Hey wasn’t it fun to get a win on the road! Let’s get another one at Colorado.

It was great to get a look at Cal’s stadium on a beautiful day and think about the potential we have with Sun Devil Stadium. The vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge are incredible, and I enjoyed learning about Cheapskate Hill. Not as great as the view of the scoreboard at the end though! We had some great donor events at Original Joe’s in San Francisco and at the Lake Merced Golf Club. I know our Bay Area alumni and fans are excited about what is happening at Arizona State. By the way, are you ready to Black Out the Duck and sell out Sun Devil Stadium? Call 480-727-0000 for tickets or order them right here and now. We’re looking for a sellout.

Some things that came to mind on the California stadium
Cal spent more than $300 million on its renovation, of which $176 million had to be spent on seismic improvements since the Hayward Fault runs right down the middle of the field. They played last year at AT&T Park, but the wait was worth it. Their partners have three great clubs on three levels, and the visiting Athletic Director’s suite is the best I have been to yet. Cal AD Sandy Barbour even gave us a box of See’s candies. I had to fight off Coach Kush and Nap Lawrence for the really good caramel ones! In talking to Cal they may build a garage to alleviate some of their on campus congestion. That made me appreciate the forward-thinking work our own Parking Services Department in building structures and also the partnership we have with them. Here is a look at what some universities spent in stadium upgrades last year.

Sutton Impact
The play of Will Sutton is being noticed. To see an interior lineman dominate a game like he did at California is amazing. Eight tackles (including six solos), four tackles for a loss and three sacks are numbers you just don’t see from the men in the middle. Cal was averaging more than 400 yards of total offense entering game, we decided that 285 yards was enough. Here is a great note to remember…we have 22 defensive players listed on our depth chart, only four players listed are seniors. Imagine those 18 players a year bigger, faster and stronger in Coach Graham’s system.

For those in Colorado
Join the Sun Devil Club and Alumni Association on October 11 prior to our Colorado game from 3:30 -6:30PM for a tailgate at Rueben’s Burger Bistro in Boulder. The tailgate package includes a ticket to the game, unlimited food, three alcoholic drinks, unlimited non-alcoholic drinks and a ride to and from the game. Packages are $100 for Sun Devil Club and/or Alumni Association members and $110 for non-members. Contact Beth Steurer at 480-965-2386 to reserve your package today. Did you know that we have more than 7,400 alumni in the Centennial State? Ranks behind only Arizona, California and Texas. The game kicks at 6 p.m. in Arizona on ESPN. Get your viewing party plans ready like our Alumni Association does. Here is our weekly feature on academic goals that ASU and our next football opponent share.    

Sun Devils Serve
Many of our student-athletes and staff will be helping at the Race For the Cure on October 14 in Phoenix. It is an amazing event. You can follow our community service and academic highlights at our Sun Devils Serve site. If you are participating in Race for the Cure and see a Sun Devil helping, make sure you flash them the Pitchfork!

October 20 Men’s Basketball Scrimmage…and Watch this Mixtape!
Are you one of the 475,000+ people who have viewed this? Recognize that guy? You should. Let me take you back to when Jahii Carson committed to our program in September of 2010. Read the excitement that came with it. Want to see him soon? We have a football open date Saturday, Oct. 20, so we have scheduled a 10 a.m. scrimmage at Wells Fargo Arena. Free admission, free parking and autographs after, so come on by and see Coach Sendek, new coaches Eric Musselman and Larry Greer and veteran Dedrique Taylor and your 2012-13 Sun Devils. We are about a month away from our men’s hoops opener (Nov. 10) vs. Central Arkansas and our big women’s basketball Title IX celebration on Nov. 11 vs. Texas Tech. Tickets are available by calling 480-727-0000 or come pick them out in person in and receive a private tour.

Freshmen ladies show star potential
Our whole family went to the volleyball match last Sunday vs. Stanford. Some high-flying action led by Gilbert product Macey Gardner, who earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Week for the second straight week. The team is 13-4 and has seven home games left starting with Oct. 19 vs. Utah…speaking of freshman, how about Shadow Mountain graduate Cali Farquharson notching first hat trick by a Sun Devil freshman since 2000 in soccer’s 5-4 win over USC on Sept. 28. Freshman Tommi Goodman made her first career goal count — it was the game winner in overtime.

This week’s visits with Doug and Wolf and Coach Graham’s weekly visit with Burns and Gambo on Arizona Sports 620 AM can be found here. Remember Coach Graham is back at the Thirsty Lion in Tempe Marketplace at 7 p.m. Monday for his weekly radio show with Doug Franz on Arizona Sports 620 AM. I will be at Pac-12 meetings hearing all our updates on the Pac-12 Network, basketball season and several other items I will bring you up to speed on in the near future.   


This camera on my phone is working overtime! Follow Coach Sendek and me on Twitter!      

Go Devils!

Steve Patterson
Vice President for University Athletics