Arizona State football HC Kenny Dillingham gets real on his role in NIL era

Arizona State football took a small step back last season after making a miraculous run to the College Football Playoff quarterfinals in 2024. While a lot was expected of the Sun Devils in their encore season in 2025, injuries to star quarterback Sam Leavitt and wide receiver Jordyn Tyson prevented them from ever really getting things off of the ground.

Now, head coach Kenny Dillingham is battling each and every offseason to retain his roster. Arizona State is behind the 8-ball when it comes to NIL coming into each season, and that makes it hard for Dillingham and his staff to recruit and retain some of their top players.

Dillingham recently talked with On3 Sports about the NIL landscape and some of the extra work that he has to do at a program like Arizona State to fight the uphill battle in the modern era of college sports.

NEW: Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham tells @AndyAriOn3 why he's not ashamed to ask for money for the program:

"You can either be booed by what you say to the media, or be booed when you lose games. Let me be booed by people not liking what I say. I'm perfectly fine with that." pic.twitter.com/dFGFaQt67K

— On3 (@On3) July 13, 2026

“You have two choices in today’s landscape,” Dillingham said. “Some jobs, you wake up and you’re gonna have advantages. Other jobs, you gotta work for it. You gotta ask for it. You gotta be out there. And if you don’t, you can either be booed by what you say to the media, or be booed when you lose games. Let me be booed by people not liking what I say. I’m perfectly fine with that.”

That fight was on full display this offseason when Leavitt decided to enter the transfer portal before eventually being scooped up by Lane Kiffin and LSU. Arizona State simply doesn’t have the NIL resources to compete with a program like LSU, and that cost them in the case of Leavitt.

Despite that, Dillingham is determined to continue fighting to get more money to Arizona State. He is still at his alma mater despite being considered for multiple bigger openings, such as the one at Michigan this offseason after Sherrone Moore was fired. If he can continue to get more and more money to Arizona State, he has the chance to turn the Sun Devils into a perennial power in the Big 12.

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