Arizona State football coach Kenny Dillingham's vision becomes ...

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Kenny Dillingham introduced as new Arizona State football coach

ASU announces Kenny Dillingham as the new head football coach.

Antranik Tavitian, Arizona Republic

A little over two years ago, Kenny Dillingham had his introductory news conference as the coach of the Arizona State football team.

In it, a very emotional coach spoke of how "special" Arizona State was and how hyped he was to be the coach of the Sun Devils.

Dillingham also addressed how he wanted to "win at the highest level," energizing the fanbase after the team went 3-9 in the previous season and how the previous coaching staff left the school dealing with sanctions after an NCAA recruiting investigation.

It's taken less than two seasons for Dillingham's vision to become reality.

Follow along: Iowa State vs Arizona State score updates, analysis for Big 12 championship game today

Kenny Dillingham's vision for Arizona State becomes reality

The ASU football team is 10-2 this season, Dillingham's second season in Tempe, and it is playing for the Big 12 championship in its first season in the conference today.

The Valley is activated behind the Sun Devils football program.

No matter what happens in the Big 12 title game, this has been a special season for the Sun Devils and Dillingham, who was recently named Big 12 Coach of the Year. ASU defied all expectations after being picked to finish last in the conference.

What Kenny Dillingham said during memorable Arizona State introductory news conference:

"I'm home. I mean this is literally home. Home. So I say that because this place is special. This state is special. The people in this room are special," Dillingham said in his introductory news conference at ASU (which can be seen in the video at the top of this story). "Sorry, pretty emotional. It's just who I am. … I'm the same person every single day I show up to work. I'm fired up to be here, fired up to be a Sun Devil and what this place needs to be successful, it's already been successful, we've seen it. The leadership from top to bottom is in line.

"That's why I'm here right now. … We need this entire Valley to come together. You want to win at the highest level, you want to maximize this place, we need everybody in this room Positive things. Positive things. We need everybody in this room to get involved. We need the Valley behind us. We need the state behind us. We need butts in seats. We need everything that this Valley has, all in. Cause I am."

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Reach Jeremy Cluff at jeremy.cluff@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on X, formerly Twitter @Jeremy_Cluff.

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