in Ash’s contract include: he must inform MSU athletics if he is looking for other jobs if more than six months remain on his existing deal; Ash must provide income and revenue statements for the program each September; Ash can be terminated at any time but must be provided written notice and given a week to appeal. If fired, section 10-C of the contract states:
“If this Agreement is terminated for cause in accordance with this section, all obligations of the University to make further payment and/or to provide any other consideration under this Agreement shall cease as of the date of termination. The University shall not be liable to Coach for loss of any collateral business arrangement or opportunities, nor shall he be entitled to payment of any payments or performance incentives listed in section 5 for that year.”
Since his hiring in 2007, Ash has won 69 games, the most in Montana State history. Ash has led the Bobcats to eight winning seasons, a run that includes Big Sky Conference titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012. MSU has qualified for the FCS playoffs four of the last five seasons (2013 was the exception) and have hosted at least one playoff game each season. MSU has claimed two playoff wins.
In the classroom, Ash has helped MSU emerge from restrictions due to Academic Progress violations to post one of the top APRs in the Big Sky. In the community, the Bobcat football team did close to 1,000 hours of community service.
Montana State’s streak of winning seasons dates back to 2002. This season’s Bobcats are 4-4 overall, 2-3 in Big Sky Conference play. MSU will have win two of its last three games to finish above .500 this season. The Bobcats take on league-leading Southern Utah on Saturday before finishing with a trip to Idaho State and a home date against Montana.
This season, Montana State is 0-4 on the road. The Bobcat defense is giving up more than 42 points and 525 yards per game against Division I opponents. Of MSU’s four wins, one came over Division II Fort Lewis, one came against FCS independent East Tennessee State and the two Big Sky wins came over Cal Poly and Sacramento State, who have combined to win three Division I games.
Ash has won 246 games in his 35 years as a college head football coach. He’s the all-time leader in head coaching wins at three different schools: Division III Juanita, Pioneer League affiliate Drake and Montana State. Ash earned the 2010 Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year and earned the Liberty Mutual National FCS Coach of the Year in 2011.
During his eight seasons at MSU, he’s led the Bobcats to a 48-21 record against Big Sky competition, including a 34-11 mark since 2010. His Achilles heel has been the Big Sky’s top competition. Ash is 38-4 against Weber State, Idaho State, Sac State, Northern Colorado, Portland State, UC Davis, North Dakota and Southern Utah. SUU is the only one in the group to qualify for the playoffs this decade.
Ash is a combined 8-18 against Montana, Eastern Washington, Northern Arizona and Cal Poly. Each school has at least one playoff appearance since 2012. Ash is 2-7 against Eastern Washington, including a win in Cheney 2011 and 2-6 against Montana, including back-to-back wins in Missoula in 2010 and 2012.
Since the beginning of the 2013 season, MSU is 19-14 with four of those wins coming against either Division II teams or FCS independents. Against major FCS competition, Montana State is 15-14 since it hung its last Big Sky banner.
The last time Montana State defeated a playoff team came on October 5 of 2013 when MSU beat NAU 36-7. That NAU team went 9-3 with a first-round loss in the FCS playoffs to South Dakota State, the same team that ended MSU’s season in the first round of the playoffs last season.
Since the beginning of 2013, Montana State’s 10 Division I wins have come against opponents with a combined record of 32-58. In 2014, MSU defeated a Sac State team that finished 7-5 and an Idaho State team that finished 8-4, the only two wins over teams with winning records. Montana State has not defeated a team with a winning record since November of last season.
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