Arizona State Sun Devils
The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams that represent Arizona State University. ASU has nine men's and eleven women's varsity teams competing at the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I level as a member of the Big 12 Conference. The mascot was adopted in 1946; earlier nicknames were the Normals and later, the Bulldogs. The Sun Devil mascot, Sparky, was designed by Bert Anthony, a former Disney illustrator. ASU's chief rival is the University of Arizona Wildcats, and both universities' athletics departments compete against each other in the Territorial Cup Series.
On August 4, 2023, Arizona State accepted an invite to join the Big 12 Conference, effective August 2, 2024.
Athletic achievements
ASU has 25 NCAA team national championships, including baseball, women's tennis, men's gymnastics, men's track and field, men's indoor track and field, women's outdoor track and field, women's indoor track and field, wrestling, men's golf, women's golf, softball, and men's swimming and diving. ASU also has numerous individual NCAA national champions in different sports. Additionally, the baseball team has appeared in the College World Series 22 times, the men's basketball team has participated in 13 NCAA tournaments, and the ASU football team won the Rose Bowl in 1987 and the Fiesta Bowl in 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1982.ASU varsity teams won national championships in men's archery 15 times, women's archery 21 times, mixed archery 20 times, men's badminton 13 times, women's badminton 17 times, mixed badminton 10 times and triathlon four times, all of which are not recognized by the NCAA.
After NCAA violations from the Sun Devil football team in 2024, ASU became the most-penalized school in NCAA history with ten major infractions.
Sports
Arizona State University sponsors teams in 11 men's and 15 women's NCAA sanctioned sports, following the 2015 elevation of the men's ice hockey club team to varsity status. In the fall of 2015, Arizona State announced the addition of women's triathlon and women's lacrosse. Triathlon began competition in the fall of 2016, with lacrosse starting competition in the spring of 2018. In spring 2016, ASU announced the reinstatement of men's tennis, which had been dropped after the 2007–08 school year.Football
The Sun Devils played in the Border Conference between 1931 and 1961, before joining the Western Athletic Conference. Led by head coach Frank Kush, the Sun Devils posted a 64–9 record between 1970 and 1975, culminating in a 17–14 upset of the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 1975 Fiesta Bowl.After the 2006 season, Dirk Koetter was fired after six seasons, and on December 6, 2006, athletic director Lisa Love hired Dennis Erickson to become the head coach at ASU. Erickson, in his first year as coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils, led the team to 10 wins, a share of the Pac-10 title with USC, and the Holiday Bowl against the University of Texas Longhorns. Erickson was fired on November 28, 2011, after five seasons with the Sun Devils. He was replaced by coach Todd Graham on December 14, 2011. Love was fired from her position as vice president for University Athletics and athletics director on March 28, 2012, and was immediately replaced by Steve Patterson. The athletic director from 2014-2023 was Ray Anderson, who selected former NFL player and coach Herm Edwards to replace Graham as Arizona State's head coach in 2018.
In Edwards’ first season in 2018, the Sun Devils went 5–1 at home including two Top-15 upsets over Michigan State and Utah. After a string of poor performances, Edwards was fired just 3 games into the 2022 season. He was replaced by Sun Devil alumnus Kenny Dillingham on November 26, 2022. Anderson stepped down from his position as athletic director on November 13, 2023 and was replaced by Graham Rossini.
Notable football alumni include Terrell Suggs, Jim Jeffcoat, Mike Pagel, Jake Plummer, Todd Heap, J.R. Redmond, Danny White, Randall McDaniel, David Fulcher, Darren Woodson, Pat Tillman, Eric Allen, Zach Miller, Shaun McDonald, John Jefferson, Paul Justin, Jimmy Verdon, Mike Haynes, Al Harris, Vontaze Burfict, Ryan Torain, Brock Osweiler, Jaelen Strong, Curley Culp and N'Keal Harry.
Men's basketball
The Arizona State Sun Devils have appeared in the NCAA tournament 17 times, including 3 Elite Eights. They have won 8 conference championships and finished in the final AP rankings 7 times. The highest national ranking the Sun Devils have achieved was No. 3 under Ned Wulk during the 1980–81 season when the starting lineup included Byron Scott, Fat Lever, and Alton Lister. Ned Wulk was the men's basketball coach from 1958 to 1982 and remains the most successful coach in the history of the program with a record of 406 – 272.Arizona State appeared in the NAIA Men's Basketball National Tournament two years. In both years they lost in the second round, leaving the NAIA with a tournament record of 2–2.
Bobby Hurley is the head coach of the Sun Devils, leading Arizona State to a 12–0 non-conference record in 2017, and a signature win over the #1 ranked Kansas Jayhawks on December 22, 2018 – the first win over a top ranked team at home in program history.
Herb Sendek stepped down as head coach of the North Carolina State Wolfpack and accepted the head coaching job at Arizona State in 2006. Sendek took the Wolfpack to five consecutive NCAA Tournaments and also won ACC coach of the year in 2004. Sendek was credited for bringing a "basketball atmosphere" and level of excitement to the ASU campus that had been absent for years. In his first four seasons at ASU, Sendek led the Sun Devils to three consecutive 20 win seasons, the 2009 Pac-10 conference tournament finals, and the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Thirty-six ASU Sun Devils have been selected in the NBA draft, including future NBA Most Valuable Player James Harden, Byron Scott, Isaac Austin, Mark Landsberger, Lafayette Lever, Alton Lister, Lionel Hollins, Sam Williams, Jeff Ayres, Stevin "Hedake" Smith, Mario Bennett, Tommy Smith, Ike Diogu, Eddie House. Freddie Lewis, and Joe Caldwell. Paul Stovall was a Charles Barkley type standout with a dominating presence on the court but his non-conducive actions off the court limited his notoriety.
Baseball
ASU has one of the most successful baseball programs in the country. The Sun Devils have won five national championships, the fourth most by any school, and have the third most College World Series victories with 61.ASU baseball has won 21 conference championships and reached the College World Series 22 times. The Sun Devils have also reached the NCAA tournament 42 times, most recently in 2025.
Starting with Rick Monday as the No. 1 pick of the first ever Major League Baseball draft in '65, ASU leads all schools with 459 total picks. ASU also has the third most alumni to ever play in Major League Baseball. Baseball alumni include Barry Bonds, Paul Lo Duca, Fernando Viña, Dustin Pedroia, Mike Leake, Andre Ethier, Willie Bloomquist, Bob Horner, Sal Bando, Ike Davis, Jason Kipnis, Brett Wallace, Ian Kinsler, Hubie Brooks, Hunter Bishop, and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson.
Women's basketball
The Arizona State Sun Devils have appeared in the NCAA tournament 17 times, including 7 Sweet Sixteens and 2 Elite Eights. They have produced WNBA talent such as Kym Hampton, Briann January, Dymond Simon, Monique Ambers, Promise Amukamara, Amanda Levens, Sophie Brunner, Emily Westerberg, and more. Under head coach Charli Turner Thorne, the program has become one of the best in the country. She is the winningest coach in ASU history, leading the Sun Devils to two conference championships and 14 NCAA Tournaments in her tenure.Beach volleyball
Arizona State began their Sand Volleyball program in 2014. It officially became an NCAA Championship sport in 2016, as they changed the sport's name to Beach Volleyball. ASU is one of nine schools to play Beach Volleyball in the Pac-12 Conference, along with Arizona, California, Stanford, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Utah, and Washington. In their first four seasons, the Sun Devils have had three head coaches. Jason Watson led ASU for two seasons from 2014 to 2015, Jackie Bunker for one season in 2016, Brad Keenan for seven seasons from 2017 to 2023, and Kristen Rohr starting in 2024. In 2024, the Sand Devils earned their 1st NCAA Tournament appearance in program history.Completed in February 2022, ASU opened their new Sun Devil Beach Volleyball Facility on the Tempe campus. It cost $1.2 million and includes four courts. It is located just East of the Alberta B. Farrington Softball Stadium.
Home matches were originally hosted at the PERA Club, which is located on 1 E. Continental Drive in Tempe. The PERA Club is a private country club for employees and families of the Salt River Project, the major water and power utility in Phoenix and surrounding cities. It holds three volleyball courts after completing major renovations to accommodate the Sun Devil Volleyball team.
Gymnastics
Led by 30+ year coach John Spini, the Sun Devils women's Gymnastics team had many strong years over his reign with many all-American Gymnasts to Spinis credit as well as a facility named after him. Below is the history of top qualifiers coach has had as well as his predecessors at ASU.Jean-Luc Cairon served as an assistant coach for the women's gymnastics team.
Jay Santos is the head coach, while his wife, Jessica Santos is an associate coach for Sun Devil Gymnastics.