Nevada Sports Net columnist Chris Murray is known for being a little wordy, so every Friday we give him 1,000 words (but no more) to share his thoughts on the past week in the world of sports.
* THE LAST TIME NEVADA When the Wolf Pack sought a football coach, they went straight to Chris Ault’s pedigree, hiring his longtime right-hand man Ken Wilson, who worked for Ault from 1989 to 2012. That didn’t work out, as Nevada went 4-20 in two seasons under Wilson before his contract was quickly terminated. Wilson was then replaced in December by Jeff Choate, who had no ties to Nevada but lives near Ault’s family tree. Choate never worked under Ault, the godfather of Nevada football, but his coaching DNA is similar to Ault’s.
* CHOATE HAS NOT to feign his knowledge of Nevada football. Choate spent his formative years in Idaho and Montana when Nevada dominated the Big Sky against teams from those states. In a recent conversation about his relationship with Ault, Choate mentioned in passing how he saw the Wolf Pack’s most successful quarterback, Eric Beavers, compete against Idaho’s Kamiah Kid, quarterback Ken Hobart, in the early 1980s. Choate then coached against Ault’s Wolf Pack teams as an assistant at Boise State in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
* WHILE WATCHING A Firing his former assistant Wilson after two seasons may not have been easy for Ault, but the Wolf Pack legend is always present at practices to support Choate and only voices his opinion when asked. “It’s pretty unique that even though I may not come from Coach Ault’s family tree, during our time in the early 2000s when I was in Boise and we played Nevada, there was so much mutual respect,” Choate said. “He knows me and my brand, and I know him and his brand. I respect the history and tradition of this place all the way back to the Big Sky days.”
* HOW AULT STARTED CHOATE his coaching career at the high school level before working his way up. Like Ault, Choate has a deep affection for the Big Sky. Like Ault, Choate wants to build teams that put the running first. And like Ault, Choate is a worker who takes pride in developing talent. During his first tenure as head coach, he sent several players from FCS school Montana State to the NFL. And while Nevada doesn’t need an Ault clone to build a successful football program, it does need a coach who can get the most out of the talent. The Wolfpack will never have the best facilities, the biggest budget or the highest-rated recruiting classes in the Mountain West. It must win through hard work and produce more than its parts.
* HOW AULT WONnine league championships during his 25 seasons as a conference head coach (his first three seasons were as an independent). Nevada’s last conference title came in 2010 under Ault, and without his leadership the team has generally had a poor program. Ault has an overall record of 234-108-1, while all other Wolf Pack coaches are 343-411-32. That’s a 68.2% winning percentage under Ault versus 43.6% under all other coaches. Nevada has unsuccessfully looked to Ault coaches for inspiration before (Wilson, Jeff Tisdel, Jeff Horton). Other coaches have unsuccessfully looked to Ault coaches for inspiration as well (Chris Tormey, Brian Polian, Jay Norvell, who built the strongest non-Ault teams but left Nevada in a tough spot after he left). Choate’s hire is a mix of both. He doesn’t come from the Ault trainers, but he has similar roots underground.
* WE ARE USED TO DRAMA when it comes to high-profile NFL wide receivers, but this situation with the 49ers’ Brandon Aiyuk takes things to a new level. The McQueen High School graduate seemingly never wanted to leave Santa Clara and reportedly turned down a transfer to the Patriots despite receiving a contract offer in his desired range. And while there have been rumors of a transfer to Pittsburgh, the latest is that the 49ers have now returned to the negotiating table to hammer out a deal with Aiyuk, who will likely have to choose between making $25 million a year to play for a contender in the 49ers or $30 million a year to play for a team on the brink of the playoffs. Tough decision.
* THE JOKER OF THE WEEKThe award goes to Michigan football, also known as the Houston Astros of college football. Both teams showed no remorse for cheating on their way to the championship. The NCAA imposed one of the harshest penalties in college football history on outgoing coach Jim Harbaugh, a four-year show cause and a one-year suspension that will keep him out of college sports until August 2028 (not that he’d ever return after receiving an $80 million contract from the NFL’s Chargers). Under Harbaugh, Michigan has broken NCAA recruiting rules and COVID-19 policies, and that doesn’t even count former employee Connor Stalions’ illegal spying/scouting. New Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore also faces NCAA violations. And how did Michigan respond? By naming Harbaugh the team’s honorary captain for the opening game of the 2024 season. This is a really low-class action.
* WHY THE HELL IS Breakdancing as an Olympic sport? In general, I don’t like sports that are judged subjectively. There are too many gray areas and popularity plays too big a role in who wins medals. But the fact that breakdancing is a summer Olympic sport and not baseball and softball is ridiculous. I don’t mind more non-traditional sports getting the Olympic spotlight, but breakdancing has to be a one-off event. Allowing Nintendo Wii’s Just Dance into the Olympics is a tricky proposition.
* A NEW ANNOYANCE of mine are college athletic departments tweeting photos and videos from what they call “media day.” However, the media is not actually invited to interview or photograph the players. That’s not media day. That’s a “take photos with in-house creatives” day. That may not be such a catchy phrase, but if the media isn’t invited to the event, it’s not “media day.”
Columnist Chris Murray provides insight into Northern Nevada sports. Contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter @ByChrisMurray.
