While most rebuilds are measured around roster rebuilds and conference titles, Kenny Dillingham’s latest breakthrough at Arizona State showed up where college football turnarounds aren’t usually judged. The Sun Devils just posted an academic mark that the program has never reached before, potentially setting up the young coach for yet another bonus of his early tenure. 

“BREAKING: ASU’s football team achieved its highest-ever GPA during the fall semester, at 3.09, and the best cumulative GPA ever, at 3.04,” shared Chris Karpman of 247Sports, taking to his X account. “Nearly two-thirds of the roster, 64 players, had a 3.0 average in the fall, ASU said, with 13 players enrolled in Barrett, the Honors College.”

What made the numbers even more telling was how widespread the buy-in was across the roster.

Nearly half of Arizona State’s fall 2025 All-Big 12 Academic Team honorees came from football, with 31 Sun Devils earning spots by maintaining at least a 3.20 GPA while contributing on the field. Linebacker Keyshaun Elliott stood out among them, landing first-team honors behind a remarkable 3.91 GPA. Elliott was the highlight of how the program’s top performers are now emerging in the classroom as well. But none of this happened overnight or by chance. 

Academic progress has become one of the defining trends of the Dillingham era, with ASU’s graduation success rate climbing from 69 percent in 2005 to 93% by 2023, a mark the program matched the following year again. The academic breakthrough now sits alongside on-field milestones, including the Sun Devils’ first playoff appearance and Big 12 championship run, further showing a broader culture shift taking root within the program.

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Under Kenny Dillingham, academic accountability has been built directly into the program’s weekly rhythm. Players now move through consistent grade checks with position coaches, structured tutoring blocks, and mandatory study hours for anyone hovering near eligibility lines. Instead of reacting late in the semester, the staff intervenes early, pairing athletes with academic coaches and subject tutors before small issues snowball.

Inside the building, Dillingham routinely highlights classroom wins in team meetings, placing GPA jumps alongside weight-room records and practice awards. Veterans who handle school the right way are elevated into leadership roles, quietly turning peer pressure into one of the program’s strongest motivators.

Notably, the coaching staff has leaned into recruiting student-athletes who can handle both football and demanding coursework, particularly within Barrett, the Honors College. 

“This staff is aiming for more academically highly rated students who can play football,” Courtney Skipper, who works closely with ASU players enrolled in Barrett, the Honors College, said in 2025. “We’re not just trying to win games, we’re trying to build something that lasts beyond football.”

Dillingham has made expanding the honors presence a priority, with the program targeting even more academically elite recruits in upcoming classes. The growing number of Barrett enrollees inside the locker room has become a solid indicator of how the roster profile itself is changing. Naturally, the results have already reshaped how Arizona State views its young head coach.

With academic benchmarks being met alongside competitive success, the university has moved to secure Dillingham long-term with a new five-year deal pending approval from the Arizona Board of Regents. His base salary now jumps to $6.4 million, a significant rise from last season’s total compensation that once placed him near the lower end of Big 12 coaching pay.

But that academic turnaround is now paying off in more ways than one, with performance in the classroom translating into real financial rewards for Dillingham, written into the structure of his contract itself.

Kenny Dillingham is being rewarded handsomely for ASU’s academic success

Dillingham’s contract allows him to win a lucrative academic bonus, which he managed to bag after the 2024 season. He was paid $502,500 according to the clause. The figure, added to the $2.6 million he earned as football-related bonuses, brought his grand total in extra payments to $3.056 million. The figure exceeds what Michigan paid Jim Harbaugh for winning the 2023 National Championship.

$290,000 of the total academic bonus was awarded for ASU having a multi-year academic progress rate (APR) of 973. $100,000 came for ASU football, scoring a GSR of 86%. He also got $62,500 for a team GPA of 2.80. The figure would have been 150,000 if the GPA was 3.0 or more. Dillingham won $50,000 for having between three and six new scholarship players enroll in the Barrett Honors College. He clearly met a few of these requirements once again in the 2025 season.

Considering how quickly Kenny Dillingham is earning these bonuses, Arizona State is in no mood to let him go anytime soon. After all, the program doesn’t just want him to create star talents on the field. The more academically qualified these players become, the better it is for their own futures.