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Thanks to his incredible job as head coach of Arizona State football, especially during the 2024 campaign, head coach Kenny Dillingham has been rewarded with a shiny new contract extension by the Wildcats, according to Pete Thamel of ESPN.
“Sources: Arizona State and Kenny Dillingham have agreed to a new five-year contract that will put him in the top tier of Big 12 coach salary. It offers a pathway through performance incentives for the deal to extend to 10 years.”
Arizona State football defied a lot of expectations on its way to ruling the Big 12 conference. Prior to the season, the Wildcats were the presseason poll's pick to finish the season 16th in the Big 12. The Wildcats seemed to take that as bulletin board material, as they did not just post a respectable conference record; they put up a league-best 7-2 record and won the Big 12 title game by defeating the then-No. 16 Iowa State Cyclones, 45-19, on Dec. 7.
In just Arizona State football's first season in the Big 12 conference, Dillingham was able to steer the Wildcats to a bowl-game appearance — their first since 2021 under Herm Edwards. Arizona State's move to give Dillingham a new contract illustrates the program's interest in keeping the momentum going with Dillingham at the helm for several years to come.
“We are in the national conversation,” a source told Thamel. “We want to be committed to give our program the resources to stay in the national conversation and compete nationally for the best coaching talent and recruit the talent to compete at the highest level.”
Even before he agreed to his new extension deal with Arizona State, Dillingham is already finding financial success in the 2024 campaign. His base salary of $4.05 million isn't up there with the most lucrative in the Big 12, but as noted by Thamel, he has already unlocked over $2.5 million in bonus money for steering the Arizona State football to an 11-2 overall record and an appearance in the College Football Playoff.
The Wildcats, who had a bye in the first round of the CFP, will play the No. 5 Texas Longhorns of the SEC in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl this Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
