ASU open to more sports going global after London Game

LONDON – Under trademark grey London skies, tourists crammed the entrance to the Adidas Flagship store on Oxford Street on Friday, standing shoulder to shoulder.

It’s not uncommon for the store to be so busy. It’s located on a road that has been coined the busiest shopping street in Europe. 

The peculiar aspect of this day came from the uniformity in color of the tourists’ attire – maroon and gold – and their willingness to sing along to the tunes of a marching band that flew in from more than 5,000 miles away. 

Arizona State athletic director Graham Rossini smiled as he watched, admiring the crowd of ASU football fans.

Given that this was only the Sun Devils’ second-ever international game, it wasn’t clear how many Arizona State fans would show up in London. Leading up to ASU’s game in the Union Jack Classic on Saturday, the early returns looked good for the university.

“(It’s) just been an unbelievable turnout from the Sun Devil nation,” Rossini said. “We got in Sunday, right off of the game at College Station; the yellow shirts were at the airport here at the airport, and it’s only grown ever since.”

With their fans showing up in droves across the pond, Sun Devil Athletics has begun discussions to go global again. 

Arizona State’s football team will likely stay within the U.S. borders – at least for now. If ASU plans to open another international school, and a perfect scenario springs up, it might get called off the bench again, but coach Kenny Dillingham’s test run in London has opened the door for other ASU sports to explore international opportunities. 

“We do have several sports that we’re talking about international play,” Rossini said. “It needs to be the right situation. We want to make sure that the coaches are comfortable doing it before we’d say yes. But every sport having that opportunity for global exposure is something we’re very focused on.” 

Who would be the next Sun Devil team to go international? There are options.

ASU baseball coach Willie Bloomquist isn’t opposed to the idea. In fact, he even tossed out a few suggestions for Rossini.

“I would love to do it,” Bloomquist said. “Whether it’s in the fall or in the spring during our regular season, it would be something I would love to entertain and see if we can do. Whether it’s Mexico (or) Puerto Rico, somewhere like that would be outstanding.”

Arizona State women’s basketball coach Molly Miller is fine going anywhere. Miller has been to London before, but wouldn’t mind coming back a third time around with her team. 

“I need to make a call to admin,” Miller said. “Like, ‘When’s the women’s basketball game in London?’ I’m not picky.”

As someone who enjoys traveling overseas, Miller believes that athletes can find significant value in making an international trip. 

“International travel is one of my favorites,” Miller said. “I’m a foodie, so I love that. I also love the opportunity to explore. I think something like this, you can learn a lot, maybe even more so than (in) a classroom setting. You’re experiencing new culture, experiencing new things and history, so it’s really a great opportunity.”  

It wouldn’t be unusual to see either of those teams schedule an international contest. 

Every few years, most big-time college basketball programs make a summer global trip. Arizona’s men’s basketball team is a month removed from completing an 11-day summer exhibition in Lithuania. 

The Wildcats competed against several Lithuanian teams, with the trip serving as a homecoming for a few players, including projected NBA draft pick, center Motiejus Krivas. 

Scheduling an international game during the season, however, is a challenge that would be unprecedented. But so was the Sun Devils’ decision to play in London. ASU joined Kansas to become the first-ever FBS teams to play in England. 

“It’s right up the ASU DNA to be first,” Rossini said. “No. 1 in innovation, that can apply to athletics as well.”

Given the smaller roster sizes and fewer logistics involved as a result, a plan to bring another ASU team, other than football, could come together quickly. Rossini said the Union Jack Classic took nearly two years to plan. 

Which sport is next remains to be seen, but Rossini made it clear that nothing is off the table, and ASU is listening. 

“You want to make sure that it’s the right matchup, the right venue, the right scenario to plan for,” Rossini said. “There’s some that could happen in the next couple years. There’s some that might be a few years beyond that, but we’re all ears right now trying to understand what those options could be.”

This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.