Early history (1896–1957) played at ASU in the early 1950s
Frederick M. Irish served as the first head football coach at the Territorial Normal School, renamed Tempe Normal School in 1903 and now known as
Arizona State University, coaching from 1896 to 1906 and compiling a record of 12–8. Territorial Normal did not field a football team in 1897, 1898, or 1901.
George Schaeffer served as the head football coach at Tempe Normal School from 1914 to 1916, compiling a record of 7–8.
Aaron McCreary oversaw the school's football program from 1923 to 1929. During this time, the school changed its nickname from the Owls to the Bulldogs and the name of the school was changed to Arizona State University. McCreary left ASU with a 25–17–4 record.
Ted Shipkey led the Arizona State football program from 1930 to 1932, compiling a record of 13–10–2. Shipkey was replaced by
Rudy Lavik, who led Arizona State to a less impressive 13–26–3 mark in his five seasons.
Dixie Howell served as ASU's head coach from 1938 to 1941, compiling a record of 23–15–4. In 1947,
Ed Doherty became head coach at Arizona State, where he compiled a 25–17 record from 1947 to 1950. He left ASU five days after defeating rival Arizona, 47–13, because he felt that he didn't have enough job security.
Clyde Smith took over the reins of the Arizona State football program in 1952, and under his leadership, they compiled a record of 15–13–1. Smith resigned following the 1954 season. On February 5, 1955,
Michigan State assistant coach
Dan Devine accepted the head coaching position at Arizona State. Joining him as an assistant was
Frank Kush, who would have even greater success at the school after Devine's departure. During his three years, Devine compiled a record of 27–3–1 (.887), including a spotless 10–0 mark during his final campaign. In that last season, Devine's team led the nation in total offense and scoring, averaging just under 40 points per game in the latter category.
Frank Kush era (1958–1979) played at ASU from 1965 to 1967 in 1972
Frank Kush was promoted to head coach, a position he would hold for 22 years. Kush compiled a record of 176–54–1, with only one losing season. In his first 11 years, he captured two conference titles and finished runner-up 5 times. That success led to him accepting head coach at the
University of Pittsburgh on January 4, 1969. However, just 5 days later, Kush had a change of heart and returned to Arizona State. Kush's return would begin a memorable era with 5 consecutive
Western Athletic Conference championships as the team won 50 of 56 games from 1969 to 1973. Arizona State won the
1970 Peach Bowl and the first three editions of the
Fiesta Bowl. In 1974, the team dropped to 7–4, but bounced back the following year 12–0, capping the year with a thrilling 17–14 win over the
Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Fiesta Bowl, a game in which Kush's son, Danny, kicked three field goals, including the winner. 1976 saw the team fall to 4–7, but another comeback resulted the next year with a 9–3 mark. In that year's Fiesta Bowl, the Sun Devils lost a bowl game for the only time under Kush's leadership, with a 42–30 defeat to
Penn State. In 1978, Kush's team once again finished 9–3, this time defeating
Rutgers in the
Garden State Bowl. In September 1979 former Sun Devil
punter Kevin Rutledge filed a $1.1 million lawsuit against the school, accusing Kush and his staff of mental and physical harassment that forced him to transfer. The most dramatic charge was that Kush had punched Rutledge in the mouth, after a bad punt in the October 28, 1978, game against the
Washington Huskies. During the next few weeks, overzealous fans turned things ugly when the insurance office of Rutledge's father suffered a fire and the family's attorney received death threats. On October 13, 1979, Kush was fired for interfering with the school's investigation into Rutledge's allegations. Athletic director Fred Miller cited Kush's alleged attempts to pressure players and coaches into keeping quiet. The decision came just three hours before the team's home game against Washington. Kush was allowed to coach the game, with the Sun Devils pulling off an emotional 12–7 upset of the sixth-ranked Huskies, fueled by the angry crowd incensed by the decision. After the game, Kush was carried off the field by his team.
Darryl Rogers era (1980–1984) Darryl Rogers replaced Kush and led the Sun Devils to a 37–18–1 record in five seasons. The best season of the Rogers era came in 1982, a 10–2 campaign that resulted in a
Fiesta Bowl win and a No. 6 ranking in the final AP and Coaches' polls. Rogers accepted an offer to serve as head coach of the NFL's
Detroit Lions and left ASU after the 1984 season.
John Cooper era (1985–1987) John Cooper left his post as
Tulsa head coach and became the head coach at
Arizona State in 1985. His teams played in three consecutive
bowl games, including the
1987 Rose Bowl. Notably, he was just 0–2–1 against arch-rival
Arizona. He accepted the job as head coach at Ohio State on December 31, 1987. Marmie's tenure was marked by mediocrity and disappointment, with a 6–5 mark in 1988, a 6–4–1 record in 1989, a 4–7 campaign in 1990, and a 6–5 season in 1991. School administrators fired Marmie following the 1991 season, amidst fan impatience.
Bruce Snyder era (1992–2000) Bruce Snyder left
California to become ASU's head coach in 1992. Snyder's 58 wins and nine-year tenure as head coach at Arizona State each rank second in school history to marks set by
Frank Kush. Snyder led ASU to four
bowl games including a win in the
1997 Sun Bowl. At Arizona State, Koetter compiled a 40–34 record and four Bowl appearances in six years. Under Koetter the Sun Devils were known for a vertical passing attack. On November 26, 2006, Koetter was terminated as the head football coach. His final game was the
2006 Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve, a 41–24 loss.
Dennis Erickson era (2007–2011) Seasoned coaching veteran
Dennis Erickson left
Idaho for the opportunity to lead his fourth
BCS program. Athletic director Lisa Love hired him on December 9 to replace the recently fired Dirk Koetter. Arizona State was Erickson's third head coaching stint in the Pacific-10, after
Washington State and
Oregon State. In addition to Idaho, Erickson also had college head coaching tenures at
Wyoming and
Miami, as well as in the
NFL with the
Seattle Seahawks and
San Francisco 49ers. Arizona State paid $2.8 million to Koetter and a $150,000 buyout to Idaho to complete the hiring of Erickson to a five-year contract. He immediately paid dividends for ASU, leading the Sun Devils to a 10–2 regular season record in
2007, a share of the Pacific-10 title, and a berth in the
Holiday Bowl. Erickson was named the 2007 Pacific-10 Coach of the Year, becoming the first to ever win the award at three different Pacific-10 schools. He also coached another major award winner; placekicker
Thomas Weber was named the
Lou Groza Award winner. Erickson worked for the relatively low salary of $500,000 from ASU in his first season, with another $2 million paid by the 49ers for the last year of his NFL contract. The remaining four years of the original ASU contract paid $1.275 million per year. In 2008 the Arizona Board of Regents had approved a contract extension to keep Erickson at Arizona State through June 2012. Erickson's early success at ASU was not sustained, as the Sun Devils failed to have another winning season and lost three of four
Territorial Cup rivalry games against
Arizona. In his final four seasons, Erickson was 21–28 overall and 14–22 in conference. After opening the
2011 season with a promising 6–2 record, Arizona State suffered four straight Pac-12 defeats in November to end the regular season, and Erickson was fired on November 28. He was allowed to coach in their
bowl game on December 22, but ASU was soundly beaten 56–24 by
Boise State in the
Maaco Bowl in
Las Vegas for their fifth consecutive loss.
Todd Graham era (2012–2017) Todd Graham was announced as Arizona State University's head coach on December 14, 2011. Graham came to ASU after only one season at
Pittsburgh, informing his players and assistant coaches of his decision to leave Pitt for ASU via text message. Graham also previously served as head coach at
Rice for one season and
Tulsa for four seasons. In his first season at Arizona State, the Sun Devils went 8–5 securing their first winning season since 2007. With a win in the
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl against the
Navy Midshipmen, the 2012 Sun Devils won the final three games of the season for the first time since 1978. ESPN's Pac-12 Blog writer Ted Miller called Todd Graham's first season at Arizona State an "unquestioned success." In 2013, Graham continued to build positive momentum and led ASU the Pac-12 South title after defeating
UCLA and rival
Arizona. ASU finished the season 10–4 and ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and No. 20 in the Coach's Poll. For his efforts in leading ASU to a Pac-12 South championship, Graham received the 2013 Pac-12 Coach of the Year Award. In 2014, ASU finished with yet another 10 win season by going 10–3 and ranking No. 12 in the final AP Poll and No. 14 in the final Coach's Poll. The season was capped off with Graham leading the Sun Devils to victory over
Duke University in the
Sun Bowl. The 2015 season saw a big drop off for the program as the Sun Devils finished a disappointing 6–7 with a 42–43 loss to the
West Virginia Mountaineers in the
Cactus Bowl. The trend continued into the next two seasons. The Sun Devils finished 2016 on a 6-game losing streak which culminated in a 5–7 record. 2017 would be Graham's final season. The team improved only slightly, finishing 7–6 with a
Sun Bowl loss to
North Carolina State, 31–52. Graham and Arizona State agreed to part ways on November 26, 2017, following a 7–5
regular season.
Herm Edwards era (2018–2022) in 2019 On December 3, 2017, longtime
NFL coach and
ESPN analyst
Herm Edwards was announced as the next head coach of the Sun Devils. Edwards kicked off the 2018 season with a 2–0 record, including a marquee win over then #15
Michigan State. Despite the promising start, the Devils dropped four of their next five games, sitting with a 1–3 conference record. Arizona State surged, winning their next three, but fell just short to
Oregon and a
Pac-12 South title. The
Territorial Cup was played at
Arizona Stadium on Saturday, November 24. Arizona led the Sun Devils by 19 points entering the fourth quarter, but a wild comeback by ASU, capped off by what would've been a game winning field goal by Arizona, resulted in the cup staying in
Tempe. The Sun Devils then faced
Fresno State In the
Las Vegas Bowl, losing 31–20 and completing the season with a 7–6(5–4) record. Herm Edwards started his second season off 3–0, once again beating #18 Michigan State, this time on the road. ASU dropped their conference opener against Colorado, but bounced back with two straight wins, including a victory over #15
Cal to improve to 2–1 in conference play before dropping four consecutive games, officially disqualifying them from the Pac-12 South title. Arizona State shocked #6 Oregon at home, winning 31–28 in front of a packed stadium. The Sun Devils capped off the season with a win over rival Arizona, 24–14, and a Sun Bowl victory over Florida State, 20–14, finishing with a record of 8–5(4–5). Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic Pac-12 teams had only six games scheduled. Arizona State dropped their first game to #20
USC 28–27 in heartbreaking fashion, and their following two contests were cancelled due to COVID complications within the Arizona State program. The Sun Devils returned from their nearly month long hiatus with a game versus UCLA, which they lost at home 25–18. ASU traveled to take on Arizona in Tucson for the 94th installment of the Territorial Cup. The Sun Devils slaughtered the Wildcats, 70–7, retaining the Cup for the third straight year. In their fourth and final game of the season, Arizona State capped off the season with a 46–33 win over
Oregon State to finish the season 2–2 (2–2). In June 2021, rumors began circulating of several NCAA violations committed by Herm Edwards and the Arizona State staff, which were confirmed by several articles, including one published on June 23 by
Pete Thamel of
Yahoo! Sports. As a result of the allegations, tight ends coach Adam Breneman, defensive backs coach Christian Hawkins, and wide receivers coach Prentice Gill were placed and remain on administrative leave. Despite the numerous allegations of violations and rumors that the entire staff may be fired after the season, Herm Edwards and his Sun Devils finished 8–5 overall and 6–3 in Pac-12 play. The season concluded with a 20–13 loss to Wisconsin in the SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl. During the 2021-2022 offseason, multiple coaches including
Zak Hill and
Antonio Pierce resigned. 17 players including the starting quarterback
Jayden Daniels and All-American linebacker
Eric Gentry, entered the transfer portal as a result of the investigation and
NIL. On September 18, 2022, Arizona State fired Edwards the day following a 30–21 loss to Eastern Michigan. On April 19, 2024, Arizona State and Edwards received four years of probation, an undisclosed fine, 8 vacated wins in which ineligible players competed, a reduced number of scholarships and recruiting restrictions, as well as an accepted self-imposed punishment of a 2024 bowl ban. The violations occurred during the 2020 dead period during the COVID-19 pandemic. After the vacated wins, Edwards finished with a record of 18–20 at Arizona State.
Kenny Dillingham era (since 2023) On November 27, 2022,
Kenny Dillingham, previously the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for
Oregon, was named as Arizona State's head coach. His first season with the team resulted in a 3–9 finish, with a 15–7 loss to the eventual National Champion runners-up Washington Huskies. Kenny had led ASU in the 2024 season to a 5–1 start with an upset win against No. 16 Utah. In week 13, Dillingham led the Sun Devils to a 24–14 upset victory over No. 20 Kansas State. After the victory, the Sun Devils were ranked No. 21, their first time being ranked since 2019. In week 14, Dillingham and three touchdowns from running back
Cam Skattebo led the Sun Devils to a 28–23 win over No. 20 BYU and brought the Sun Devils to the No. 16 rank. After beating rival
Arizona 49–7 in their yearly matchup, ASU clinched an appearance in the
Big 12 Championship Game, where they defeated
Iowa State, 45–19. They were seeded 4th in the College Football Playoff, receiving a first round bye. ASU ultimately played in the Peach Bowl against the University of Texas on January 1, 2025. The Devils lost 39–31 in a two overtime "thriller" yet showed a level of competitiveness that captivated the nation. Tailback Cam Skattebo won Offensive MVP honors (the first player to be awarded despite losing the game in 26 years) after "rack[ing] up 284 total yards—143 rushing, 99 receiving, and 42 passing—two rushing touchdowns, a passing touchdown, and a two-point conversion.” The game is widely regarded as one of the greatest College Football Playoff games of all time. ==Conference affiliations==