Opener sells out as Sun Devil Football kicks off most anticipated season in years

At exactly 5:30 p.m. Saturday, the gates to Mountain America Stadium opened.

It was 104 degrees. The sun still was torching much of the stadium.

But that didn’t deter the hundreds of students who bounded up stairs at the south side of the stadium and ran to their seats in the Inferno section behind the south end zone.

Arizona State University’s season opener against Northern Arizona University wouldn’t begin for another 90 minutes, but nothing could subdue the enthusiasm for the most anticipated Sun Devil football season in more than 20 years.

First-year business student Yajaira Cardenas Martinez sat in the front row of the section. She arrived at the stadium at 5 p.m. to get in line. Soon, she would be watching the first ASU game of her life.

“I’m really excited,” she said. “This is such a cool experience.”

Since he was hired as ASU’s coach in November 2022, Kenny Dillingham’s rallying cry has been “Activate the Valley.” Dillingham has urged fans, time and time again, to support the Sun Devils with their wallets and “butts in the seats.” 

They listened. And responded.

Saturday’s game was the first opener to sell out — the official attendance was announced as 56,759 — since 1998. A record 14,280 students also were on hand.

Since the Sun Devils’ unexpected run to the Big 12 championship and College Football Playoff last season, ticket revenue has increased by 40%, and the ticket renewal rate for this season is 96%. Club and premium seating is sold out, and there are 7,500 new season ticket holders.

“The city likes winning,” Dillingham said after ASU’s 38-19 victory over NAU on Saturday.

With less than 15 minutes before kickoff, the energy in the stadium felt different than it has in past years. There was a heightened anticipatory sense to it, befitting a team that was ranked No. 11 in the country and has a Heisman Trophy candidate in quarterback Sam Leavitt.

Athletics Director Graham Rossini took it all in as he stood on the sideline. Earlier in the evening, Rossini went up to his office overlooking the stadium and saw the students sprinting to get to their seats.

“It was unbelievable,” said Rossini, adding that, ironically, the 1998 opener was the first ASU game he attended. “Just special. People are paying attention and want to get plugged in. That’s the goal. We want it to be a hard ticket. We have to make this the toughest ticket in town consistently. We’re not there yet, but this is a really important step forward.”

In the suite level, Bob Hobbs Jr. extended his hand as he thought about how long his family has had season tickets to ASU’s games.

“Honestly, since the 1970s,” he said.

Hobbs Jr., the son of longtime athletic department donors Bob and Karen Hobbs, said this season feels different. It feels, he said, like 1996.

That would be the 1996 team that finished 11-1 and went to the Rose Bowl.

“When that team walked onto the field, I kind of expected them to win,” Hobbs Jr. said. “I expect this team when it walks onto the field to have that same swagger.”

One sign of the excitement surrounding the program: the phone calls Hobbs Jr., is getting rather than the ones he’s making.

“Normally, first game, first two games, I’m calling people and saying, ‘Hey, do you want to go the game?’” he said. “For this game, I had people calling me and saying, ‘Do you have any room, any tickets, in your suite?’ I was like, ‘No, we’re completely booked.’ It’s just a completely different energy, and it’s so refreshing.”

ASU also has upgraded the fan experience at Mountain America Stadium. One example: the new Huss Hideout on the upper east side of the stadium. The air-conditioned space features Huss Brewing’s Devil’s Halo lager and amber craft beers, along with food and a disc jockey.

Just before 7 p.m., the Sun Devils took the field. They ran to the south end zone, and as they gathered, students in the Inferno section roared with delight.

No one can predict how this season will play out, but on this night, anything seemed possible.

“It was pretty cool to come out here for Game 1 against NAU and see that,” Leavitt said. “Congrats to Coach Dillingham for getting it jumping like that.”

Activating the Valley is well underway.