It hasn't even been a full year since Graham Rossini was promoted to athletics director, but Arizona State has seen enough: earlier in the week, they proposed a contract extension with a raise for Rossini, and today it was officially approved by the Arizona Board of Regents.
Today, the board approved AD Graham Rossini's contract extension to keep him at the helm of Sun Devil Athletics through June 30, 2030.
— Arizona Board of Regents (@AZRegents) April 10, 2025
Under his leadership, @TheSunDevils excelled in the university's first season in the @Big12Conference. pic.twitter.com/opaVovVBQ9
Rossini, who was promoted to the role in late May of 2024, has built a ton of good will among the fans since. He has frequently attended various sporting events and made himself readily available to both the media and fans, prioritizing engagement in his bid to stir up fan interest.
It's helped that Sun Devil athletics has enjoyed some success under his watch, too. Obviously, football shocked the world and won the Big 12 championship en route to a College Football Playoff berth, but Arizona State has won the conference in three other sports as well.
On top of it all, Rossini hit a home run in the court of public opinion with his first head coaching hire as athletics director when he landed Molly Miller to coach women's basketball, beating out two SEC programs to pull the rising star away from Grand Canyon.
The extension adds three more years to Rossini's initial contract, keeping him around until 2030. It also raises his annual salary to $950,000 with an automatic $100,000 increase each year hereafter. The various bonuses based on academic and athletic performances of student athletes were also given significant raises.
Given the current state of the athletics department, and how much Rossini has done to restore the fan base's faith in the Sun Devils, this extension seems like a well-deserved one for the athletics director.