In it for the short haul

Coach Gus Malzahn led Arkansas State to a Sun Belt championship in his only season at the school before leaving Tuesday to take the head coaching job at Auburn, where previously he served as offensive coordinator.
Coach Gus Malzahn led Arkansas State to a Sun Belt championship in his only season at the school before leaving Tuesday to take the head coaching job at Auburn, where previously he served as offensive coordinator.

— On Dec. 5, 2011, Hugh Freeze resigned after one season as Arkansas State’s football coach to become head coach at Ole Miss. In the 12 months since, ASU hired Gus Malzahn after he had spent three seasons as Auburn’s offensive coordinator. Malzahn’s 12 months included increased fan interest and donations and a Sun Belt Conference title, but also a high-profile dismissal of a player and his sudden departure.

DEC. 5, 2011 Hugh Freeze agrees to become coach at Ole Miss, after one season at Arkansas State in which he led it to a 9-2 record and a Sun Belt Conference title.

DEC. 10, 2011 Arkansas State Athletic Director Dean Lee meets with Gus Malzahn and his wife, Kristi, about Arkansas State’s opening in Auburn, Ala.

DEC. 13, 2011 Malzahn accepts an offer to become Arkansas State’s football coach, replacing Freeze, after three seasons as Auburn’s offensive coordinator. DEC. 14, 2011 Malzahn is introduced as ASU’s coach, saying “the exciting thing for me is taking this to the next level” while returning to his home state, where he spent 15 seasons as a high school coach and one season as Arkansas’ offensive coordinator.

DEC. 18, 2011 Malzahn hires Rhett Lashlee, who played for Malzahn at Shiloh Christian High School in Springdale, as his offensive coordinator.

JAN. 8, 2012 With Malzahn watching on the sideline, ASU falls to Northern Illinois 38-20 in the GoDaddy.com Bowl in Mobile, Ala.

JAN. 9, 2012 Former Auburn running back and Little Rock native Michael Dyer submits transfer paperwork to ASU.

APRIL 12, 2012 Malzahn denies interest in the vacant Arkansas job after Bobby Petrino was fired April 10.

APRIL 14, 2012 ASU holds its first spring game under Malzahn, with the coach saying: “In some areas, yeah, we’re happy. And there are others where we’re a long way away.”

APRIL 27, 2012 ASU assistant coaches begin statewide tour with a goal of visiting all 215-football playing high schools in Arkansas.

MAY 16, 2012 Malzahn visits Little Rock in the middle of a statewide tour to promote ASU football. The day also includes stops in Springdale, Fort Smith, Russellville and Conway. “We’re about to shock the college football world, but we need everybody in here,” Malzahn says. JULY 5, 2012 ASU announces that the NCAA ruled Dyer would have to sit out the 2012 season because of transfer rules. ASU had filed a waiver to bypass those transfer rules, but it was denied. The school appealed, and it was denied, too. JULY 16, 2012 ASU is picked second in the Sun Belt Conference by the league’s coaches.

JULY 29, 2012 ASU announces Michael Dyer has been dismissed from the program, following the school finding out about the details of a March traffic stop.

AUG. 1, 2012 Malzahn discusses Michael Dyer’s dismissal during a news conference in Jonesboro. He says the dismissal came after he became aware of the details surrounding the March traffic stop in which marijuana and a handgun were found in Dyer’s car.

AUG. 7, 2012 Dean Lee, who had hired Malzahn from Auburn, reassigned to the administrative wing overseeing fundraising at ASU.

SEPT. 1, 2012 ASU falls to Oregon in Malzahn’s first game as coach, 57-34. The Red Wolves trailed 50-3 at one point in the second quarter.

SEPT. 6, 2012 ASU announces a $22 million facilities upgrade that includes a new football operations center and an indoor practice facility.

SEPT. 8, 2012 ASU announces a $5 million donation from Liberty Bank that guarantees it naming rights to the school’s football stadium. The Red Wolves later beat Memphis 33-28, Malzahn’s first victory as coach.

NOV. 17, 2012 ASU holds on to beat Troy 41-34, putting it in first place in the Sun Belt Conference with one game remaining in the regular season.

NOV. 25, 2012 Auburn fires Coach Gene Chizik a day after the Tigers’ 49-0 loss to Alabama to cap a 3-9 season. DEC. 1, 2012 ASU beats Middle Tennessee 45-0 in Jonesboro in the regular-season finale, capping its second consecutive outright Sun Belt title.

DEC. 2, 2012 ASU accepts bid to play Kent State in the GoDaddy.com Bowl. DEC. 4, 2012 Malzahn informs ASU he has accepted an offer of $2.3 million per year for five years to become Auburn’s new coach, and is introduced at an oncampus news conference that night.

Sports, Pages 23 on 12/05/2012

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