Arizona State University

Arizona State University (ASU) is (as of 2004) the third-largest university in the United States with a student body of 57,543. Founded in 1885 as a territorial normal school, the institution has gone through several name and purpose changes before becoming a state university in 1958. ASU's main campus is in Tempe, Arizona, at the site of the original school. Satellite campuses were created in 1984 in Phoenix (ASU West) and in 1996 in Mesa (ASU East).

Each year nearly 10,000 students graduate from the university's three campuses. ASU houses the world-renowned Institute of Human Origins. It is also home to the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism & Mass Communication. ASU attracts many National Merit scholars; there were 173 in the 2003 freshman class. Many are part of the Barrett Honors College, which produces nationally recognized students, including 54 Fulbright scholars, 28 Goldwater scholars, and 13 Truman scholars. ASU is becoming a major center for research. Under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education ASU is classified as a Doctoral/Research University–Extensive; under the previous Carnegie classification, it was considered a Research I University.

Current state of the university

ASU is currently aspiring to climb up in the rankings in U.S. News and World Report under the leadership of its 16th president, Michael Crow, who took office in July 2002. Toward this goal several initiatives are being pursued, the most notable of which is the Arizona Biodesign Institute. Additionally, two gifts of $50 million each were given to the College of Engineering and the College of Business; both were named after their benefactors. The COE is now the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, and the COB is now the W. P. Carey School of Business. Administrators hope that the extra money will help both schools move up in national rankings.

In a sign of increasing national prominence, ASU was chosen to host the third Presidential debate on October 13, 2004 at Gammage Auditorium. In an additional boost to the school's prestige, it was announced just days before the debate that Dr. Edward Prescott of the W. P. Carey School of Business would be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. Not only did ASU have its first Nobel Laureate in 2004; it also received the honor of having the director of its Biodesign Institute, Dr. George Poste, named Scientist of the Year by R&D Magazine.

Athletics

ASU is a member of the PAC-10 athletic conference. Athletes, students, and alumni of ASU are known as "Sun Devils," a nickname adopted in 1946; earlier nicknames were the Normals or the Owls and, later, the Bulldogs. The Sun Devil mascot, Sparky, was designed by Disney illustrator Bert Anthony. ASU's chief rival is the University of Arizona, who are known as the "Wildcats."

ASU's main outdoor sports venue is named Sun Devil Stadium. Notable athletic alumni include baseball players Barry Bonds, Paul Lo Duca, Fernando Vi�a and Reggie Jackson, football players Jake Plummer, Todd Heap, Danny White, Terrell Suggs, Darren Woodson, and Pat Tillman, basketball player Byron Scott, golfer Phil Mickelson, and announcer Al Michaels.

The university has won national championships in men's archery 15 times, women's archery 21 times, mixed archery 20 times, men's badminton 13 times, women's badminton 17 times, mixed badminton 10 times, baseball 5 times, women's tennis 3 times, men's gymnastics once, men's track and field once, wrestling once, men's golf twice, women's golf 13 times, women's softball twice, and women's swimming and diving 7 times for a total of 129 national championships. Additionally, the men's basketball team has attended the NCAA tournament 12 times and the football team won the Rose Bowl in 1986 as well as the Fiesta Bowl in 1982, 1975, 1973, 1972, and 1971.

Football

The Sun Devils played in the Border Conference between 1931 and 1961, before joining the Western Athletic Conference the following year. Led by legendary head coach Frank Kush, the Sun Devils posted a remarkable 62-9 record between 1970 and 1975, culminating in a 17-14 upset of the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 1975 Fiesta Bowl.

In 1978, both ASU and the University of Arizona joined the Pacific Ten Conference, and in that year ASU celebrated with an emotional 20-7 victory over number-one-ranked University of Southern California. The Sun Devils then began a slow decline, interrupted only briefly by victories in the 1983 Fiesta Bowl and 1987 Rose Bowl. After a 1987 Freedom Bowl victory over Air Force, the Sun Devils went a combined 43-44-1 between 1988 and 1995.

In 1996, the Sun Devils went a surprising 11-1, highlighted by a 19-0 shutout of the number-one-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in Tempe. ASU quarterback Jake Plummer led the Sun Devils, helping Arizona State into the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes. In a game with National Championship potential, the Sun Devils held a slim 17-14 lead with just under 1:47 left in the fourth quarter. However, the Sun Devils fell to Ohio State 20-17 in one of the most exciting Rose Bowl games ever.

Between 1997 and 2000, the Sun Devils underachieved greatly, leading to the dismissal of popular head football coach Bruce Snyder. The hiring of head coach Dirk Koetter from Boise State University gave the Sun Devils a charismatic leader with a penchant for molding strong quarterbacks.

Arizona State began the Dirk Koetter era with a thud, falling to 4-7 in 2001. However, ASU improved to 8-6 in 2002, highlighted by the play of defensive end Terrell Suggs and wide receiver Shaun McDonald. Quarterback Andrew Walter emerged to pass for a staggering 3,877 yards and 28 touchdowns. The Sun Devils eventually lost a nailbiter to Kansas State University in the 2003 Holiday Bowl.

In 2004, the Sun Devils surprised nearly everyone, jumping out to a 5-0 record (including an impressive 44-7 victory over Iowa in Tempe). Andrew Walter led the suddenly resurgent Sun Devils, passing for 1,249 yards and 15 TDs through five games. This set up an attractive matchup between ASU and Southern California in Los Angeles on October 16, 2004, which they lost. They went on to be 7-2, with the other loss coming to Cal, as of November 12th, 2004.

Key to the Sun Devils' remarkable turnaround was a speedy defensive unit led by tackles Jimmy Verdon and Kyle Caldwell. The Sun Devils also improved dramatically in turnover margin and penalties. For the first time in several years, fans in Tempe and across Arizona flocked to see the team play at Sun Devil Stadium.

External links

ASU Web site (http://www.asu.edu)
Official Sun Devil athletics site (http://www.thesundevils.com)
Arizona State Sun Devils Historical Football Records (http://www.michigan-football.com/ncaa/f/arzstate.htm)
ESPN.com - Clubhouse (Arizona State) (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/clubhouse?collegeId=9&sport=ncf)

Retrieved from "http://mywiseowl.com/articles/Arizona_State_University"

This page has been accessed 543 times. This page was last modified 06:15, 25 Nov 2004. All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License (see Copyrights for details).