Arizona State Head Coach Encourages Bettors To Donate to NIL Collective

The Arizona State head football coach took the chance to plug the NIL collective in an interesting way after a huge upset win over the Utah Utes.

The Arizona State Sun Devils warm up before their game against the Kansas Jayhawks at Mountain America Stadium in Tempe on Oct 5, 2024. / Joe Rondone/The Republic / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Arizona State Sun Devils pulled off an exciting upset over the Utah Utes on Friday night and their coach immediately took the opportunity to plug their NIL collective in an interesting way.

No one expected the Sun Devils to do much this year, which is why their preseason betting win total was set down at 4.5 wins. Now, six games through the season, Arizona State has already surpassed that with a shocking 5-1 record.

After the game, Sun Devils head coach Kenny Dillingham suggested that those who cashed that bet tonight on the over should put some of their winnings towards the NIL collective per Chris Karpman of 247Sports.

"We were picked to win four games this year, so a lot of [Arizona State] fans picked the over in Vegas. For those of you guys who won, put that money back into the collective," said Dillingham as the room began to laugh. "Because you get to celebrate these wins. You get to have another cold one with your friends. You get more great Saturday nights. That should be enough reasons."

The 34-year-old coach is in his second season of coaching the Sun Devils and has already turned the program around quicker that anyone expected.

Arizona State's offense, which was Dillingham's expertise in the past, has been very solid this season. They entered the game on Friday already in the top 40 for most per game statistics across the country. Much better than a year ago when they were in the bottom 10.

Just take the game from last season against the Utes as an example of the quick turnaround. Last year, Utah won the game by a score of 55-3. This time around, it was a 27-19 Sun Devils victory.

It's not as simple as comparing one game to another in completely different campaigns, but there is still a very noticeable difference.

Arizona State will need this surprising success to turn into financial gain quickly if they hope to keep the train rolling down in Tempe.

Dillingham and his staff currently boast the No. 40 overall recruiting class according to 247Sports. It's mostly filled with three-star players but does hold a couple of four stars.

It's much better than where the state of the program was before he took over, though. Back in 2022, they finished all the way down at No. 103. In the new look Big-12, they currently have the fourth-ranked class.

The vibes are already higher than anticipated around the Sun Devils program, wins like this will just continue to make Dillingham's job easier.