A little over two years ago, Kenny Dillingham held his introductory press conference as coach of the Arizona State football team.
In it, a very emotional coach talked about how “special” Arizona State was and how eager he was to become coach of the Sun Devils.
Dillingham also touched on how he wanted to “win at the highest level,” how he wanted to fire up the fan base after the team went 3-9 last season, and how the previous coaching staff left the school because he was after a… NCAA recruiting investigation faced sanctions.
It took less than two seasons for Dillingham’s vision to become a reality.
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Kenny Dillingham’s vision for Arizona State is becoming a reality
The ASU football team is 10-2 this season, Dillingham’s second in Tempe, and is playing for the Big 12 Championship today in its first season in the conference.
The Valley stands behind the Sun Devils football program.
No matter what happens in the Big 12 title game, this was a special season for the Sun Devils and Dillingham, who was recently named Big 12 Coach of the Year. ASU exceeded all expectations after being picked to finish last in the conference.
What Kenny Dillingham said during Arizona State’s memorable opening press conference:
“I’m at home. I mean, this is literally my home. At home. So I say this because this place is special. This state is special. The people in this room are special,” Dillingham said in his introductory press conference at ASU (which can be seen in the video at the top of this story). “Sorry, pretty emotional. That’s just who I am to be successful, it’s already been successful, we’ve seen it. The leadership from top to bottom is consistent.
“That’s why I’m here now. … We need the entire valley to come together. You want to win at the highest level, you want to maximize this space, we need everyone in this room. Positive things. Positive things. We need.” Everyone in this room needs to get involved. We need the state behind us. We need everything this valley has. Because it is me.
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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.
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