TEMPE, Ariz. — Kenny Dillingham insisted he had no interest in leaving Arizona State University.
All he wanted was for his football program and his assistant coaches to get the resources they needed to be successful.
Dillingham got his wish Saturday, signing a five-year contract extension that will raise his salary to an average of $7.5 million per year and increase the salary pool for his assistants to $11 million — one of the highest in the Big 12 Conference.
“The support of this season has stepped up a ton. Our university stepped up,” Dillingham told reporters after Saturday’s practice as the Sun Devils (8-4) prepare to face Duke (8-5) in the Sun Bowl on Dec. 31 in El Paso, Texas. “What I was fighting for was that long-term commitment to our staff, to our program, to the commitment to try be competitive in this crazy world (of college football).”
While media reports mentioned Dillingham as being in the mix for numerous high-profile jobs, he insisted after a win against West Virginia on Nov. 15 that he wasn’t going anywhere. The 35-year-old coach’s name popped up again when Michigan fired Sherrone Moore last week, and Dillingham was honest about using the top job at Michigan to push Arizona State to support the football program even more.