Thank you Coach Ash!

[Walk-on]

Nice thread. I spoke with the man on several occasions and genuinely liked him. I feel terrible for him, but hope he enlightens another program somewhere. A true gentleman and scholar. Farewell.

[KalCat76]

Thanks Coach Ash! You did so much for this program and have so many accomplishments. I remember what it was like going to a game 10 years ago and going to games this year. No comparison! The program got bigger and better each year. Best of luck and know that you did great things for this program, for the university , and the state. Once a Bobcat, always a Bobcat!

[John K]

I think we made the right decision yesterday, but that doesn't detract from the job that Coach Ash has done over the last nine years. I appreciate all his hard work and dedication, and if things didn't always go quite as well as we all hoped, I know it wasn't because of a lack of effort on his part or by his assistants. I wish him the best in whatever the future holds for him. Even though I think this was the right call, I have to admit to feeling very melancholy yesterday, after hearing the news. Overall, the last nine years have been a very good time in the history of Bobcat football, and Coach Ash deserves our respect and appreciation for his contributions.

[WalkOn79]

Many thanks Rob! You're a class act!

[kennethnoisewater]

As MSU considers who will lead its football program into the future and names are thrown around, I hope Rob Ash's name is on similar boards across the country. Every coach has different strengths, but if a program needs the ship righted and for someone to make alums, students, boosters, sponsors, and an entire state proud of the program, Rob Ash needs to be the guy at the top of lists all over America. Character is an underrated commodity in athletic programs, and nobody will do a better job of making that a priority of a football program than Coach Ash.

And for the talk about Rob Ash as an AD, I hope that's a position he will consider after his coaching career, either in Bozeman or elsewhere. I am an AD at the high school level, and I realize college is a whole different animal, but I couldn't think of a more perfect AD candidate. He's smart, level-headed, organized, a great leader, and principled. The rest can be taught, if he doesn't have it already. I hope it's not seen as a criticism to say he'd be an even better administrator than a head coach, but I firmly believe Coach Ash should be given a shot somewhere to run an athletic department. It should be the responsibility of the Athletic Director--not necessarily the football coach--to hold a group of teams to a standard of excellence, academic achievement and character, and any school would be lucky to have Rob in that position.

Thank you, Coach Ash. I can honestly say I've never been more proud to be a Bobcat than I was during your tenure as the Head Football Coach at Montana State.

[KalCat76]

I think Coach Ash, being a very positive and optimistic, will take this new step in his career as a new challenge. I think he will be sitting in a new head coach' s office someplace warm all year long and building a new competitive program sooner than later. Probably making more than he is now.

[BobcatDel]

I have had the opportunity to meet Coach Ash on several occasions and I was able to thank him personally for what he did to bring pride back to the program at Montana State both on and off the field.

Sometimes friends or parents would ask me about MSU. I was always able to tell them that if they wanted their sons to play in a winning program, where the coach cared about your son getting an education, and cared about these young men being set on the right course in life…. well then MSU was the place to be. And at the end of our lives, if we can look back and say we made a difference in someones life, then all in all we had a pretty successful life….…. I think Coach Ash will be able to reflect on that in years to come.

Thanks Coach Ash for all you have done for Montana State.

[PHAT CAT]

Thanks coach. Always enjoyed seeing and talking with you at practice, coaches office, B-ball games, Ale Works and on the sideline.

[kwcat]

Boosters have put together a thank you Coach Ash reception at Bridger Brewing Sunday 3-5.

1609 south 11th Ave. (across from the Field House)

[CelticCat]

Boosters have put together a thank you Coach Ash reception at Bridger Brewing Sunday 3-5.

1609 south 11th Ave. (across from the Field House)

Not sure how I'd feel about that if I were Ash. The group of people who probably put the pressure on the bigs to get you fired throws you a goodbye party. I'd probably tell them to f&#( off.

[LTown Cat]

Boosters have put together a thank you Coach Ash reception at Bridger Brewing Sunday 3-5.

1609 south 11th Ave. (across from the Field House)

Not sure how I'd feel about that if I were Ash. The group of people who probably put the pressure on the bigs to get you fired throws you a goodbye party. I'd probably tell them to f&#( off.

Ya--it just feels weird. I wouldn't do that if I were coach.

[Walk-on]

Boosters have put together a thank you Coach Ash reception at Bridger Brewing Sunday 3-5.

1609 south 11th Ave. (across from the Field House)

Not sure how I'd feel about that if I were Ash. The group of people who probably put the pressure on the bigs to get you fired throws you a goodbye party. I'd probably tell them to f&#( off.

Ya--it just feels weird. I wouldn't do that if I were coach.

Wonder if he'll go.

[kwcat]

Boosters have put together a thank you Coach Ash reception at Bridger Brewing Sunday 3-5.

1609 south 11th Ave. (across from the Field House)

Not sure how I'd feel about that if I were Ash. The group of people who probably put the pressure on the bigs to get you fired throws you a goodbye party. I'd probably tell them to f&#( off.

Ya--it just feels weird. I wouldn't do that if I were coach.

Wonder if he'll go.

Believe he is speaking.

[DriscollCat]

Boosters have put together a thank you Coach Ash reception at Bridger Brewing Sunday 3-5.

1609 south 11th Ave. (across from the Field House)

Not sure how I'd feel about that if I were Ash. The group of people who probably put the pressure on the bigs to get you fired throws you a goodbye party. I'd probably tell them to f&#( off.

It's tempting to believe that it is the same people, but really this group could be composed mostly (if not completely) of his supporters. I think of it as a dissenting opinion.

That said, I would have a heluva time accepting that invitation too.

[John K]

I just hope he knows that the prevailing sentiment among Bobcat fans is that almost without exception, everyone liked him and thought that overall he did a very good job for MSU, but it was just time for a change. That certainly doesn't mean that he's a bad coach, and it definitely doesn't mean that he's a bad guy, but sometimes things just run their course. That happened with Pat Riley and the Lakers back in the early 90's, and he won four titles, and made it to the Finals eight times. It's happened to lots of legendary coaches, at all levels of every sport. I understand that he probably can't look at it in those terms quite yet, but hopefully he'll come to embrace that perspective at some point. I don't want him to feel bitter towards MSU, just because things didn't end the way he would have liked.

[Jobu]

I just hope he knows that the prevailing sentiment among Bobcat fans is that almost without exception, everyone liked him and thought that overall he did a very good job for MSU, but it was just time for a change. That certainly doesn't mean that he's a bad coach, and it definitely doesn't mean that he's a bad guy, but sometimes things just run their course. That happened with Pat Riley and the Lakers back in the early 90's, and he won four titles, and made it to the Finals eight times. It's happened to lots of legendary coaches, at all levels of every sport. I understand that he probably can't look at it in those terms quite yet, but hopefully he'll come to embrace that perspective at some point. I don't want him to feel bitter towards MSU, just because things didn't end the way he would have liked.

Good post, K.

[imacat]

I want to thank you for leading our young men on the football field the last 9 years! While the last few seasons were not what anyone was expecting, you managed to become the all-time career leader in Bobcat victories while maintaining an extremely high level of honor and integrity. We as fans never really had to worry about the integrity of our players on or off the field, we knew that they would graduate, and we knew that they would become leaders in their communities. You took over at a time of very high anxiety in the football program and continued to build on its winning tradition. I'm sure this isn't the way any of us wished it would have ended, but thank you, Gob Bless you, and best wishes in all your future endeavors!

Well said. Coach Ash's contributions went far beyond football. The entire University is in a better place because of his nine years as head football coach.

[Catman2]

Who do you think are the "Bigs" that got Coach Ash fired? The few "Bigs" that we know are NOT happy with the firing and think our football program and our university reputation has taken a "Big" hit in integrity. Come play for the Bobcats but if you don't beat the #$^^!% from Missoula then your coach and maybe you are gone. 9+ years ago I hated to read the paper for fear of another coach, graduated player or current player being arrested for some major crime or another story about our graduation rate. Coach Ash fixed that situation and deserves 2 hours of thanks and I am very glad he accepted. We will be there. Hopefully we can watch replays of NDS creaming #$%****( from Missoula.

[Jobu]

Who do you think are the "Bigs" that got Coach Ash fired? The few "Bigs" that we know are NOT happy with the firing and think our football program and our university reputation has taken a "Big" hit in integrity. Come play for the Bobcats but if you don't beat the #$^^!% from Missoula then your coach and maybe you are gone. 9+ years ago I hated to read the paper for fear of another coach, graduated player or current player being arrested for some major crime or another story about our graduation rate. Coach Ash fixed that situation and deserves 2 hours of thanks and I am very glad he accepted. We will be there. Hopefully we can watch replays of NDS creaming #$%****( from Missoula.

Just curious, wouldn't you rather watch replays of MSU beating Montana?

[CelticCat]

I'm not sure where to put this, I figure this thread is as good as any.

As a head coach, 36 years, Ash has only had 6 teams with a losing record. That is a pretty incredible stat.