Arizona State’s trip to London for the first-ever Union Jack Classic is about more than a football game. It’s a showcase - for the Sun Devils, for the Big 12 and for FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff crew, which is taking its pregame show overseas for the first time.
“The eyeballs of the world will be on us tomorrow,” Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini told Cronkite News at ASU’s pep rally in London’s Adidas-Oxford Street location.
That’s the reality surrounding Saturday’s matchup, with Arizona State and Kansas set to play in the first FBS game in England. The week-long London takeover has already included Big Noon Kickoff live on site, and FOX’s decision to broadcast from outside Wembley Stadium gives the event a different feel from the usual international college football stop.
International games are nothing new, but this one is being built a little differently. ESPN’s College Gameday has not brought its crew to Ireland for the Aer Lingus Classic since 2024, leaving it two seasons since a kickoff show last had its people on the ground abroad. FOX, meanwhile, is still relatively early in the life of Big Noon Kickoff, which launched in 2019, and the network’s long-term media deal with the Big 12 adds another layer to the equation.
Rob Stone said the crew has been energized by the chance to do something new.
“We love getting to our Michigans and our Ohio States, but when we get to a new venue, there’s definitely an extra little giddy-up in our step,” Fox’s Big Noon Kickoff host Rob Stone told Front Office Sports. “Now taking it internationally for the first time ever, these guys have been all smiles for weeks.”
Arizona State has not hosted Big Noon Kickoff in Tempe during the show’s six-year run, but the Sun Devils have crossed paths with the program before. In 2020, just a year into the show, Arizona State and USC were part of a strange COVID-era scene that brought attention to a season unlike any other.
That game was a noon EST/9 a.m. PST kickoff and, as the source material notes, it was the most “non-Big Noon Kickoff” Big Noon Kickoff show ever.
It was also the “season opener” for the Devils, coming on November 7, and no real show or crew was allowed at the LA Coliseum because of guidelines.
This weekend should look very different. The expectation is for a loud ASU and Kansas presence in Wembley, with fans having spent the week around London ahead of the game.
The bigger idea here is brand growth, and college football doesn’t usually think of that in international terms. But after the 2026 World Cup, the appetite for sports that immerse visitors in a country’s culture is obvious.
Rob Stone said college football fits that mold.
“One thing we learned about hosting the World Cup this summer is that foreigners love coming to the United States and learning about some of the uniqueness of the things that we offer, whether that’s food or sporting events,” Rob Stone told FOS. “College football is singularly unique to American culture, and if we’re able to share that and spread some of that beautiful chaos and tradition to people, whether it’s in London or Italy or Spain or Germany or wherever, I think we’re all better for it.”
Arizona State is also making its own international push, with the school opening its “ASU London” campus this year and offering a wide range of online classes. That gives the Sun Devils a broader global footprint, and it also helps the Big 12’s visibility.
Even with the cautionary example of NC State-Virginia in Brazil, which failed to get off the ground, this partnership between ASU, Kansas, FOX and the Union Jack Classic has created a template for how to stage American football abroad.
Whether it pays off in the long run will be determined by the game itself.
Arizona State and Kansas will kick off at 5:00 p.m. London time, 9:00 a.m. MST in Arizona, on Saturday, September 19, on FS1.
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ASUs London Win Got An Emotional Twist Fans Will Love
Arizona States trip to London delivered more than a long-haul curiosity for the Sun Devils. In the first-ever Union Jack Classic at Wembley Stadium, ASU took down Kansas 24-17 behind a defense that made the difference at key moments, including a 77-yard fumble return by Hyrum Vaeono and multiple turnovers forced by linebacker Owen Long. The win also gave the Sun Devils their first conference victory, moving them to 2-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big 12.
For a team still trying to establish its footing early in the season, the result carried real weight beyond the novelty of playing overseas. Arizona State left London with a meaningful road win, a sharper identity on defense and a conference result that should matter as the schedule gets tougher. [Read more 🡒]
Kenny Dillingham Didn't Care How Ugly Arizona State's Win Looked
Arizona States trip to Wembley Stadium had plenty of the kind of bumps that tend to travel with a long overseas game, from turnovers to penalties to stretches where the Sun Devils never quite found a clean rhythm. Still, the 24-17 win over Kansas in the Union Jack Classic gave Kenny Dillingham and his team something far more important than style points, and it came in a landmark setting as the first college football game in England between two FBS teams.
Dillingham wasnt interested in making excuses for how the game looked, and he didnt need to after a result that sent Arizona State home with a win after a demanding road swing. The bigger takeaway for the coach was simple enough: in a game with extra travel, an unfamiliar stage and plenty of self-inflicted mistakes, the Sun Devils found a way to avoid turnovers when it mattered and leave London with the only thing that really counts. [Read more 🡒]