Kenny Dillingham spoke about the recently announced self-imposed bowl ban for his Arizona State Sun Devils. The ban comes after a multi-year investigation by the NCAA into recruiting violations during the COVID-19 dead period.

“I thought the guys did the best they could do,” Dillingham said. “Was it emotional telling them that? Oh yeah. You have a whole bunch of seniors who compete and they can’t compete anymore.”

Dillingham detailed that he was alerted to the news around 6:30 on Sunday morning after meeting with Athletics Director Ray Anderson and Deputy AD Jean Boyd.  When asked how he reacted to the news, Dillingham said it was “upsetting.”

“Just gotta be the very best we can be every day,” Dillingham stated. “In reality, most people would rather see other people fail, so they don’t have to work hard, and work hard enough to actually beat them.”

The first-year head coach then said it will be a battle of “us vs. us,” this season in terms of staying motivated.

In conclusion, Dillingham stated that anything that upsets his players bothers him, and this is upsetting to his players.

The Sun Devils kick off the season against Southern Utah on Thursday.