ASU to self-impose one-year bowl ban, amid NCAA investigation

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(Photo: Susan Wong/WCSN)

Arizona State informed the NCAA that it will self-impose a one-year postseason ban on its football program, per a release on Sunday morning. The ban was announced four days before the Sun Devils are scheduled to kick off their 2023 season against Southern Utah on Thursday.

The self-imposed ban comes in light of alleged recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period in 2020 under then head coach Herm Edwards.

“In light of the ongoing investigation and our membership obligation to maintain the confidentiality of the matter, we will not be commenting further at this time,” ASU athletic director Ray Anderson said in a release on Sunday.

Five members of the ASU’s coaching staff either resigned or left the program before March 2022, including offensive coordinator Zak Hill and defensive coordinator/associate head coach, and recruiting coordinator Antonio Pierce. Running Backs Coach Shaun Aguano, who served as the interim head coach after Herm Edwards’ departure last season, remains the only member of Edwards’ coaching staff who is still with the team.

While the disappointment and frustration among ASU’s players was evident on Sunday — as players were informed only 45 minutes before practice began about its self-imposed ban — head coach Kenny Dillingham stressed the importance of his team focusing on what it can control.

“It is what it is,” Dillingham said. “Like I told the guys, we can’t control it. Not one person in the country feels bad for us… If we allow people to feed off this circumstance for us, then that’s on us. And it’s my job to rally our team behind each other to go compete and go work at the highest level.”

For a team that was picked to finish 10th in the Pac-12 media preseason poll, finishing with six victories and qualifying for a bowl game seemed like a lofty, yet attainable objective. It’s a goal that many players, like senior defensive back Chris Edmonds, have in the back of their minds heading into their campaign. But even with the prospect of a postseason appearance completely off the table, the significance of the Sun Devils exceeding expectations this season hasn’t been diminished.

“As an older guy, I want to still finish this season strong so we can set the young guys up for next year, going into the Big 12 with some momentum,” Edmonds said. “This season is about going hard, playing hard, trying to win every game on our schedule.”

Dillingham’s biggest piece of advice for his program was to not allow its opponents to use its self-imposed bowl ban as motivation. Dillingham said to his players in the post-practice huddle that people love to see people fail, and it’s their job to make sure that doesn’t happen.

“I think our guys are excited [about the season starting], I think our guys are together,” Dillingham said. “I think [the ban] can be motivation to really grow.”