Kenny Dillingham, the head coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils football team, has a way of standing out. The 34-year-old has brought the team back from the basement, after only winning three games during his first season in 2023. And his tenure as ASU football coach marks the first time both an alumnus and an Arizonan has held the position. That goes a long way in explaining his move earlier this week after he earned a $200,000 bonus. I’ll get to that in a minute.
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Saturday’s game against in-state rivals Arizona was one of Thanksgiving weekend’s premier college football games, with high stakes for Arizona State. It ended up as a rout (the Sun Devils won 49-7 against the Wildcats in Tucson, to take the Territorial Cup), and ended more peacably than the Ohio State vs. Michigan game:
Pushing & shoving between #ASU & #UA after Jacob Rich Kongaika threw the ASU pitch fork into the Arizona “A” at midfield.
Coaches got in the middle of it to break it up. @Sports360AZ#TerritorialCup pic.twitter.com/0XKb2UXQde
— Eliav Gabay (@eliavgabay) December 1, 2024
With the win, ASU sits at 10-2, and will now vie for a chance to appear in the Big 12 championship game.
But a selfless move Dillingham made has sort of going under the radar in the midst of the championship frenzy. According to a longtime ASU blogger, Dillingham’s contract stipulates that if ASU won nine games this season, he would garner a $200,000 bonus. So, with last Saturday’s win, he crossed that threshold. On Monday, he reportedly announced to 20 Arizona State off-the-field staff members that they were getting bonuses, without revealing it’s coming out of his own pocket.
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Sports journalist Chris Karpman shared his report via his X account:
Sources: Amazing, 100% true Thanksgiving story about Kenny Dillingham.
Saturday: Dillingham earns $200k bonus for 9 wins.
Monday: Dillingham tells 20 off-the-field ASU staffers they’ll all get a 5–10k bonus.
What Dillingham didn’t tell them (or me): He’s giving them his bonus. pic.twitter.com/KgNx6B57kQ
— Chris Karpman (@ChrisKarpman) November 28, 2024
His gracious gesture is so fitting and in the spirit of this holiday season, and exactly the type of model we want our young people to see. Dillingham stresses working to be excellent as your goal, not the amount of money you make. It’s something that ASU’s stellar running back Cam Skattebo certainly takes to heart:
For the second straight week, ASU running back Cam Skattebo has three TDs in the first half.
There’s a little extra meaning to these, however, down south in the Territorial Cup. pic.twitter.com/ikK9OcIOsA
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) November 30, 2024
Then there’s the more obvious behavior: Showing generosity to others, especially when you’ve been blessed with bounty. And as we move into the Christmas season, what could be more fitting?
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This is the first time in 10 years that ASU has won at least 10 games in a season. Congrats to the Sun Devils and Coach Dillingham for their high achievement!
Cam Skattebo and ASU football teammates held the Territorial Cup proudly at Arizona Stadium following a nothing-short-of-dominant performance.
The Sun Devils won at least 10 games in season for the first time since 2014. pic.twitter.com/wrajSZkfah
— Arizona Sports (@AZSports) December 1, 2024
