TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Arizona State signed football coach Kenny Dillingham to a five-year contract extension that will raise his average annual salary to $7.5 million, a person familiar with the contract told The Associated Press on Saturday.
The deal also will increase Arizona State’s salary pool for assistant coaches to $11 million, one of the highest in the Big 12, the person told the AP on condition of anonymity because the contract had not been announced.
Arizona State athletics did not officially announce Dillingham’s extension, but posted on X that Dillingham isn’t going anywhere in a donation pitch. The deal takes Dillingham out of the running for the top job at Michigan, which fired Sherrone Moore last week.
Dillingham signed a five-year contract extension after leading the Sun Devils to the College Football Playoff last season, bumping his salary to $5.8 million the first year of the contract.
The 35-year-Dillingham had become a hot commodity in the coaching market after several high-level jobs opened this year, but said after a win against West Virginia on Nov. 15 that he wasn’t going anywhere.
Dillingham’s name resurfaced after Moore’s firing and he used the link to bolster support for the program and his assistant coaches.
“This profession is volatile and security is a critical piece that is needed to build a program in the climate of chaos,” Dillingham told reporters this week.
Demand for Dillingham rose after he turned around Arizona State’s program in a hurry.
The Sun Devils burst onto the national scene in Dillingham’s second season a year ago, winning the Big 12 championship — their first conference title since 1996 — while earning a spot in the CFP for the first time.
Injuries hit Arizona State hard this season — notably quarterback Sam Leavitt and All-American Jordyn Tyson — but Dillingham still had his team in contention for a return trip to the Big 12 title game until late in the season.
The Sun Devils finished the regular season 8-4 and will play Duke in the Dec. 31 Sun Bowl.
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