Nevada Football’s Chris Ault Forfeits Increase In Salary

RENO, Nev. — Nevada football coach Chris Ault has received a two-year contract extension after guiding the Wolf Pack to a 13-1 record and the No. 11 ranking last season.

On Friday, the Nevada Board of Regents approved adding two years to Ault’s current contract, which has another year left. The contract now runs through the 2013 season.

The 64-year-old Ault, entering his 27th season as Nevada’s coach, had earned a base annual salary of $443,092, plus performance bonuses.

While his contract calls for a $25,000 annual salary increase, Ault decided to forfeit the increase in the coming year and voluntarily accept a 4.8 percent salary reduction along with other university faculty and staff on the state-funded portion of his salary. That means his salary starting July 1 will be $435,119 instead of $476,065.

“In light of our statewide troubled economy and the cuts many of our state workers are enduring, I felt it was important to share in the reductions,” Ault said in a statement. “I look forward to the continued building of our football tradition and success.”

Under the contract, Ault will receive $15,000 for a conference title; $10,000 for a bowl game appearance in which Nevada doesn’t win a conference title; $10,000 for a Top 25 USA Today postseason ranking; and $5,000 if he’s selected conference coach of the year, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.

Ault was the lowest-paid head coach among teams that finished in the final AP Top 25 last season, and was the only Top 25 coach to make less than $1 million.

“Wolf Pack football had an incredible season last year, one that put the program on the national radar and energized our community of Wolf Pack fans,” Nevada athletic director Cary Groth said. “Coach Ault is an experienced, successful coach, and he remains the right person to lead this program.”