Winants Hall

Winants Hall in New Brunswick is the site of the Board of Governors meeting where Chris Ash is being appointed as the next Rutgers football coach.

NEW BRUNSWICK -- Chris Ash was officially appointed as the 30th head football coach in Rutgers history Monday during a university Board of Governors meeting at Winants Hall.

The 15-member governing board that oversees the university convened at 12 p.m. for a meeting called on Saturday after newly appointed Athletics Director Pat Hobbs agreed to tentative terms with Ash. The meeting lasted three minutes, with all of the board members convening by teleconference and unanimously approving Ash after his resume was introduced by Hobbs.

"The search for a new football coach at Rutgers began on Monday (Nov. 30) and we had the assistance of an outside consulting firm,'' Hobbs told the governing board during the meeting. "It was very intense week of efforts, which resulted in us identifying Chris Ash to be our head coach. Chris has a phenomenal reputation across all aspects of college football, and he also has a tremendous reputation as a man of integrity and character and so I'm delighted to bring him forward today to you.''

Ash is set to be formally introduced at a 1:30 p.m. press conference at the Hale Center in Piscataway.

Rutgers signed Ash to a 5-year contract beginning at $2 million annually. The deal includes bonuses based upon achievement of annual performance and academic incentives established by the university.

Per the terms of a resolution passed by Rutgers, university President Robert Barchi and Hobbs consulted with the Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics regarding the employment and compensation of Ash.

Ash reportedly earned $590,000 this season as Ohio State's defensive play caller.

The 41-year-old co-defensive coordinator at Ohio State succeeds Kyle Flood, who compiled a 27-24 record and guided the Scarlet Knights to three bowl appearances over the last four years.

PLUS: What questions do you have for new Rutgers coach Chris Ash?

Upon his promotion from offensive line coach to the head coach post in 2012, Flood had his salary more than doubled to $750,000. In September 2014, Flood received a two-year contract extension that netted him a $200,000 annual raise.

For the 2015 season, Flood earned $1.26 million in guaranteed salary, which ranked him 67th nationally among FBS coaches, last in the Big Ten and next-to-last among Power-5 conference coaches.

Per the terms of a contract that ran through the 2018 season, Flood had been set to earn a total of $1.35 million in 2016, $1.45 million in '17, and $1.55 million in '18. Those salaries were void after he was fired without cause, and Rutgers is on the hook for a $1.4 million buyout.

In 2015, the average salary for 13 head coaches is $3.21 million, according to the USA Today. That average figure -- which didn't include Illinois interim head coach Bill Cubit -- swelled this year thanks to the lucrative contract given to Jim Harbaugh, who in his first season as Michigan coach earned at least $7 million annually.

Two of the nation's top three highest-paid coaches reside in the Big Ten, with Michigan's Jim Harbaugh ($7 million) and Ohio State's Urban Meyer ($5.86 million) trailing only Alabama's Nick Saban ($7.08 million). Penn State's James Franklin ($4.4 million) ranks 8th, Iowa's Kirk Ferentz ($4 million) ranks 13th and Michigan State's Mark Dantonio ($3.67 million) ranks 21st nationally.

A Drake University graduate, Ash has 19 years of collegiate coaching experience, serving as a defensive assistant at his alma mater, at Iowa State and San Diego State before calling defensive plays for Arkansas, Wisconsin and Ohio State.

The resolution passed by the Rutgers governing board notes that Ash is known for his "aggressive 4-3 defense'' and helped pilot an Ohio State defense that ranks 10th nationally in total defense and second in scoring defense nationally.

In five years as a Big Ten coach, Ash has been part of four Big Ten championship teams and he has coached in 11 bowl games overall. He's also coached 28 players who signed with NFL teams, including six draft picks in 2015.

Keith Sargeant may be reached at ksargeant@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @KSargeantNJ. Find NJ.com Rutgers Football on Facebook.