Latest news with #KennyDillingham
USA Today
3 days ago
- 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
3 days ago
- 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.
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Kenny Dillingham Makes Bold Claim About Arizona State's 'Blue-Blood' Potential
Kenny Dillingham Makes Bold Claim About Arizona State's 'Blue-Blood' Potential originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Arizona head coach Kenny Dillingham is entering new territory after leading his alma mater to a Big 12 title and a College Football Playoff berth last season. Advertisement The former Memphis, Auburn, Florida State and Oregon offensive coordinator had never held a head coaching role before taking the helm of the Sun Devils ahead of the 2023 season. And that first season was a tough pill to swallow, as Arizona State won just three games. But things looked completely different in Year 2. Dillingham's Sun Devils went on to post an 11-3 record (the first 11-win season since 1996), captured the Big 12 championship in their first season in the conference and made the playoff for the first time in school history. The rise to success, if sustained in 2025, will likely made Dillingham a coveted name in the coaching carousel. He signed a contract extension through 2029 after the 2024 season. Advertisement However, Dillingham claimed that the Sun Devils have what it takes to be a "blue-blood" and appears to be committed to building his alma mater into a consistent contender. Arizona State Sun Devils head coach Kenny Heitman-Imagn Images 'You can build something very, very unique,' he said via On3's Steve Wiltfong. 'Every 10 years, a team shows up on the map, and they're a blue-blood to the next generation. They're not a blue-blood to the people my age, but they're a blue-blood to the 10-year-olds, the 11-year-olds and the 12-year-olds who you're eventually going to recruit." Dillingham went on to name Oregon and Clemson – perennial powers that rose to the top of college football in a short time frame – as examples of what Arizona State football wants to become. Advertisement 'You have Clemson this last cycle, from 2010 to 2020," he said. "They just showed up. People think they've been around forever. 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 question remains of how the Sun Devils can sustain the winning trend. Major contenders, like Oregon and Clemson, recruit with the best in the country. Arizona State did make improvements in that area in the 2025 cycle (No. 19 nationally from No. 45 in 2024). The Sun Devils won't return star tailback Cam Skattebo in 2025, but they do return star quarterback Sam Leavitt and the most production in the nation other than Clemson. The 2025 season will open against Northern Arizona on Aug. 30. Advertisement Related: Miami Receives Disappointing News On Elite 4-Star In-State Target Related: Nation's No. 1 QB Reacts To 5-Star Wide Receiver's Visit To Georgia This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on May 31, 2025, where it first appeared.
Washington Post
6 days ago
- Business
- Washington Post
In college playoff debate, the Arizona St coach with everything to lose says he'll take his chances
When it comes to the future of the College Football Playoff , there were as many opinions as there were coaches on hand at the Southeastern Conference and Big 12 meetings in Florida this week. Perhaps the most eye-opening came from some of those with the most to lose — Kenny Dillingham of Arizona State and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. The consensus at their meetings, which wrapped up in Orlando on Friday, was a preference for a format, starting in 2026, that would include 16 teams — five of them automatic bids to the highest-rated conference champions and the other 11 awarded as at-large spots. That would be paired with a straight-seeding model that has already been adopted for next season's playoff. Had last season's playoff used straight seeding, the Big 12 champion Sun Devils would have been seeded 11th, not fourth. Instead of a bye, they would have been stuck with a first-round road game at eventual national champion Ohio State. But Dillingham said the change for the upcoming season is fine with him, and if the increasingly popular 5-11 model takes hold for 2026, that's fine, too. 'Last season, maybe we didn't earn the right to be the fourth seed. Maybe we earned the right to be the eighth seed,' said the coach, whose team was ranked 12th, but still received the fourth seed and a first-round bye before losing to Texas 39-31. 'I believe you earn your way to those seeds, so I'm also in support of the 5-plus-11, that same thought process.' The SEC and Big Ten will decide the format for the playoff starting in 2026, which is when ESPN's new $7.8 billion contract kicks in. Yormark said the SEC and Big Ten 'have a great responsibility that goes with it to do what's right for college football and not to do anything that just benefits two conferences. And I have a lot of faith in the process.' The 5-11 system could be less advantageous for the Big 12, which would get two automatic bids under the other system being floated, the 4-4-2-2-1 model in which the SEC and Big Ten each would receive four and the Big 12 and ACC would get two. The best argument for that plan might have come from Florida AD Scott Stricklin at the SEC meetings: 'I think anything we can do to make the postseason more objective and less subjective is going to be better,' he said, pointing to the notion that the more at-large berths there are, the more the preferences of the selection committee come into play. Yormark said the Big 12 would be willing to take its chances with more at-large bids. 'We want to earn it on the field,' Yormark said. 'The 5-11 might not be ideal for the conference, but it's good for college football, and it's what's fair.' Dillingham was on the same page. 'Every year is a new year, and you never know who's going to be good in college football, especially with the volume going through the (transfer) portal,' he said. 'So anything that creates an open platform for teams like our guys last year to prove that they do belong, I'm in support of.' NCAA President Charlie Baker made his most definitive statement yet about expanding the men's basketball tournament from its current 68 teams to 72 or 76, saying it's a decision that needs to come in the next few months. SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has long been in favor of that expansion, so long as it's done a certain way. His model would bring more at-large teams – presumably from big conferences -- into the main draw of 64. It would push more automatic qualifiers from weaker leagues into what would be an increased number of so-called 'play-in' games, what's known now as the First Four. He used the example of North Carolina State in 2024 as a team that was seeded 11th (the Wolfpack didn't have to play a play-in game but often an 11th seed does) and made the Final Four. 'I don't think all the 10- and 11-type seeds should just be placed in the First Four,' Sankey said at the SEC meetings in the Florida Panhandle. 'That's my opinion. You could go ask my colleagues in the AQ conferences what should happen and I'm certain they'd want the split to continue.' A few SEC coaches hedged when asked what they were telling walk-on football players who were in jeopardy of losing their roster spots under terms of the multibillion-dollar lawsuit settlement that is hung up on the issue of roster limits. 'Certainly it's challenging for us to manage our roster,' Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. 'But it's more challenging for a 19-year-old to not know what his place on a football team is as we head into the summer.' Under terms of a reworked agreement, football rosters would be limited to 105 players, all of whom would be eligible for scholarships, though walk-on players who had roster spots before would not count against the limit. Kansas coach Lance Leipold conceded that many decisions had already been made regardless of how the settlement works out. Indeed, some of his walk-ons had already left, as the Jayhawks made preparations for the upcoming season with the expectation the settlement would be approved. 'When a walk-on maybe decides that now that their roster spot might be in jeopardy, he has a chance to go somewhere else where he may see more real playing time in games, you got to be happy for him,' he said. 'I guess we all wish we had a little bit more clarity sooner.' From locker rooms to the commissioner's office, the Big 12 is unified in its stance on transfer portal timing. Rather than two transfer windows, including a 20-day slot with the college football playoff in sight in December, the Big 12 is pushing for one window in January. 'As coaches, we unanimously support one portal window, and that is in January,' Leipold said. 'You're signing most of your guys in December. You know what your roster will be like to start the second semester, and you have the opportunity to work and develop and build those relationships and evaluate your team and get ready for the next season.' Coaches can find solace in knowing their commissioner will fight for the cause. Adjusting the portal windows is one of many items on the list of topics Yormark will discuss with fellow Power Four commissioners in the coming weeks. 'We discussed the portal window with the coaches,' Yormark said. 'We know what their preference is. We'll discuss that amongst the Power Four commissioners here shortly, but I advocate for their position. They want a January portal, and we'll discuss that again with our peers and see where we can land this thing.' There are plenty of ongoing disputes between the NCAA's most dominant conferences, but a desire for more control isn't one of them. Rumors of the SEC separating from the NCAA may have gained momentum, but Sankey is willing to settle for more autonomy, at least for now. Instead of the original 65%, Sankey argued that the Power Four conferences owning 68% of the vote in the proposed NCAA governance model is more optimal. Yormark was on the same page. 'There is an appetite and desire to have a little bit more autonomy, a little bit more control in decision-making,' Yormark said. 'In what's currently being discussed, I think we will land in a very desirable place. We understand the importance of being part of the institution and also being very collegial with our peers. But at the same time, we do feel that when it comes to control and autonomy, that there needs to be a little bit of a shift to the A4, at least more so than what currently exists.' By the sounds of it, the Power Four may have the NCAA president on their side. 'Charlie Baker has been terrific throughout the process. He has listened to all the key stakeholder groups, but he does recognize that not everyone looks the same, operates the same, and there needs to be a bit of an adjustment and a modernization of what's being done there in the NCAA as a whole is, like you said, but also as it relates to the power four,' Yormark said. ___ Carey reported from Orlando, Fla., Pells from Miramar Beach, Fla. ___ AP college sports:
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
In college playoff debate, the Arizona St coach with everything to lose says he'll take his chances
FILE - Ariona State head coach Kenny Dillingham stands on the sideline during the first half of the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game against Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) FILE - Ariona State head coach Kenny Dillingham stands on the sideline during the first half of the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game against Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) FILE - Ariona State head coach Kenny Dillingham stands on the sideline during the first half of the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game against Iowa State in Arlington, Texas, Saturday, Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File) When it comes to the future of the College Football Playoff, there were as many opinions as there were coaches on hand at the Southeastern Conference and Big 12 meetings in Florida this week. Perhaps the most eye-opening came from some of those with the most to lose — Kenny Dillingham of Arizona State and Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark. Advertisement The consensus at their meetings, which wrapped up in Orlando on Friday, was a preference for a format, starting in 2026, that would include 16 teams — five of them automatic bids to the highest-rated conference champions and the other 11 awarded as at-large spots. That would be paired with a straight-seeding model that has already been adopted for next season's playoff. Had last season's playoff used straight seeding, the Big 12 champion Sun Devils would have been seeded 11th, not fourth. Instead of a bye, they would have been stuck with a first-round road game at eventual national champion Ohio State. But Dillingham said the change for the upcoming season is fine with him, and if the increasingly popular 5-11 model takes hold for 2026, that's fine, too. 'Last season, maybe we didn't earn the right to be the fourth seed. Maybe we earned the right to be the eighth seed,' said the coach, whose team was ranked 12th, but still received the fourth seed and a first-round bye before losing to Texas 39-31. 'I believe you earn your way to those seeds, so I'm also in support of the 5-plus-11, that same thought process.' Advertisement The SEC and Big Ten will decide the format for the playoff starting in 2026, which is when ESPN's new $7.8 billion contract kicks in. Yormark said the SEC and Big Ten 'have a great responsibility that goes with it to do what's right for college football and not to do anything that just benefits two conferences. And I have a lot of faith in the process.' The 5-11 system could be less advantageous for the Big 12, which would get two automatic bids under the other system being floated, the 4-4-2-2-1 model in which the SEC and Big Ten each would receive four and the Big 12 and ACC would get two. The best argument for that plan might have come from Florida AD Scott Stricklin at the SEC meetings: 'I think anything we can do to make the postseason more objective and less subjective is going to be better,' he said, pointing to the notion that the more at-large berths there are, the more the preferences of the selection committee come into play. Advertisement Yormark said the Big 12 would be willing to take its chances with more at-large bids. 'We want to earn it on the field,' Yormark said. 'The 5-11 might not be ideal for the conference, but it's good for college football, and it's what's fair.' Dillingham was on the same page. 'Every year is a new year, and you never know who's going to be good in college football, especially with the volume going through the (transfer) portal,' he said. 'So anything that creates an open platform for teams like our guys last year to prove that they do belong, I'm in support of.' Expanded March Madness NCAA President Charlie Baker made his most definitive statement yet about expanding the men's basketball tournament from its current 68 teams to 72 or 76, saying it's a decision that needs to come in the next few months. Advertisement SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey has long been in favor of that expansion, so long as it's done a certain way. His model would bring more at-large teams – presumably from big conferences -- into the main draw of 64. It would push more automatic qualifiers from weaker leagues into what would be an increased number of so-called 'play-in' games, what's known now as the First Four. He used the example of North Carolina State in 2024 as a team that was seeded 11th (the Wolfpack didn't have to play a play-in game but often an 11th seed does) and made the Final Four. 'I don't think all the 10- and 11-type seeds should just be placed in the First Four,' Sankey said at the SEC meetings in the Florida Panhandle. 'That's my opinion. You could go ask my colleagues in the AQ conferences what should happen and I'm certain they'd want the split to continue.' Walk-on walk-outs Advertisement A few SEC coaches hedged when asked what they were telling walk-on football players who were in jeopardy of losing their roster spots under terms of the multibillion-dollar lawsuit settlement that is hung up on the issue of roster limits. 'Certainly it's challenging for us to manage our roster,' Texas A&M coach Mike Elko said. 'But it's more challenging for a 19-year-old to not know what his place on a football team is as we head into the summer.' Under terms of a reworked agreement, football rosters would be limited to 105 players, all of whom would be eligible for scholarships, though walk-on players who had roster spots before would not count against the limit. Kansas coach Lance Leipold conceded that many decisions had already been made regardless of how the settlement works out. Indeed, some of his walk-ons had already left, as the Jayhawks made preparations for the upcoming season with the expectation the settlement would be approved. Advertisement 'When a walk-on maybe decides that now that their roster spot might be in jeopardy, he has a chance to go somewhere else where he may see more real playing time in games, you got to be happy for him," he said. "I guess we all wish we had a little bit more clarity sooner.' One window too many From locker rooms to the commissioner's office, the Big 12 is unified in its stance on transfer portal timing. Rather than two transfer windows, including a 20-day slot with the college football playoff in sight in December, the Big 12 is pushing for one window in January. 'As coaches, we unanimously support one portal window, and that is in January,' Leipold said. 'You're signing most of your guys in December. You know what your roster will be like to start the second semester, and you have the opportunity to work and develop and build those relationships and evaluate your team and get ready for the next season.' Advertisement Coaches can find solace in knowing their commissioner will fight for the cause. Adjusting the portal windows is one of many items on the list of topics Yormark will discuss with fellow Power Four commissioners in the coming weeks. 'We discussed the portal window with the coaches,' Yormark said. 'We know what their preference is. We'll discuss that amongst the Power Four commissioners here shortly, but I advocate for their position. They want a January portal, and we'll discuss that again with our peers and see where we can land this thing.' The Power Four wants more There are plenty of ongoing disputes between the NCAA's most dominant conferences, but a desire for more control isn't one of them. Rumors of the SEC separating from the NCAA may have gained momentum, but Sankey is willing to settle for more autonomy, at least for now. Advertisement Instead of the original 65%, Sankey argued that the Power Four conferences owning 68% of the vote in the proposed NCAA governance model is more optimal. Yormark was on the same page. 'There is an appetite and desire to have a little bit more autonomy, a little bit more control in decision-making,' Yormark said. 'In what's currently being discussed, I think we will land in a very desirable place. We understand the importance of being part of the institution and also being very collegial with our peers. But at the same time, we do feel that when it comes to control and autonomy, that there needs to be a little bit of a shift to the A4, at least more so than what currently exists.' By the sounds of it, the Power Four may have the NCAA president on their side. 'Charlie Baker has been terrific throughout the process. He has listened to all the key stakeholder groups, but he does recognize that not everyone looks the same, operates the same, and there needs to be a bit of an adjustment and a modernization of what's being done there in the NCAA as a whole is, like you said, but also as it relates to the power four," Yormark said. ___ Carey reported from Orlando, Fla., Pells from Miramar Beach, Fla. ___ AP college sports:
