Kenny Dillingham isn’t in London to sightsee. He’s in London to make sure Arizona State is ready for Kansas.
While ASU’s first-year international backdrop includes Wembley Stadium, Buckingham Palace and all the rest of the city’s landmarks, the Sun Devils’ coach has barely looked up from the work in front of him. After Tuesday’s practice at Lensbury Resort, about 10 miles from downtown London, Dillingham made it clear he’s been operating on football mode only.
“I’ve been locked in a cave, That was the first time I’ve been outside in 48 hours,” he said.
That’s been the theme for Dillingham since the team arrived Sunday for Saturday’s Big 12 opener against KU. He said he hasn’t wandered through the city, taken The Tube, gone to Big Ben, toured Windsor Castle or spent any time in the historic pubs and West End theatres.
“For us, it’s just kind of status quo when it comes to the work from a staff perspective,” he said, as Arizona State tries to clean up what showed in its 48-20 loss at Texas A&M.
Even the idea of having fun hasn’t really applied to him.
“Not me. I didn’t sleep the first 36 hours I was here,” Dillingham said when asked about any team-bonding or off-field activities.
The players have had more freedom. Arizona State and Kansas both enter the game at 1-1, with the Sun Devils coming off that loss to Texas A&M after opening with a 70-7 win over Morgan State on Sept.
- Dillingham said he’s letting his team move around London as long as the basics are handled.
“Like I told them today, they’re not hostages here. If you want to go do something, go do something.
Just make sure we get what we need to get accomplished done,” he said. “Make sure you get schoolwork done.
Make sure you study how you’re supposed to study. Make sure you get your treatment how you’re supposed to get it.
“I told our guys, ‘If you would normally go to the mall on a Tuesday and you want to, go to the city and go out and walk around.’ Like I don’t care, right? Just be smart, be with your teammates, make good decisions.”
He said some players have already gone out to eat, and others have taken trips into London or another nearby town he said is about 20 minutes away.
“We tell them to go in fours because if one wants to make a bad decision the other three will stop him,” he said to the Arizona Republic.
The travel setup for this game forced Arizona State into a different routine. Dillingham said if the game had been played Friday instead of Saturday, the Sun Devils probably would have gone home after the Texas A&M loss and followed a normal week before flying out later. But with Saturday’s game, he said the team had to choose between leaving right away or sacrificing a practice in the middle of the week.
“So we just kind of had to change, make our schedule the best we could make it. I think we have. I think the players have done a good job with it, and I’m excited to be here,” he said.
Dillingham also said “for sure” when asked whether Kansas had an edge by playing Friday instead of Saturday and by being at home before heading overseas.
“From that perspective, usually you don’t play on different days when you play an international game and stuff like that. Usually both teams play similar days, just because the day early, you can have your normal practice schedule moved up ...” he said.
“Then when you fly out here, that’s a bonus off day. So it really doesn’t disrupt your day except for a random travel day in the middle, when you have the bonus day involved.”
He didn’t try to dress it up any further.
“It’s college athletics and you don’t expect the scheduling to be different when you schedule a game like this. But at the end of the day, it is what it is.
Nobody’s going to feel any better or worse for us. There are no excuses.
You either get it done or you don’t get it done. So that’s the that’s situation we’re in.”
Kansas, meanwhile, spent Monday and Tuesday practicing in Lawrence after its 38-21 loss to Missouri on Friday night. The Jayhawks and their traveling party were scheduled to leave Topeka by charter at 6:15 p.m.
Central on Tuesday, with an expected arrival in London at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday after an 8 hour, 15 minute flight.
Their week in London was set to include practice Wednesday, sightseeing after Thursday’s practice, and then normal Friday and Saturday preparation before the 11 a.m. Central kickoff - 5 p.m. London time.
Dillingham also sees a bigger picture in the trip, especially with Arizona State’s new presence in the city. ASU launched “ASU London” In November 2025, with first classes set for Monday.
“I think this is an opportunity for Arizona State University to grow, opening a university in London, right?” he said. “We’ve got a new campus here, so I think for London to be exposed to Arizona State University and kind of brand ourselves over here and hopefully have a sold-out crowd of ASU fans would be awesome.”
And because he couldn’t resist, he even offered a little guidance for the crowd on how to handle an American football game.
“If you don’t know, when Kansas is on offense, you cheer as loud as possible. That’s what you do, right?”
Dillingham said with a smile. “If you’re rooting for Arizona State, you cheer as loud as possible when Kansas is on offense.
So that’s the cheering rules that I hope get applied.”
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