If you thought that Kenny Dillingham was going to leave the program he’s been building in favor of leading the Michigan Wolverines (following Sherrone Moore’s firing up in Ann Arbor), you’d be mistaken. The head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils is sticking around in Tempe and the Big 12 and it looks like he’s going to be committed to causing problems for the Red Raiders.
Arizona State is apparently inking Dillingham to a deal to lead the Sun Devils for the foreseeable future while also expanding resources for the Arizona State football program.
Breaking: Kenny Dillingham has signed a new contract at Arizona State, which will average $7.5 million over the course of the deal. The staff salary pool is up to $11 million, which puts it near the top of the Big 12, sources told @PeteThamel.
— ESPN (@espn) December 20, 2025
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From a “I’d like Texas Tech to win as many games with as few of problems as possible” sort of perspective, I don’t love this move.
From a “I appreciate it when the Big 12 has legitimately impressive coaches and programs and the Sun Devils are positioning themselves to be able to effectively compete among the likes of Texas Tech, BYU, and Utah” sort of perspective, I can appreciate this move.
Kenny Dillingham is staying with the Arizona State Sun Devils and it looks like they’ll continue to be a Big 12 problem for Texas Tech
I think this is going to be fun to keep up with. Truly, I do.
Yes, Texas Tech did lose to the Sun Devils this season (and the context behind that loss points to it being a weird game with it being on the road and with a backup quarterback and so on and so forth). And yeah, that loss stings a bit.
But so far this season, Kenny Dillingham and the Sun Devils were the only team capable of finding a way to beat Texas Tech this year. Heck, Arizona State was the only team capable of playing four close quarters with the Red Raiders. Nobody else could do either of those things. A season ago, Texas Tech was able to find a way to (in close, nail-biting fashion) beat the Sun Devils in Lubbock.
And now we’re going to continue to see those sorts of matchups continue between these two teams. That’s good for the Big 12. We’ll see if it becomes a problem for Texas Tech.