Arizona State Sun Devils The Arizona State Sun Devils are the athletic teams representing Arizona State University . ASU has nine men ' s and eleven women ' s varsity teams competing in the NCAA Pacific - 12 Conference . The men compete in baseball , basketball , cross country , football , golf , swimming / diving , track , and wrestling . Women compete in basketball , cross country , golf , gymnastics , soccer , softball , swimming / diving , tennis , track , volleyball , and water polo . Athletes at ASU are known as " Sun Devils . " The mascot was adopted in 1946 ; earlier nicknames were the Normals and later , the Bulldogs . The Sun Devil mascot , Sparky , was designed by former Disney illustrator Bert Anthony . ASU ' s chief rival is the University of Arizona Wildcats . Notable athletic achievements . ASU has 23 NCAA team national championships , including baseball ( five times ) , women ' s tennis ( three times ) , men ' s gymnastics ( one ) , men ' s track and field ( one ) , men ' s indoor track and field ( one ) , women ' s outdoor track and field ( two times ) , women ' s indoor track and field ( one ) , wrestling ( one ) , men ' s golf ( two times ) , women ' s golf ( thirteen times ) , softball ( two times ) , and women ' s swimming and diving ( seven times ) . These combine for a total of 133 team national championships . ASU also has numerous individual NCAA national champions in different sports . Additionally , the baseball team has appeared in the College World Series 22 times , the men ' s basketball team has participated in 13 NCAA tournaments , including 3 Elite Eight appearances , and the ASU football team won the Rose Bowl in 1987 and the Fiesta Bowl in 1971 , 1972 , 1973 , 1975 , and 1982 . ASU 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 and mixed badminton 10 times , all which are not recognized by the NCAA . Sports . Football . The Sun Devils played in the Border Conference between 1931 and 1961 , before joining the Western Athletic Conference . 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 - 8 Conference , causing the conference to become the Pacific - 10 ( which grew again in 2011 to become the Pacific - 12 ) . The Sun Devils suffered some down years due to a number of head coaching changes , but were still able to make it to the 1983 Fiesta Bowl and 1987 Rose Bowl winning both . After the 2006 season , Dirk Koetter was fired after six seasons , and on December 6 , 2006 , athletic director Lisa Love hired Dennis Erickson to become the head coach at ASU . Erickson , in his first year as coach of the Arizona State Sun Devils , led the team to 10 wins , a share of the Pac - 10 title with USC , and the Holiday Bowl against the University of Texas Longhorns . Dennis Erickson was fired on November 28 , 2011 after five seasons with the Sun Devils . He was replaced by coach Todd Graham on December 14 , 2011 . Lisa Love was fired from her position as Vice President for University Athletics and Athletics Director on March 28 , 2012 and was immediately replaced by Steve Patterson . In 2011 after 56 years , Sun Devils turn back to its original colour scheme from 1951 - 1954 with black helmets . Notable football alumni include Terrell Suggs , Jim Jeffcoat , Mike Pagel , Jake Plummer , Todd Heap , J . R . Redmond , Danny White , Randall McDaniel , David Fulcher , Darren Woodson , Pat Tillman , Eric Allen , Zach Miller , Shaun McDonald , John Jefferson , Paul Justin , Jimmy Verdon , Mike Haynes , Al Harris and Ryan Torain . Men ' s Basketball . The Arizona State Sun Devils have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 13 times , including 3 Elite Eights ( 1961 , 1963 , 1975 ) . They have won 8 conference championships ( 4 WAC and 4 BOR ) and finished in the final AP rankings 7 times . The highest national ranking the Sun Devils have achieved was # 3 under Ned Wulk during the 1980 – 81 season when the starting lineup included Byron Scott , Fat Lever , and Alton Lister . Ned Wulk was the men ' s basketball coach from 1958 to 1982 and remains the most successful coach in the history of the program with a record of 406 – 272 ( . 599 ) . Arizona State appeared in the NAIA Men ' s Basketball National Tournament two years ( 1948 and 1953 ) . Both years losing in the second round , leaving the NAIA with a tournament record of 2 – 2 . Herb Sendek is the current head coach of the Sun Devils . Sendek stepped down as head coach of the North Carolina State Wolfpack and accepted the head coaching job at Arizona State in 2006 . Sendek took the Wolfpack to five consecutive NCAA Tournaments and also won ACC coach of the year in 2004 . Sendek was credited for bringing a " basketball atmosphere " and level of excitement to the ASU campus that had been absent for years . In his first four seasons at ASU , Sendek led the Sun Devils to three consecutive 20 win seasons , the 2009 Pac - 10 conference tournament finals , and the second round of the NCAA tournament . Thirty - six ASU Sun Devils have been selected in the NBA Draft , including James Harden , Byron Scott , Isaac Austin , Lafayette Lever , Alton Lister , Lionel Hollins , Sam Williams , Jeff Pendergraph , Stevin " Hedake " Smith , Mario Bennett , Tommy Smith , Ike Diogu , Eddie House . Freddie Lewis , and Joe Caldwell . Paul Stovall was a Charles Barkley type standout but his non - conducive personality and actions precluded his notoriety . Baseball . ASU has one of the most successful baseball programs in the country . The Sun Devils have won five national championships ( 1965 , 1967 , 1969 , 1977 , 1981 ) , the fourth most by any school , and have the third most College World Series victories with 61 . ASU baseball has won 21 conference championships ( including four consecutive Pac - 10 titles from 2007 – 2010 ) and reached the College World Series 22 times . The Sun Devils have also reached the NCAA tournament 34 times , most recently in 2011 . Starting with Rick Monday as the # 1 pick of the first ever Major League Baseball draft in ' 65 , ASU leads all schools with 368 total picks . ASU also has the third most alumni to ever play in Major League Baseball . Notable baseball alumni include Barry Bonds , Paul Lo Duca , Fernando Viña , Dustin Pedroia , Mike Leake , Andre Ethier , Willie Bloomquist , Bob Horner , Sal Bando , Ike Davis , Jason Kipnis , Brett Wallace , Ian Kinsler , Hubie Brooks , and Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson . Gymnastics . Led by 30 + year legendary coach John Spini , the Sun Devils Gymnastics team has had many fine dominating years in his reign with many all American Gymnasts to Spinis credit as well as a first class facility named after Coach John Spini who has been the face of the Girls program as he continues to recruit great gymnasts from around the country . Below is the history of top qualifiers coach has had as well as his predecessors at ASU . Listed by YEAR , DUAL CONF . , NAT ' L and HEAD COACH . 1995 - 96 8 - 4 2nd DNQ John Spini 1994 - 95 10 - 4 2nd DNQ John Spini 1993 - 94 13 - 4 3rd 10th John Spini 1992 - 93 12 - 2 4th 12th John Spini 1991 - 92 10 - 5 4th 7th John Spini 1990 - 91 13 - 8 4th 9th John Spini 1989 - 90 8 - 6 - 1 3rd DNQ John Spini 1988 - 89 7 - 13 3rd 7thT John Spini 1987 - 88 13 - 7 2nd 8th John Spini 1986 - 87 11 - 7 4th 5th John Spini 1985 - 86 18 - 1 1st 2nd John Spini 1984 - 85 20 - 2 1st 2nd John Spini 1983 - 84 19 - 4 2nd 4th John Spini 1982 - 83 20 - 1 1st 2nd John Spini 1981 - 82 10 - 3 1st 5th John Spini 1980 - 81 9 - 1 3rd 5th John Spini 1979 - 80 22 - 6 2nd 9th Marie Bilski 1978 - 79 7 - 9 2nd DNC Marie Bilski 1977 - 78 12 - 5 1st 7th Marie Bilski 1976 - 77 9 - 2 1st 7th Marie Bilski 1975 - 76 10 - 2 1st 6th Monique Sublette Arizona State Women ' s Gymnastics Softball . One of the nation ' s founding programs , the two - time NCAA national champion Sun Devils are in their 45th season on the diamond . ASU has recorded twenty - seven seasons of 30 or more wins and twelve with 40 or more , including an all - time high of 66 wins in 2008 . The Sun Devils have appeared in 23 NCAA tournaments ( 33 postseason bids overall ) and have made nine trips to the Women ' s College World Series . Prior to the current NCAA format , ASU went to seven WCWS , claiming back - to - back national tiles in 1972 and 1973 . Arizona State ' s storied tradition of softball excellence continues to flourish under head coach Clint Myers , who has led the Sun Devils to two NCAA national championships . Myers joined Linda Vollstedt ( women ’ s golf – 7 ) , Greg Kraft ( women ’ s track & field indoor – 2 , women ’ s track & field outdoor – 1 , men ’ s indoor track & field – 1 ) , Bobby Winkles ( baseball – 3 ) and Jim Brock ( baseball – 2 ) as Sun Devil coaches with more than one NCAA title . The Sun Devils capped off the 2008 season with their first WCWS NCAA national championship on June 3 , 2008 . Kaitlin Cochran hit a three - run home run , Katie Burkhart pitched a four - hitter and Arizona State routed Texas A & M 11 – 0 to win the title . Cochran slammed the first pitch from Megan Gibson over the left field fence in the fifth inning to give the sixth - seeded Sun Devils a 4 – 0 lead in the fifth inning . The margin ended up matching the second - most lopsided game in Women ' s College World Series history . On June 7 , 2011 , the Sun Devils captured their second NCAA national championship by defeating the Florida Gators . ASU pitcher , Dallas Escobedo , became the first freshman pitcher to lead a team to the NCAA title since 1990 . Golf . Notable golf alumni include Phil Mickelson , Billy Mayfair , Paul Casey , Bob Gilder , Howard Twitty , Tom Purtzer , Jeff Quinney , Matt Jones , Chez Reavie , Grace Park , Heather Farr , Anna Nordqvist , Wendy Ward , Azahara Muñoz and Giulia Molinaro . Wrestling . ASU has had a very successful wrestling team . The Sun Devils have captured one NCAA team national championship ( 1988 ) , eight individual championships , and 100 total All American honors . Notable alumni include several MMA stars , such as Dan Severn , Don Frye , Cain Velasquez , Ryan Bader , Aaron Simpson , Dan Henderson , Clifford Starks and C . B . Dollaway . Eight Sun Devils have participated in the Olympic games , most recently in the 1996 Olympic games in Atlanta . There have been two silver medalists ; Zeke Jones and Townsend Saunders . Six Sun Devils have participated in the World Championships of Wrestling since 1985 ( a total of 16 entries ) . those wrestlers placed in the top 10 a total of ten times , including Zeke Jones , the 1991 champion at 114 . 5 pounds . During the 1992 – 1993 season ASU set a Pacific - 10 Conference record for most points in a championship meet . On May 13 , 2008 , the university announced it will drop the sport of Wrestling as well as Men ' s Tennis and Men ' s Swimming to save more than $ 1 million in operational costs . Just 10 days after the announcement to drop three sports , Arizona State announced it was reinstating the varsity wrestling program . The announcement came as local and civic sponsorship was announced as the reason to bring the sport back . Notable non varsity sports . Rugby . Founded in 1975 , the Arizona State University Men ' s Rugby Team plays college rugby in the Division 1 PAC Rugby Conference , where its rivals include Pac - 12 foes such Arizona and UCLA . With 98 registered players , Arizona State was ranked as the largest college rugby program in the United States in 2009 . Arizona State has been led by head coach Gary Lane since 2001 . Arizona State is regularly ranked in the Top 25 in the country . Arizona State ' s rugby sevens program has been successful in the Collegiate Rugby Championship , the highest profile college rugby tournament in the country , where they finished tenth in the 2010 tournament . Championship history . National championships . Arizona State has 23 NCAA team national championships : Rivalries . A strong academic and athletic rivalry exists between the University of Arizona and Arizona State University . Arizona leads the all - time record against ASU in men ' s basketball 139 – 79 as of January 2010 . Arizona State University fields the more accomplished baseball team with five College World Series national championships ( 1965 , 1967 , 1969 , 1977 and 1981 ) . As of May 2010 , the schools have met 432 times on the baseball diamond , dating back over 100 years to the first contest in 1907 . Arizona , recognizing victories against club teams ( ASU did not adopt varsity baseball until 1959 ) claims the all - time series 233 – 198 – 1 . ASU , recognizing only varsity baseball competition ( beginning in 1959 ) , claims a 179 – 115 edge in the all - time series ( as of May 2010 ) . The annual football rivalry game between the two schools is known as " The Duel in the Desert . " It is one of the most heated rivalries in college football . The University of Arizona has the all - time series lead with a record of 46 – 37 – 1 dating back to the time when ASU was the Tempe Normal Owls and Teacher ' s College Bulldogs . The school adopted the moniker , the Sun Devils , on November 20 , 1946 . Since Arizona State became a university in 1958 , the Sun Devils lead the rivalry series over the University of Arizona Wildcats by a record of 29 – 23 – 1 . The trophy awarded after each game , the Territorial Cup , is one of the nation ' s oldest rivalry trophies . It is currently held by Arizona State . In 2009 , State Farm introduced the sponsored " State Farm Territorial Cup " for the two schools . Arizona won the inaugural season of the series 10 . 5 points to 7 . 5 . The ASU wrestling team has been dominant over the UA Wildcats with a record of 28 – 8 all time . The University of Arizona no longer has a wrestling program . ASU athletic facilities . Mona Plummer Aquatic Center Karsten Golf Course Packard Stadium Sun Devil Soccer Stadium Alberta B . Farrington Softball Stadium Sun Angel Stadium , Joe Selleh Track Sun Devil Stadium Wells Fargo Arena Whiteman Tennis Center