Arizona State Football

Arizona State head football coach Kenny Dillingham said Saturday that he is holding a kicking tryout next week after sophomore kicker Ian Hershey missed a pair of field goals in a 24-14 road loss to Cincinnati.

Dillingham made the announcement during a postgame press conference in which he was critical of his team's kicking struggles:

"Our kicking game's atrocious, so if you can kick and you're at Arizona State, email me," Dillingham said. "We're gonna have kicking tryouts on Monday, so bring it on. Kicking tryouts Monday, let's go. ... I'm dead serious. We're gonna put it out on our social, we're gonna have a kicking tryout on Monday. We gotta find someone who can make a field goal."

Dillingham later apologized on social media, writing that the team's losses "will always 100% fall on myself."

With the Sun Devils trailing by 10, they missed field goals on each of their final two offensive drives of Saturday's game.

Hershey's first miss was from 48 yards out, and he followed up by misfiring on a 41-yard field goal.

Entering Saturday's game, Hershey was just 7-for-10 on field goals this season, but the two misses dropped him to an abysmal field goal percentage of 58.3 percent on the year.

Hershey also kicked at Idaho State in 2022, making seven of his 11 field goals. He did not attempt any field goals last season after transferring to ASU.

The Sun Devils also have another kicker in freshman Carston Kieffer who has made four of his five extra point attempts and missed his only field goal attempt this season.

With the loss, Arizona State dropped to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in Big 12 play on the year, but the team is still trending in the right direction.

In 2022, the Sun Devils went 3-9 in Herm Edwards' final year at the helm, and they followed it up with another 3-9 campaign last season under Dillingham.

Arizona State has already shown immense improvement, and it is just one win away from becoming bowl eligible.

Continued kicking woes could hurt the Sun Devils moving forward, though, and it is clear that Dillingham is willing to go to great lengths in order to stabilize that aspect of the team.

Antonio Pierce is a head coach in the NFL now with the Las Vegas Raiders, but he will face significant hurdles if he ever plans on returning to college football in a coaching capacity.

That is because the NCAA announced Thursday he was given an eight-year show-cause order for violations he committed when he was the associate head coach and defensive coordinator of Arizona State. In addition to the show-cause, he will be suspended from all athletic activities for his entire first season of employment if he ever returns to the college game.

Pierce was given the punishment for his role in "a program wide effort to engage in impermissible recruiting activities during the COVID-19 dead period."

This comes after the NCAA revealed in April that it punished Arizona State for recruiting violations that occurred under former head coach Herm Edwards.

Arizona State was issued four years of probation, an undisclosed fine and recruiting restrictions that included reduced scholarships. What's more, it was forced to vacate games in which ineligible players competed, and Edwards was given a five-year show-cause penalty from the NCAA.

However, the program did not receive a bowl ban after self-imposing one last year.

Pierce resigned from his roles as associate head coach and defensive coordinator ahead of the 2022 season.

The NCAA's latest announcement said the current Raiders coach "violated the principles of ethical conduct" because he was personally involved in the violations of setting up recruiting inducements for prospects and their families during the COVID-19 dead period.

Among the impermissible benefits provided were free meals, apparel, airfare, lodging, tryouts, tours and entertainment. Eight players who committed to Arizona State were eventually deemed ineligible.

"Several members of the coaching staff indicated during their interviews with enforcement staff that Pierce 'ran the show' within the Arizona State football program, and they feared that not complying with Pierce's directives would result in losing their jobs," the announcement read.

It also explained that he did not cooperate with the investigation outside of an interview with enforcement staff and "failed to provide pertinent financial documentation requested by the enforcement staff" while also denying being involved in the impermissible recruiting visits.

He wasn't the only one punished, as former noncoaching staff member Anthony Garnett was issued a five-year show-cause order.

Pierce was initially hired to Edwards' staff ahead of the 2018 season and spent four years with the program. Arizona State went 25-18 during that span.

While it is a significant punishment by NCAA standards, it won't impact Pierce much as long as he remains in the NFL. The former Washington and New York Giants linebacker is in his first full season as the head coach of the Raiders after he was the interim coach for nine games last year following the firing of Josh McDaniels.

He is 7-6 in 13 games as the coach of Las Vegas.

The Arizona State Sun Devils football team will debut a fresh take on a classic look in 2024.

The program posted a hype video showcasing its new yellow alternate uniforms that the team will wear during the 2024 college football season.

The uniforms feature all-yellow jerseys and pants with a white undershirt, cleats and socks. The helmets are also white and feature the classic "Sparky" logo. The numbers and lettering are printed in the team's iconic maroon.

This is a departure from the team's normal color scheme, which features maroon as the dominant color and yellow as more of an undertone featured on the pants and helmet.

This is not the first time the Sun Devils have switched to yellow for the jersey, as the program also did so in 2021. The new jersey was also shown before the 2024 season but the combination of the yellow jersey and pants was revealed for the first time on Friday.

Arizona State is in its first season in the Big 12 after spending the last 45 seasons in the Pac-12 Conference. The Sun Devils picked up a win in Week 1 over Wyoming.

Arizona State is set to play Mississippi State in Week 2 at home.

Anticipation for the new EA Sports College Football 25 is so high that it creates an ideal pranking environment.

Just ask Arizona State head football coach Kenny Dillingham.

Dillingham and the Arizona State coaching staff pranked some of their players by saying they had four special editions of the game to hand out to the winners of a plank competition. The only problem, at least from the players' perspective, is it turned out they weren't the actual game.

After the winners emerged from the competition, they were asked to open the boxes and show the camera what was inside. Hilarity ensued as the team discovered the prank that even featured a Goofy Movie DVD being inside one of the game boxes:

If you had any doubt regarding how much people want to get their hands on this new game, just look at the effort put forth by the players during the competition. They were all focused on one thing in the Arizona heat, and that was the chance at early access to one of the most anticipated sports games in years.

There's a reason there is so much anticipation.

After all, there hasn't been a new version of the game since NCAA Football 14. What's more, this year's version will feature actual players with their names thanks to the implementation of name, image and likeness opportunities that were not available for college athletes the last time EA Sports released the game.

Players such as the ones at Arizona State will have the opportunity to control virtual versions of themselves as they attempt to conquer dynasty mode, road to glory and more.

And if the trailer is any indication, the game will capture the pageantry and tradition that makes college football so special all while providing crystal clear graphics and gameplay:

Unfortunately for the Sun Devils players, they will have to wait until July 19 when the new game is released worldwide on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

But when it is released, they will have the opportunity to see how they match up in their first year of a new conference before the actual season starts. Arizona State will compete in the Big 12 in 2024 and beyond following the dissolution of the Pac-12, and it will be joined by Arizona, Colorado and Utah.

While Oklahoma and Texas will no longer be in the league thanks to their move to the SEC, it will provide a test for the Sun Devils both on the actual field and in the virtual gridiron.

Longtime Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward has agreed to become the new wide receivers coach at Arizona State University, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Ward, 48, spent his entire 14-year NFL playing career from the Steelers from 1998 to 2011 before getting into coaching.

He was an offensive intern for the Steelers in 2017, an offensive assistant for the New York Jets from 2019 to 2020 and a wide receivers coach at Florida Atlantic in 2021. Most recently, Ward served as head coach of the XFL's San Antonio Brahmas last season.

After starring collegiately at Georgia, Ward established himself as one of the greatest wideouts in Steelers history, earning four Pro Bowl selections, two Super Bowl wins and a Super Bowl MVP Award.

Despite playing for the same organization as Hall of Fame receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, Ward holds every major Steelers receiving record.

Ward is the Steelers' all-time leader in receptions (1,000), receiving yardage (12,083) and receiving touchdowns (85).

Given the success he enjoyed as part of one of the most iconic teams in football history, it stands to reason that Ward has plenty of wisdom to impart on young wide receivers.

At Arizona State, Ward is joining the staff led by head coach Kenny Dillingham, who is the youngest FBS head coach at just 33 years of age.

After serving as the offensive coordinator at Oregon in 2022, Dillingham was named ASU's head coach prior to he 2023 season. He went through plenty of trials and tribulations in his first season as a head coach, going just 3-9.

Ward brings a ton of high-level playing and coaching experience to Dillingham's staff, which should be a big help given Dillingham's youth.

Ward's experience includes one year as a head coach in he XFL, as he led San Antonio to a 3-7 record last season before parting ways.

More head coaching opportunities could be in Ward's future, but it starts with proving he can help develop young receivers into stars at a high level with Arizona State beginning play in the Big 12 in 2024.

Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham doesn't have much time for coaches who bristle at adapting to the current landscape in college athletics.

"I literally spent nine years of my life doing anything to become a coffee boy," he said on Bickley & Marotta Mornings on Arizona Sports. "So, don't give me the, 'Oh, it's hard to be a coach right now.' Yeah, it's hard. Then quit."

Oklahoma State men's basketball coach Mike Boynton was similarly dismissive of complaints about how the job has evolved thanks to NIL and the transfer portal. He recounted the painstaking process of recruiting Cade Cunningham to the Cowboys and contrasted that with how an NIL deal can fast-track things.

Plenty of notable coaches have expressed their dissatisfaction with how NIL or the portal has made their lives more difficult and changed the player-coach dynamic.

Few are more symbolic of that archetype than Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney. Swinney not only famously said he'd ponder quitting if athletes started to be compensated but has also resisted embracing the portal.

Because of that, Swinney is also an example of how quickly a coach's fortunes can turn if they fail to change with the times. The Tigers were once a mainstay in the College Football Playoff and now look well behind the curve relative to their peers.

The transfer portal and NIL aren't going anywhere, and if anything, the trend could accelerate based on how much external pressure the NCAA is receiving.

To Dillingham's point, if you're a head coach, you can either stop grumbling about it or choose a different profession.

Arizona State self-imposed a bowl ban for the 2023 season in connection to NCAA violations that occurred under former head coach Herm Edwards, according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

The Athletic's Doug Haller first reported in June 2021 the NCAA was looking into the football program.

Thamel wrote the school is alleged to have "blatantly violated recruiting rules, specifically ignoring NCAA-mandated dead periods during the COVID-19 pandemic."

Reporting for Yahoo Sports in 2021, Thamel detailed how ASU staffers compiled a "dossier of documents" that laid out potential NCAA violations. Among the included evidence was a photo purportedly of Edwards escorting a prospective recruit around the team's facilities during the COVID dead period.

On the whole, the administration's gamble of hiring a head coach with almost no experience at the college level backfired in a big way.

The NCAA has yet to write an official notice of allegations to Arizona State, but that didn't stop the school from cleaning house.

Five coaches, including defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce, were gone ahead of the 2022 season. Edwards left by mutual agreement last September following a 1-2 start.

Especially in retrospect, the Sun Devils might wish they had imposed a bowl ban on themselves last year since they went on to win just three games.

First-year head coach Kenny Dillingham is clearly building for the future in 2023, but gaining bowl eligibility wasn't an unreasonable goal for the team to set. Dillingham did well on the recruiting trail and made a number of additions through the transfer portal.

Sunday's news will be a particularly tough blow for Arizona State's most experienced players, who will have wanted to end their college careers on a high note.

However, getting ahead of any NCAA ruling might mean the Sun Devils no longer have to have the specter of a bowl ban hanging in 2024, when expectations will presumably even higher.

Arizona State athletic director Ray Anderson has apologized after he said he would not visit future Big 12 rival West Virginia's home of Morgantown.

"Although those comments were said in jest and taken out of context, they were clumsy comments from me that I sincerely regret," Anderson told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM's The Bickley & Marotta Show (h/t Jeremy Cluff of the Arizona Republic). "Because I offended some people when no offense was intended, and for that I apologize. I sincerely do."

Two days after the Big 12 made ASU, Arizona and Utah's move to the conference official, Anderson had this to say about any potential trips to Morgantown to play WVU.

"I promise I'm not going to Morgantown," athletic director Ray Anderson told reporters. "I'm going to sign that to (deputy AD) Jean Boyd. He can go to Morgantown. But send me to Texas and the rivalry with Arizona and starting a new one with BYU, Utah and Colorado."

Everything appears to be water under the bridge now. Anderson said he apologized to WVU AD Wren Baker, who will pass along those sentiments to school president Gordon Gee.

"It's a beautiful, beautiful college town," Anderson told Arizona Sports 98.7 FM. "I look forward to visiting."

Sixteen teams will be in the new Big 12 in 2024. Texas and Oklahoma are headed to the SEC, but the conference is adding UCF, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston, ASU, Arizona, Utah and Colorado to the mix.

That will make for some far trips for teams, with Tempe to Morgantown and back among them, but it appears Anderson will be making that trek after all as the conference realignment carousel stomps on.

Arizona State may be joining the Big 12, but that doesn't mean its athletic director is going to travel across the country to watch his team play West Virginia.

"I promise I'm not going to Morgantown," athletic director Ray Anderson told reporters. "I'm going to sign that to (deputy AD) Jean Boyd. He can go to Morgantown. But send me to Texas and the rivalry with Arizona and starting a new one with BYU, Utah and Colorado."

Anderson's comment underscores some of the criticism surrounding such rampant conference realignment, especially when it comes to non-revenue sports that play far more games than the football teams do.

There will be plenty of cross-country travel with the new arrangement, which will make life more difficult on the student-athletes.

Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz suggested as much when he raised concerns when speaking to reporters:

"My question is: Did we count the cost? I'm not talking about the financial cost. I'm talking about: Did we count the cost for the student-athletes involved in this decision? What cost is it to those student-athletes? We're talking about a football decision, based on football, but what about softball and baseball, who have to travel across (the) country? Did we ask about the cost to them?

"Do we know what the number one indicator or symptom of or cause of mental health (problems) is? It's lack of rest and sleep. Traveling in those baseball (and) softball games, those people, they travel commercial. They get done playing ... they gotta go to the airport. They come back, it's 3 or 4 in the morning, they gotta go to class. I mean, did we ask any of them?"

Alas, those worries didn't stop monumental changes from happening and the end of the Pac-12 as college sports fans know it.

Following the latest round of realignment, Oregon and Washington are heading to the Big Ten along with USC and UCLA. Arizona, Arizona State, Utah and Colorado are going to the Big 12, which will now essentially cover the entire width of the country.

Anderson might not be making those cross-country trips from Arizona to West Virginia, but players in various sports will be in the near future.

That's not to say there are no positives, as all the movement will create a number of intriguing new matchups. Those schools that are fortunate enough to be heading to the Big Ten and SEC in particular will now have the financial security that comes with favorable media rights deals.

But there are tradeoffs as well, and college sports will never look quite the same.