TEMPE- Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini spoke to the reporters about agreeing to a contract extension with football head coach Kenny Dillingham on Sunday.
Dillingham helped turn around the football program, transforming a 3-9 record in 2023 into a Big 12 Championship and a College Football Playoff appearance in 2024.
When being asked about what led to negotiations to extend Dillingham's contract, Rossini mentioned that leadership is crucial to the Sun Devils' success on and off the field.
"I mean, leadership matters first and foremost, and so we've got great leadership in our program," Rossini said Sunday. "We're gonna do everything we can to build around that momentum that leadership creates. And it's about longevity. It's about sustainability. It's about the tools for our coaches, in any of our sports, to do their job at the highest possible level. And (it's) an easy decision to want to extend him a lot of details that we want to get right about that process."
Rumors have been circulating on social media regarding Dillingham potentially moving to Ann Arbor to become the next head coach of the Michigan Wolverines.
Rossini expressed surprise at the prevalence of false narratives and misinformation surrounding this situation. He also stated that he feels confident extending Dillingham's contract to maintain the team's positive momentum.
“Keeping Kenny (Dillingham) is an absolute priority for me," Rossini said. "It’s an absolute priority for Dr. Crow. It was never a concern that we had about letting him move on … It was more about giving our coaches the tools to do their job at the highest possible level.”
Dillingham told reporters on Saturday, “We need to find one of these really rich people in this city to step up and stroke a check…We live in Phoenix, Arizona. You’re telling me there’s not one person who could stroke a $20 million check right now? There is somebody out here who can.”
He has made strong points about what the Sun Devils need to do to become an elite football program.
The Sun Devils football team experienced a challenging 2025 season, suffering injuries to Sam Leavitt and Jordyn Tyson, and has the chance to compete against the Duke Blue Devils in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 31.
Rossini began having conversations with Dillingham about the contract extension after Arizona State's upset win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders at home on Oct. 18.
"We first started talking after the Texas Tech win (on Oct. 18) about, 'let's get ready for the offseason, let's get ready for the assistant coaches cycle.' At that point, there were a lot of big jobs open, and making sure that he had no reason to start thinking about talking to other schools or talking to other search firms about other jobs," Rossini said.
"And he's remained remarkably consistent since he got here that this is home, this is where he wants to be. ... But then there's also the process that takes place before, when you're getting word of who may be out there, and so again, (it's) refining more about program attributes and the things that we're going to need to be successful as a football program, more that was about him. The process was never about Kenny and what he was seeking in this we want to reward him. We have rewarded him. And that's been a very important about investing in the individuals as much as we're investing in the program. "
No matter what, Dillingham will always be part of the Sun Devils football community, both on and off the field. He is here to stay for the next five years.