What Did Kenny Really Say in His Intro? the Passionate Quotes Shaking College Football
The moment athletic director Ray Anderson stepped aside, Dillingham took two deep breaths. His jaw tightened. He looked at the front row, where his wife, children, and parents sat, and broke down before finishing a complete sentence.
"This is home," Dillingham whispered into the microphone, his voice cracking. "This is home."
Those three words set the tone for an emotional introductory press conference unlike anything seen in modern NCAA athletics. Dillingham grew up in Phoenix. He tore his ACL as a senior quarterback at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, pivoted immediately to coaching junior varsity at age 17, and worked as an unpaid volunteer coach while earning his undergraduate degree at ASU in 2012. While previous Sun Devil coaches treated Tempe as a desert stepping stone or a comfortable retirement post, Dillingham framed the job as the summit of his entire professional life.
"I'm sitting here right now, looking out at this room, and I'm living the dream," Dillingham told the assembled crowd. "I am living the dream. I don't care if there are NCAA investigations. I don't care about penalties. I care about this place, and I care about these kids."
