Latest news with #Dillingham
Miami Herald
20 hours ago
- Sport
- Miami Herald
Arizona State Football Preview 2025: Who's Having More Fun Than Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils?
Everything about Arizona State last year was back Cam Skattebo was fun. Quarterback Sam Leavitt was fun. Winning the Big 12 Championship was fun, and almost pulling out a thriller over Texas in the College Football Playoff was super-fun, even in a no one had more fun than head coach Kenny Dillingham, with an infectious excitement and style that showed in every play in every game. X CFN, Fiu | CFN Facebook | Bluesky Fiu, CFN Arizona State Offense BreakdownArizona State Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season Skattebo might be a New York Giant, but now that the Sun Devils are the hunted, the good times aren't going to Big 12 is much better from top to bottom, being the hunted won't be easy, and there will likely be more than the two regular season losses the team suffered last year. And none of that should be a problem, because this team won't quit. Arizona State started 2-7 in Dillingham's first season in 2023, but there was still intensity and toughness over the final three weeks, even when they were way overmatched in blowout losses to Oregon and Arizona over the last two all carried over into 2024, and now is when it's on Dillingham to keep the party going. He's just 35, and Arizona State is his school - this isn't just some job for him - and it should once again show after proving that his style year's team is among the most experienced in the country, and it still landed a few icing-on-cake transfers to come in to help patch what few holes there team, fun coach, and all at one of the most fun schools in the country. Arizona State is on the national radar now as a must-watch team every it all going with another strong season, and 2024 should be just the beginning. Arizona State Offense BreakdownArizona State Defense BreakdownSeason Prediction, Win Total, Keys to Season © 2025 The Arena Group Holdings, Inc. All rights reserved.
USA Today
09-06-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham earned record bonus by passing Jim Harbaugh
Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham earned record bonus by passing Jim Harbaugh Show Caption Hide Caption ASU football coach Kenny Dillingham discusses significance of Pat's Run ASU football coach Kenny Dillingham discusses how important Pat's Run is to the ASU community on April 12, 2025. The bonuses include $2.604 million for on-field performance and at least $502,500 for academic achievements. Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham has earned more bonus money in a single school year than any football coach at a public school. Dillingham will collect at least $3.056 million in on-field and academic performance-related bonuses for the 2024-25 school year, which surpasses the $3 million that Michigan paid John Harbaugh for winning the national championship in 2023-24, according to a database of public college coaches' contracts maintained by USA TODAY Sports. Dillingham received $2.604 million in football-related bonuses after the Sun Devils finished the season with an 11-3 record, won the Big 12 Conference and earned the No. 4 seed in the College Football Playoff. Arizona State lost its quarterfinal game against Texas in the Peach Bowl finished No. 7 in the final US LBM Top 25 Coaches Poll. Dillingham will also receive at least $502,500 in academic-related bonuses for the team's Academic Progress Rate, Graduation Success Rate, Grade Point Average and enrolling three new scholarship student athletes in the Barrett Honors College. This extra half-million dollars pushes Dillingham past Harbaugh and into first place on the list for most bonus money in a single school year since 2019, when USA TODAY Sports began keeping track of these payments. Most college coaches' contracts, acquired by USA TODAY Sports through public records requests, do not include such lucrative bonus incentives for academic performance. Indiana's Curt Cignetti ($1.5 million) and Iowa State's Matt Campbell ($1.35 million) earned the second- and third-largest bonuses among college football coaches during the 2024-25 school year, and neither has academic performance-related incentives in their contracts on file with USA TODAY Sports. Dillingham gave $300,000 of his bonus to his staff, the school confirmed. The coach earned a $200,000 bonus for winning a ninth regular-season game, which he distributed among more than 20 staff members around Thanksgiving, as has been reported, and later distributed another $100,000, which has not been previously reported. Dillingham's compensation was among the lowest in Big 12 Conference Dillingham's annual compensation in 2024 was $3.95 million, which ranked 11th out of 12 football coaches at public schools in the Big 12 Conference and served as the basis for many of his on-field bonuses. (Baylor and TCU are private schools, are not subject to open-records laws and do not release their coaches' contracts.) Dillingham's annual compensation increased to $5.8 million in 2025, after his contract was renegotiated and approved by the Arizona Board of Regents. Dillingham collects more than $2.6 million in football bonuses Dillingham received $2.604 million in bonuses for on-field performance. ∎ $200,000 for the ninth regular-season win. ∎ $300,000 for the 10th regular-season win. ∎ $395,000 for appearing in the conference championship game. (10% of annual salary.) ∎ $395,000 for winning the conference championship game. (10% of annual salary.) ∎ $1,185,000 for an appearance in the College Football Playoff. (30% of annual salary.) ∎ $79,000 for the top-10 final ranking. (2% of annual salary.) ∎ $50,000 for being named Big 12 Coach of the Year. Dillingham to receive more than $500,000 in academic bonuses Dillingham will receive at least $502,500 for his student-athletes' academic performance. ∎ $290,000 for the football program's multi-year APR score of 973 out of 1,000 that was released this spring. (5% of his updated 2025 compensation of $5.8 million, the school confirmed, for a multi-year APR score of at least 969. This bonus would have doubled for a multi-year APR score over 974.) APR measures the eligibility and retention of each student-athlete for each academic term. ∎ $100,000 for a team GSR above 86%. (The GSR was 87%.) GSR reflects the NCAA's calculation of the percentage of student-athletes on a team who graduate within six years of entering college. ∎ $62,500 for team GPA equal to or greater than 2.80. (This is the amount Dillingham received during the 2023-24 school year, when the team GPA was 2.84. The 2024-25 team GPA is calculated after summer school. This annual bonus jumps to $100,000 for a 2.90 GPA and to $150,000 for a 3.0 GPA.) ∎ $50,000 for having between three and six new scholarship student athletes enroll in the Barrett Honors College. The Arizona State football team doubled the number of football scholarship student-athletes enrolled, adding three newcomers to increase the total to six. The group is comprised of sophomore defensive back Keith Abney II, sophomore running back Kyson Brown, freshman punter Kanyon Floyd, freshman linebacker Martell Hughes, freshman linebacker Isaiah Iosefa and freshman quarterback Cameron Dyer. How Kenny Dillingham edged Harbaugh's record bonus Harbaugh received $3 million in bonuses for the 2023-24 school year, when Michigan won the national championship, the university confirmed. Harbaugh was eligible to receive up to another $150,000 for an APR bonus, which would have kept him atop the all-time single-year bonus list, but the amount and whether it was paid were at the school's discretion, according to his contract. Harbaugh was not paid the APR bonus for that season, Michigan confirmed, because the payment is made in the spring and he had already resigned to become head coach of the Los Angeles Chargers. The non-payment ensures Dillingham will receive the most bonus money in a single school year.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Arizona State Unlikely to Return to CFP in 2025, per ESPN FPI
Arizona State Unlikely to Return to CFP in 2025, per ESPN FPI originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Arizona State Sun Devils pulled off one of the most dramatic worst-to-first finishes in recent memory. The Sun Devils went from just three wins in 2023 to 11 victories last season, won the Big 12 title and got in the playoffs. Advertisement This season, the Sun Devils return almost all of their starters from last year's championship squad. Included among those returnees are starting signal-caller Sam Leavitt, pass-catching weapon Jordyn Tyson and 10 talented defenders. In addition, Arizona State suffered zero turnover on its coaching staff. Head coach Kenny Dillingham, offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo and defensive coordinator Brian Ward are all back this season. Despite all the returning experience and coaching stability, the powers that be at ESPN have ranked the Sun Devils with a Football Power Index (FPI) of 9.8 and a ranking of No. 24, projecting them to win eight games this season. That puts ASU well outside the criteria and threshold to earn a second consecutive CFP berth Advertisement ESPN has stacked the top ten with five SEC and three Big Ten programs. Take the defending national champs, Ohio State, for example. The Buckeyes lost a ton of experience and production to the NFL on both sides of the ball. In addition, Ohio State lost its offensive coordinator, Chip Kelly, to the NFL and the Las Vegas Raiders. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles has moved on to Happy Valley and the Penn State Nittany Lions. Ohio State will start a new quarterback with little to no college game experience. Yet, ESPN ranks the Buckeyes at No. 4 with an FPI of 23.8 and a projected win total of 10 wins. Texas (28.5), Georgia (26.6) and somehow Alabama (24.2) hold the top three spots, respectively. Advertisement The Crimson Tide and Bulldogs both lost their starting quarterbacks from last season and will start new quarterbacks with little to no college game experience. Texas and Georgia are projecting double-digit victories. Alabama projects to win nine games. Of those eight SEC/Big Ten teams, six will start new, inexperienced quarterbacks. Two will start transfer QBs: Carson Beck moves from Georgia to Miami and Joey Aguilar from Appalachian State to Tennessee. Contrast all the above to a team like Clemson. Dabo Swinney's Tigers are essentially a mirror image of Arizona State. Clemson returns 20 starters from last year's Atlantic Coast Conference championship and CFP team. Advertisement Clemson returns QB1 starter Cade Klubnik, their top three receivers and pretty much their entire defense. ESPN ranks Clemson just outside the top ten, at No. 11, with an FPI of 17.3. ESPN is riddled with SEC and Big Ten bias and this is outright disrespect toward the Sun Devils. But that does not bother Dillingham one bit. He prefers his team to be labeled as an underdog or that they could underachieve this season. Dillingham wants his team to be hungry and not buy into the 'hype.' He wants 100 percent effort, to be the best they can be, in every game. With a wry smirk on his face, Dillingham and the Sun Devils have ESPN and college football right where they want them. Related: Kenny Dillingham Details 'Next Step' in Building ASU Football Program This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 4, 2025, where it first appeared.
USA Today
02-06-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Kenny Dillingham turns heads with comparison of Arizona State, Oregon in 2020's
Kenny Dillingham turns heads with comparison of Arizona State, Oregon in 2020's For years, and perhaps decades, West Coast college football fans have wondered why Arizona State isn't a better program. The Sun Devils have been competitive in most seasons, but they have never been great or serious contenders for major bowl games or a national title. It's always been quite the mystery that not even Sherlock Holmes would be able to solve. All the pieces are there. The facilities are good enough. The stadium is good enough. But perhaps the only thing missing was the right man at the helm. But perhaps with Sun Devil alum Kenny Dillingham, ASU finally has the right man. He showed the promise of Sun Devil football last season as they won the Big XII in their first season in the conference and were in the College Football Playoff, where ASU took Texas to double overtime before going down 39-31. According to Dillingham, it was just the tip of the iceberg of what the Sun Devils can do with the program. He wants to emulate the rise of Oregon of the 2000s and Clemson in the 2010s. "You have Clemson this last cycle, from 2010 to 2020. They just showed up. People think they've been around forever," Dillingham told writer Pete Nakos. "You have Oregon from 2000 to 2010. You can go back in history and figure out which teams have shown up in which era. There hasn't been a team in this era, in the 2020s. The lifestyle you have in Arizona, if we can create some staff consistency, and then we're in a league where we can continually compete to win." Clemson won two national championships in the last decade, but have fallen off some. Oregon, meanwhile, is still in pursuit of its first national title, but the Ducks are usually in contention in most seasons. Dillingham's challenge in Tempe now is to keep the Sun Devils consistently in the playoff conversation. They're off to a good start. Contact/Follow @Ducks_Wire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oregon Ducks news, notes, and opinions.
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Kenny Dillingham Cites Oregon When Making Bold ASU Prediction
Kenny Dillingham Cites Oregon When Making Bold ASU Prediction originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The Oregon Ducks will hope to continue their success in the 2025-26 season after an incredible first year in the Big Ten Conference. Formerly of the Pac-12 Conference, the Ducks ran through the Big Ten to an undefeated regular-season record. Advertisement After the Ducks narrowly defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes in a thriller, many thought they had what it took to win the College Football Playoff National Championship. After defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions in the Big Ten Championship, the Ducks were awarded the No. 1 overall seed. However, almost a month off proved to be too much, as the Ducks fell in a rematch to Ohio State in the Rose Bowl. Kenny Dillingham cites Oregon when making bold ASU claim If things had fell differently, there would've been a slight chance that the Ducks could've matched up against one of their former Pac-12 rivals in the Arizona State Sun Devils. Advertisement The Sun Devils, coached by former Oregon offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, also received a first-round bye for winning the Big 12 Championship, placing them on the same side of the bracket as Oregon and potentially setting up a semifinal matchup. On3's Pete Nakos interviewed Dillingham, who spoke on building something special at Arizona State rather than looking to be hired at a bigger school. In the interview, he used Oregon and Clemson as two main examples. 'You have Clemson this last cycle, from 2010 to 2020. They just showed up. People think they've been around forever," said Dillingham. "You have Oregon from 2000 to 2010. You can go back in history and figure out which teams have shown up in which era. "There hasn't been a team in this era, in the 2020s. The lifestyle you have in Arizona, if we can create some staff consistency, and then we're in a league where we can continually compete to win.' While turning Arizona State into a powerhouse like those programs, it's not out of the question that they could be a perennial power in the Big 12 Conference. Under the new College Football Playoff format, the Sun Devils wouldn't have received a top-four seed, as they did last season. Advertisement The Sun Devils making the College Football Playoff is a considerable achievement in its own right. But now, a question arises. Can Dillingham do it again? This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
