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25 best college football coaches never to win a national title

By Nicholas Ian Allen

Oct 25, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder waits to lead his team onto the field before the start of a game against the Texas Longhorns at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 25, 2014; Manhattan, KS, USA; Kansas State Wildcats head coach Bill Snyder waits to lead his team onto the field before the start of a game against the Texas Longhorns at Bill Snyder Family Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-USA TODAY Sports /
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  • Head Coaching Record: 233-109-1 at Nevada 1976-92, 1994-95, 2004-2012
  • Closest He Came to Winning a National Championship: 1990; 13-2 lost in the NCAA Division 1-AA Championship Game. In 1999, Nevada went 13-1, won the Kraft Hunger Bowl and finished No. 11 in the AP Top 25
  • Notable: Four Big Sky Championships (1983, 1986, 1990, 1991), Three Big West Championships (1992, 1994, 1995), 2005 and 2010 WAC Championships, 1991 Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, Four Big Sky Coach of the Year Awards (1983, 1986, 1990, 1991), College Football Hall of Fame (2002)

A former quarterback at Nevada in the 1960s, Chris Ault spend four years coaching high school football in the state and three more as an assistant at UNLV before returning to his alma mater as head football coach in 1976. Ault guided Nevada from NCAA Division II, developed the Wolf Pack into an NCAA Division 1-AA powerhouse by leading Nevada to the semifinals of the national championship playoffs five times and the title game in 1990, then led the program up to the Division 1-A level.

In three separate stints as head coach, Ault compiled a career record of 233-109-1, which included nine conference championships. The best year Ault oversaw at the Division 1-A level was 13-1, WAC Championship season in which the Wolf Pack finished as the No. 11 team in the nation.

But Ault’s impact on the game of football reaches much farther than Nevada. He is credited with developing the basic outline of the current overtime rules used in NCAA football, as well as the tunnel and jailbreak screen plays, and most notably the Pistol offense. Ault is also the only head coach in NCAA history to lead a team to a No. 1 statistical ranking in both passing offense (1995) and rushing offense (2009).

Now 68 years old, Ault simply can’t stay away from the coaching profession. He served as a consultant for the Kansas City Chiefs from 2013 to 2015 before accepting the head coaching job with Rhinos Milano of the Italian Football League for the upcoming 2016 season.

Next: Charles McClendon

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