ASU goes BIG: What to expect from the Big 12 Conference

For anyone who has been a fan of Arizona State University Athletics over the past few decades, you might have noticed some major changes are on the horizon. Much bigger than the switch from Nike to Adidas, much bigger than Utah and Colorado appearing on the conference schedule.

Yes, even bigger than the Sparky redesign of 2013.

The Pac-12 is the Past-12 as ASU is headed toward the Big 12.

For 46 years, even back when it was still the Pac-10, ASU has been proudly representing the Pacific conference. During this time the Sun Devils have boasted 68 different Pac-12 conference championship titles, 25 NCAA Team Championships and a long legacy of remarkable athletes and coaches.

However as the sun sets one last time on the Pacific coast, it is time for the Sun Devils to move onto bigger and better things.

ASU Athletics Director, Graham Rossini, spoke to this in a quote.

“Today marks the beginning of an exciting new chapter for ASU and Sun Devil Athletics as we proudly join the Big 12! We can't wait to maintain our rivalries with the Four Corner schools while building new traditions and connections with the outstanding universities we now join in this exciting national conference. Together, we'll ignite new ways for our passionate Sun Devil fans to connect and experience game day like never before.”

Rossini has long been part of ASU’s legacy, having served eight seasons as a member of the Sun Devil Baseball Program, including a position as the director of baseball operations.

Now, as Rossini steps into his new role as the Director of Athletics, he has spoken extensively about his goals and challenges regarding the program: wanting to bring new resources, improve stadiums and expand the Sun Devil network to a more national level.

However, there are a few changes that will come even before that.

On its face, what does the Big 12 mean for Sun Devil Athletics? Well, say goodbye to watching us chop Stanford’s tree or trump USC’s Trojans in the conference games, as the only familiar faces the Big 12 will be repping are the Utah Utes, Colorado Buffaloes and, of course, the infamous Wildcats down under.

That being said, there is a whole new cast of characters for Sparky to give the fork to.

Alongside our aforementioned Pac-12-pals, ASU will be facing off against: 

• The Baylor University Bears, 
• The Brigham Young University Cougars, 
• The University of Central Florida Knights, 
• The University of Cincinnati Bearcats, 
• The University of Houston Cougars, 
• The Iowa State University Cyclones, 
• The University of Kansas Jayhawks, 
• The Kansas State University Wildcats, 
• The Oklahoma State University Cowboys/Cowgirls, 
• The Texas Christian University Horned Frogs, 
• The Texas Tech University Red Raiders,
• The West Virginia University Mountaineers.

For those in the know with college athletics, this lineup might give you goosebumps. However for Rossini and the ASU athletics program, this is exactly what they are looking for.

“We welcome the tough sled in front of us, and it’s a challenging schedule frankly, that’s how we prefer it, you know,” Rossini said during a press conference.

“We’ve got a group that’s here to compete, we’ve spent a lot of time, a lot of investment on the coaching staff… So we welcome the challenge, we welcome the opportunity to showcase in this schedule, we want to be battle tested. We’re not here to ease our way into whatever comes next. We want to understand where we are at, and I believe that there’s no replacement for the lessons learned when you are challenging yourselves.”

Get ready for new schedules, new rivals and new ways to show the Big-12 who has the fiery-est  student section in the nation! And for you long time fans, don’t worry, the Inferno is still burning bright and our game-day traditions aren't going anywhere!

With all this newness circling around, it also provides a new path forward for ASU athletics in how they tackle these obstacles. When asked about this transition during a press conference, Rossini spoke to the value of having a fresh perspective for ASU athletics.

“It’s not the end all be all, but it certainly has helped. In particular when you go into the Big 12 and we’re in every time zone, we’re a national conference at this moment in time, we’ve got 90 million eyeballs across the 16 member institutions including ASU. There’s just a visibility and a footprint that matters in that conversation.”

This change also comes with great news for Sun Devils outside the Valley who still want to feel the Inferno! As ASU joins the Big-12 they will also join the national stage through broadcast distribution on ESPN and Fox.

New conferences, new teams, new stadiums, new fans, new stations, new sponsors… it's all enough to make your head spin.

But it isn’t enough to slow down Rossini and ASU athletics as they look forward to future seasons.

“When you have coaches that are passionate about coaching, they like making the adjustments, they like understanding ‘how do we stack up against the best competition in the country.’ They can make those real-time adjustments early in the season and not have to get to a situation where you’re late in a conference, you’re late in the bowl game, you’re late in a basketball tournament to understand ‘what do we need to do to reinforce, what do we need to do differently.’”

“What an opportunity, what a great chance to be stacked up against the best.”

For more information and how to get tickets, go to thesundevils.com.