LAS VEGAS — Las Vegas has become a hot spot for the biggest events in college sports including Big 12 Football Media Days at Allegiant Stadium. Head coaches, student-athletes, spirit teams and mascots from all 16 of the conference’s member institutions met as a collective group for the first time since the Pac-12 dissolved.
It was a new experience for Arizona State’s first-year Athletic Director, Graham Rossini, who is ushering in a new era at his Alma Mater.
“It's exciting. It feels real when we're in the stadium and you see the Big 12 logos all around us, and so it's nice that college football is right around the corner,” Rossini said. “We've been hard at work on the transition for about a year now, and so it kind of culminates as we're in our first media day as a member of the Big 12 and we’ll officially join in August.”
This will be the second season at the helm for head coach Kenny Dillingham whose rallying cry of “Activate the Valley” has resonated with recruits. The Scottsdale product emphasizes how establishing a culture and relationship with the Sun Devil community is paramount to the success of the football program. Rossini echoed that sentiment, using the operative word "connected" when describing what fans can expect during his tenure.
“We're making decisions that improve game day, we want to make decisions that allow our coaches to have more success. We want to be connected. We want to give fans a great time every time they're on campus. We want them to learn more about ASU. We want them to have a blast while they're supporting the Sun Devils and we do it together.”
Arizona State enters the Big 12 with three other former members of the Pac-12: Utah, Colorado and in-state rival Arizona. Playing the Wildcats in The Territorial Cup is among the traditions the Sun Devils will carry on as they transition into a new conference. After the success of last year’s open scrimmage for fans at Camp Tontozona, the Sun Devils are planning to return for what’s become a Sun Devil Football rite of passage in August.
“It was an incredible turnout last year and we're expecting more when we get back in August. A lot of credit to Coach Dillingham. He understood the tradition of Camp T and what that means to our fan base, but also what a great tool it is to get connected as a football team as we go into a really important season,” Rossini said. “Having time together with your teammates, you're focused on each other, you're focused on relationship building. Yes, they're getting better football, yes they're training and competing, but it's more about building the culture of the program, coming together as a unit, and then having success as the season starts.”
Dillingham is leading a program still reeling from the fallout of an NCAA investigation and three of the worst seasons in ASU football history. After a 3-9 campaign in 2023, the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12 Preseason Poll. Instead of protesting the prediction, Dillingham is using it as fuel for his team.
“I’m not against it. It’s the worst three-year stretch in Arizona State history. Our job is to change it. We can either talk about it or read it, get pissed off about it, and change it. But it’s not going to happen by saying ‘Oh, that’s not true.’ Well, it is true,” Dillingham said. “If you want to change it, change it. That’s kind of the message to the team.”
The Sun Devil student-athlete representatives were running back Cam Skattebo, offensive lineman Leif Fautanu, defensive back Xavion Alford, and defensive lineman Clayton Smith, all members of the team in 2023. As members of the Pac-12, ASU attended media days in Hollywood, but the players were under a different set of bright lights on an NFL field in Las Vegas.
“That's what we do this for. We want to give these young people these moments to go compete and represent and have this incredible life experience because of what ASU football has done for them,” Rossini said. “It's just fun to see these wide eyes and bright smiles about what they're doing today."
Arizona State football kicks off its season at home on August 31 against Wyoming. The Sun Devils play their first Big 12 Conference game on September 21 at Texas Tech.
Follow the conversation with Lina Washington on X and Instagram: @LWashingtonTV. If you have a sports story idea, email Lina at LWashington@12News.com.
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