Rob Ash fired at Montana State

BOZEMAN, (AP) - Montana State football coach Rob Ash has been fired after nine seasons.

Athletic director Peter Fields said Monday that the program wasn't maintaining the level of success expected by fans. The Bobcats finished the season with a 5-6 record, 3-5 in the Big Sky Conference.

"We're not going to win the championship every year, but we should be in the mix every year," Fields said. "With the resources that we put into it, we should."

The Bobcats shared league titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012 and advanced to the FCS playoffs in those three years and in 2014. However, the team has struggled late during the past three seasons.

Ash was 70-38 over his nine seasons at Montana State, and holds the school record for career wins, winning percentage and most Big Sky wins in a career. He was also part of a stretch that saw the program pile up 13 straight winning seasons, before this year. However, he was only 2-7 against rival Montana, including a 54-35 loss Saturday.

"This season was hard for everybody," including Ash, Fields said. "When you watch the players leave the field after a loss, you see the dejection in their faces."

Ash returned a text for a request for an interview from the Billings' Gazette Monday, saying only, "No comment. Sorry."

Ash met with players and assistant coaches Monday before the announcement. Though no players were available for interviews, several took to Twitter to voice their concerns.

"That was a lot harder than I thought it was gonna be," sophomore linebacker Blake Braun tweeted. "It felt like my GF (girlfriend) just broke up with me."

And redshirt freshman defensive back DeMonte King tweeted: "Very unfair to coach (Kane) Ioane (co-defensive coordinator). Amazing coach, amazing guy. ANY player would have told you that."

Offensive coordinator Tim Cramsey said in an interview that he was disappointed, but acknowledged this reality as part of the coaching business. Cramsey has been named the "point person" for the program, while the school searches for its next head coach. Cramsey also noted the star quarterback Dakota Prukop, a finalist for the FCS Offensive Player of the Year, who will be a senior next season, was disappointed with the news that Ash had been let go.

"Me and Dakota are very close," Cramsey told the Billings Gazette. "I talked to him. He is very upset, very unhappy. He does not want to play for another coach. He does not want to play for someone other than myself."

Meanwhile, Fields said MSU will begin its search for a new coach immediately and he expects to be able to attract a quality coach.

"We have a great stadium, our fans are tremendous and football's important here," he said, adding that he'd like to see the team consistently be in the Top 10 of the FCS rankings.

Ideally, Fields said he'd like to have a new coach hired within the next two weeks, but acknowledged that may be difficult with the Thanksgiving break, FCS teams still in the playoffs and FBS teams wrapping up their regular seasons.

All of Montana State's assistants will remain on board until a new coach is hired and decides on a staff, Fields said. The school will also honor the scholarships of athletes who have committed to play football for the Bobcats in the 2016 recruiting class. At this point, MSU has 10 confirmed verbal commitments.

Ash came to Montana State from Drake in June 2007. He was charged with improving the team's academic and off-the-field reputation.

Ash has been a head coach for 41 seasons. He was named the coach of the year in the FCS in 2011 and served on the board of the American Football Coaches Association from 2002 until 2012, serving as president in 2011.

Note: Havre Daily News sports editor George Ferguson contributed to this story.