International college football has already made itself at home in London, and the Union Jack Classic offered the latest proof.
On a trip built around Sun Devil football, the game became more than a matchup. It turned into a full-city experience for fans, families and the people inside the program, with ASU supporters showing up in force and helping paint London in gold.
Sisters Anna and Grace Hague were among the many Sun Devil fans who made the trip overseas, and the game gave them a chance to watch their alma mater together for the first time since graduation.
"We decided to cross the pond for it," Anna Hague said.
Grace Hague said the atmosphere around the team surprised her in the best way.
"It's been incredible," Grace Hague said. "I feel like there's been a huge ASU presence, which I wasn't sure that there would be."
That presence was easy to spot. The game drew 46,523 fans, and ASU Athletics Director Graham Rossini said the response from Sun Devil supporters went well beyond the stadium.
"We had 6,000 tickets on our block that were gone immediately," Rossini said. "We had to add to that ticket block two or three times along the way, and just the sea of gold all over the streets of London this week has been a blast to see."
The Sun Devils leaned into the trip, too, taking in the city’s history and traditional sights when they weren’t preparing for the game. The team’s social media account highlighted a day spent exploring London, and the broader trip fit the idea that this was as much about the experience as the football.
Head Coach Kenny Dillingham made that clear, saying the chance to see the world matters for his players.
"It's an unbelievable experience for those guys to really see the world and be college athletes," Dillingham said. "For this week I can say these guys were college athletes, and that's what was really fun to watch."
Dillingham also said he encouraged staff members to bring their families so they could share in the trip, and fans did the same. Tyler Bell turned the London game into a birthday celebration, bringing friends and family along for the ride.
"When the game was announced for my birthday, I asked my mom to buy tickets for me to go and drag her along," Bell said. "We brought our baby with us, as well."
Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark says this kind of overseas stage is not a one-off. He said the league is already looking at more games in London, including at Wembley, and made it clear the conference wants to keep pushing its reach beyond the United States.
"We're already talking to some of our schools that are very interested to play in London next year, and specifically here at Wembley," Yormark said. "We're very ambitious as a conference; we're a different type of conference, and we do want to globalize who we are."
The Union Jack Classic is contracted through the 2030 season, though future teams have not been announced. Along with events like the Aer Lingus College Football Classic in Dublin, the London game points to a growing appetite for college football abroad. Yormark said ticket buyers for the inaugural game came from 35 different countries, another sign that the sport’s international footprint is already real.
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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 🡒]