Arizona State Head Coach Kenny Dillingham believes that Arizona State could become a blue blood program, which is a feat few teams can claim in College Football. Dillingham specifically mentioned that Clemson and Oregon were two recent examples of schools that had dominant runs over the last 20 years. In an interview with On3's Pete Nakos, Dillingham came out and said that he believes Arizona State can be a blue blood of the 2020's.
NEW: Kenny Dillingham believes Arizona State could become a blue blood of the 2020s, via @PeteNakos_🔱
— On3 (@On3sports) May 31, 2025
“You have Clemson this last cycle, from 2010 to 2020. They just showed up. People think they’ve been around forever. You have Oregon from 2000 to 2010... There hasn’t been a… pic.twitter.com/IDy1hteOy0
The History is bleak at Arizona State
Over the last 24 seasons, Arizona State has not been one of the sport's top teams. Since 2000, they have had 10 wins just 4 times. Last year, when they went 11-3, in 2007 they went 10-3, and in back-to-back seasons, 2013 and 2014, they won 10 games. After those successful seasons, Arizona State usually falls back to the 5–7-win range. From 2015 to 2017, they won 6, 5, and 7 games. Recent history doesn’t tell you the whole story, but it gives you a true background to how difficult it has been for Arizona State to sustain success.
Recruiting is a huge plus
One thing in Kenny Dillingham's corner is that he is a dynamic recruiter. He currently has Arizona State ranked as the 16th recruiting class, which is an impressive ranking for Arizona State. If he can successfully land top 20 recruiting classes year in and year out, they could constantly compete for the Big 12 which would put the Sun Devils in the College Football Playoff on a yearly basis.
Had a great Official visit at Arizona State football this past weekend! Thank you to @KennyDillingham and @VinceAmey for everything!@MVHS_Football @BrandonHuffman @adamgorney @coach_schrider @ArizonaState247 pic.twitter.com/WYmXRCRkM1
— Dakota Dickson 2026’ (@DakotaDickson56) May 19, 2025
Lack of money and resources
The other program Arizona State will run into is the lack of money and resources as an athletic program. They play in the Big 12 conference, which is lacking money and resources compared to the Big Ten and the SEC conferences. The Big 12 gives each school 31.7 million per year. The Big Ten is between 80 million-100 million per school. The SEC is 52.5 million per school. Arizona State lacks TV money, so it is hard to overcome a lack of cash flow to build a blue-blood program.
Final Verdict
If Dillingham can make Arizona State a true-blue blood College Football program, it will require him to be exceptional at his job, full support from the athletic department, and more financial commitment from Alumni. Time will tell if Dillingham and Arizona State will be able to make it a Blue Blood program; history and finances would bet against it.