Arizona State AD Discusses Growth of Football Program

The Arizona State football program has climbed out of depths that hardly anyone thought they could just a handful of years ago - as if it hasn't been documented enough.

The Sun Devil football program hit rock bottom in 2022 - where the firing of Herm Edwards, a massive looming NCAA investigation into recruiting practices, and a 3-9 football team drove fan engagement to lows that hadn't been seen in deaces.

Enter Kenny Dillingham.

The Arizona State alum worked tirelessly from day one on the job as head coach to re-engage a fanbase that had largely been left jaded from the last decade-plus.

Dillingham targeted fellow alumni, season ticket holders, and students in his campaign to give the Sun Devils a significant home field advantage once again - it has largely suceeded.

Between winning 11 games in 2024 and incentives such as offering free Chick-Fil-A to students that stay for an entire game, Mountain America Stadium is back to what it was before the latter part of the Edwards era.

Graham Rossini's press conference with media last week was largely met with focus on the announced renovations to Desert Financial Arena for the men's and women's basketball programs - but Rossini also discussed the encouraging attendance figures for Sun Devil football with just over two months until the season begins.

From Logan Stanley of the Arizona Republic:

“7,000 new season tickets for football as of today,” Rossini said. “We expect to exceed 7,500 new season tickets by the start of the season. That puts us at the most total season tickets for football in well over a decade. Coach (Kenny) Dillingham has said this: ‘There’s not a better place to be in the fall than Mountain America Stadium.’ And we’re feeling that energy from our fan base wherever we go.”

The anticipation is that all seven home contests will be sold out - which is even more impressive due to the fact that the August 30 game against Northern Arizona and September 26 duel against Texas Christian are nearly guaranteed to be played in 100-degree weather.

Read more about who is set to represent Arizona State at Big 12 Media Days here, and taking a look at Sam Leavitt's performance against Utah last season here.

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