Arizona State is heading to the Peach Bowl in January, but don’t mistake that for a sign that everything’s finally aligned in Tempe. The football program may have found its guy in Kenny Dillingham, but the broader university infrastructure? That’s still a work in progress.
Dillingham has been doing a lot more than just coaching football. Over the past year, he’s been front and center at events, not just talking ball, but making the kinds of pitches you'd expect from a fundraiser, not a head coach.
Whether it was at offseason speaking engagements or the summer Kickoff Luncheon, Dillingham was once again the one asking for financial backing. And that raised eyebrows.
At a major football school, you’d expect the university leadership to be the ones championing investment. Instead, Arizona State’s head coach was left to carry the torch on his own, while central campus leadership - including the university president - was notably absent from the scene.
That disconnect hasn’t gone unnoticed. Plenty of donors and longtime supporters have started to feel the fatigue.
When the same people are asked to open their wallets time and time again without seeing matching urgency from the top, even the most loyal boosters start to wonder where things are headed. The “Forks Up, Go Devils” crowd may keep the faith, but those footing the bill are looking for more than slogans.
To Dillingham’s credit, he’s kept his head down and stayed focused. From the moment he stepped on campus, he walked into a situation that’s earned ASU the nickname “Always Something University” - and not in a good way.
Just weeks before the 2023 season, the program was hit with a self-imposed bowl ban. That kind of unexpected gut punch can derail a team, but Dillingham didn’t let it.
He kept building, kept recruiting, and kept pushing for the resources needed to compete. One of the biggest sticking points?
Assistant coaching salaries. That’s now been addressed.
Still, don’t expect the annual whispers about Dillingham being a candidate for other jobs to go away just because he signed a contract extension. That’s part of the deal when you’ve got a coach who’s building something.
If he keeps winning, his name will keep popping up in coaching carousel conversations. And honestly, that’s a good thing.
You want other programs to covet your head coach - it means you’ve got someone worth keeping.
There were rumblings this cycle about potential interest from a place like Michigan. But with that athletic department facing its own internal chaos, it’s not exactly the dream job it might’ve been in another era.
Sure, the paycheck would’ve been bigger, but so would the pressure. At Michigan, if you don’t beat Ohio State every other year, the hot seat starts warming up fast.
That’s not the case in Tempe - not yet, anyway.
But if Arizona State truly wants to evolve into a blue-blood program, it’s going to take more than a dynamic head coach. It takes serious institutional commitment - and that’s where the cracks start to show.
The university president has made some questionable calls over the years, from backing the ill-fated Pac-12 Network to dragging his feet on the Big 12 move. Even Desert Financial Arena, the home for Sun Devil basketball, has been described as “completely functional” and “just fine” - despite lacking basic features like elevators and handrails.
That kind of mindset doesn’t scream elite athletic department.
Former Athletic Director Ray Anderson didn’t help matters either. His infamous “Arms Race” comment about facilities and NIL felt out of step with where college sports are headed, and it played a part in his eventual exit. He’s now teaching on campus, still speaking on NIL, but no longer shaping the future of Sun Devil athletics.
What’s changed is the tone coming from the athletic department itself. In conversations with both Dillingham and current AD Graham Rossini, there’s a clear sense of grounded realism.
They know the program isn’t where it needs to be - yet. But they also know what it’ll take to get there.
And that’s a refreshing shift from the “we’ve got it all figured out” attitude that’s lingered around ASU for years.
Maybe, just maybe, the timing of Michigan’s mess ends up being a blessing in disguise for Arizona State. It gave the school the chance to lock in its head coach and start addressing some of the long-standing issues that have held the program back. If the university finally backs the football program the way it deserves, this could be the start of something different in Tempe.
The Peach Bowl is a big step. But the real question isn’t whether ASU can win one game in January - it’s whether the university is ready to build a foundation that can support sustained success.
That’s how you become a true blue-blood. And for the first time in a long time, there are signs that Arizona State just might be ready to try.