Arizona State University

About ASU

Arizona State University (commonly referred to as ASU or Arizona State) is a public metropolitan research university on five campuses across the Phoenix, Arizona, metropolitan area, and four regional learning centers throughout Arizona. The 2016 university ratings by U.S. News & World Report rank ASU No. 1 among the Most Innovative Schools in America for the second year in a row.

ASU is the largest public university by enrollment in the U.S. It had approximately 82,060 students enrolled in 2014, including 66,309 undergraduate and 15,751 graduate students. ASU's charter, approved by the board of regents in 2014, is based on the "New American University" model created by ASU President Crow. It defines ASU as "a comprehensive public research university, measured not by whom it excludes, but rather by whom it includes and how they succeed; advancing research and discovery of public value; and assuming fundamental responsibility for the economic, social, cultural and overall health of the communities it serves."

ASU is classified as a research university with very high research activity (RU/VH) by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. Since 2005, ASU has been ranked among the top research universities, public and private, in the U.S. based on research output, innovation, development, research expenditures, number of awarded patents and awarded research grant proposals. The Center for Measuring University Performance ranks ASU 31st among top U.S. public research universities. ASU was classified as a Research I institute in 1994, making it one of the nation's newest major research universities (public or private).

Students compete in 25 varsity sports. The Arizona State Sun Devils are members of the Pac-12 Conference and have won 23 NCAA championships. Along with multiple athletic clubs and recreational facilities, ASU is home to more than 1,100 registered student organizations, reflecting the student body's diversity. To keep pace with the growth of the student population, the university is continuously renovating and expanding infrastructure. The demand for new academic halls, athletic facilities, student recreation centers, and residential halls is being addressed with donor contributions and public-private investments.

• W. P. Carey School of Business

  The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University is one of the largest business schools in the United States with more than 13,000 students pursuing undergraduate, master's, and PhD degrees.

  Solutions for the planet mean developing problem-solvers from around the globe. From our world-renowned faculty representing six continents to thousands of outstanding students who join us every year from around the world, the W. P. Carey School welcomes diversity and encourages global thinking.

• College of Health Solutions

  At the pulse of health, the College of Health Solutions is dedicated to developing the health workforce of the future. We're equipping students to influence healthier lifestyle choices; develop creative interventions to improve the health of people and populations; analyze and translate large amounts of health data into solutions; maximize the technology, science, business and application of diagnostics; and address the critical and complex needs of the health care system. The college’s programmatic focus is on behavioral health, biomedical diagnostics, biomedical informatics, executive education, exercise science, health promotion, health sciences, kinesiology, medical studies, nutrition, public health, the science of health care delivery, and speech and hearing science.

• Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts

  With 4,700+ students, nearly 400 faculty members, 125 program options and a tradition of top-ranked programs, we are committed to redefining the 21st-century design and arts school. Our college is built on a combination of disciplines unlike any other program in the nation, comprising schools of art; arts, media + engineering; design; film, dance and theatre; and music; as well as the ASU Art Museum.

• Fulton Schools of Engineering

  1. We build engineers: more than a discipline, engineering is a mind-set, a way of looking at the world. Students in the Fulton Schools of Engineering are part of a community of problem solvers, people who are passionate about designing and making innovative and entrepreneurial solutions. Our students are distinguished by their transdisciplinary methods, their understanding of the societal implications of their decisions, and their potential for success in traditional and non-traditional engineering careers alike. 

  2. We’ve reinvented the first-year experience for students — introductory engineering classes engage students in projects like creating solar cars or testing buildings during seismic activity.

  3. At E2, our innovative program for incoming freshmen, our new students are engineers from day one — thinkers, makers, builders, inventors — participating in team-building games like toxic transport and boat building that promote team building and problem solving skills. E2 also introduces incoming students to our peer mentors. Peer mentoring is integral to the set of attributes and principles that create the Fulton Difference. 

  4. We foster entrepreneurship. Aspiring entrepreneurs can find like-minded students in our incredible new space: Generator Labs, which provides Fulton Schools students with the ability to explore and expand their entrepreneurial mindset, to prototype projects anchored in human-centered design and to truly make an impact on the world around them. 

  Three lab spaces, a café and lounge area, along with access to program faculty and mentors, make this the ideal space for students in the Engineering Projects in Community Service (EPICS) and Startup Center programs to team up and innovate. In addition, the Startup Center offers signature entrepreneurship and innovation courses, workshops, expert mentoring, new venture competitions and more. 

  5. Fulton Schools researchers excel in areas that are as varied as they are critical, including robotics, alternative energy and power systems, rehabilitative devices, engineering education, global security and national defense, and next generation adaptive materials.

  We are leading world-class research centers including two national Engineering Research Centers, QESST and CBBG.

  The National Science Foundation/Department of Energy funded Quantum Energy and Sustainable Solar Technologies (QESST) Engineering Research Center brings together partners worldwide to find affordable, accessible energy solutions and further education efforts in photovoltaics.

  The Center for Bio-mediated and Bio-inspired Geotechnics (CBBG) works to expand the emerging field of biogeotechnical engineering that promises solutions to some of the world’s biggest environmental and infrastructure development challenges.

  The Fulton Schools is also a partner on a third Engineering Research Center, Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment Systems center, or NEWT, which develops compact, mobile, off-grid water-treatment systems that can provide clean water to millions of people, while making U.S. energy production more sustainable and cost effective. 

  6. We bridge the Tempe and Polytechnic campuses with state-of-the-art labs, study spaces and residence halls. You’ll find faculty and students — including undergraduate students engaged in research — working on engineering solutions in our 3D Print Lab, Device and Usability Lab, Startup Labs and more.

  We’re also welcoming a prominent new residence hall on the Tempe campus in fall 2017.

  7. The Fulton Schools offer a dedicated career center that provides coaching to students from day one all the way through job searches for alumni. We host biannual career fairs and an annual Career Exploration Night geared toward freshmen. The Fulton Schools Career Center connects students to internships, co-ops and job opportunities.

  8. We have more than 60 engineering student organizations engaged in activities from rockets to robots — a great way to get hands-on experience, make connections with industry and have fun. Our student teams enter and win national competitions.

  9. We say you’re never too young to be an engineer. Our outreach and summer programs engage thousands of K-12 students each year in robotics, programming, solar energy, rocketry, mobile apps and more.

  10. We represent the many faces of engineering, with 20,000 students from all 50 states and Puerto Rico, and 83 countries. We have Navajo students aiding reservation construction projects and more than a hundred National Hispanic Scholars. Our female first-time freshmen enrollment has doubled since 2011. Our inclusive approach paired with diversity programming has attracted a record number of incoming freshmen in each of the last five years, making us the largest engineering school in the U.S. in terms of undergraduate enrollment. One out of every five students at ASU is a student in the Fulton Schools. 

• School for the Future of Innovation in Society

  Universities prepare students for the future. At SFIS we make the future – or, rather, the set of plausible futures that humanity has – a focus of our activities. We are planning now for the kinds of futures that we will want to inhabit.

  Universities are at the forefront of innovation, generating and applying knowledge to improve our lives. At SFIS we’re going to make innovation the object of systematic study and informed critique, so that we might get what we truly want and need out of our scientific and technological endeavors.

  Universities serve society by producing knowledge and facilitating opportunity. They educate new generations of informed citizens and skilled, productive workers. At SFIS we see our efforts as part of a larger social fabric – local, regional, national, global – that informs our wants and needs about the futures we will want to inhabit.

• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

  We offer unparalleled academic choice and unlimited opportunities for success. As the academic core of the New American University, the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences fosters educational excellence, intellectual inquiry, discovery and unmatched access through our unique collection of programs in the natural sciences, social sciences and humanities.

  The college has 89 undergraduate majors and 134 graduate degrees housed in 22 interdisciplinary schools and departments. We encourage our students to pioneer solutions to society’s most pressing issues. We accomplish this by inspiring our students to be socially aware, critical thinkers and global citizens who create and bring about positive change in the world.

  We also draw inspiration from the constantly evolving world to redefine a liberal arts and sciences education. Our forward-thinking approach transcends traditional academic boundaries and our diversity of programs serves as an incubator for personal growth and development in any field of study.

• School of Sustainability

  Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability is the first comprehensive degree-granting program of its kind in the United States, with a focus on finding real-world solutions to environmental, economic, and social challenges.

  Established in 2006, the School is part of the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability , which is the hub of ASU’s sustainability initiatives. The Institute advances research, education, and business practices for an urbanizing world. The School of Sustainability offers undergraduate and graduate programs and minors, as well as doctoral and professional leadership programs.

  We are addressing some of the most critical challenges of our time, and the demand for our graduates is strong. The School’s course of study emphasizes experiential learning, research with faculty, corporate and K-12 work, community service, and leadership development.

  The knowledge and solutions that are created today will shape our quality of life as well as future generations–we have an opportunity and an obligation to make our world more sustainable.

History of ASU

1885–1929

Arizona State University was established as the Territorial Normal School at Tempe on March 12, 1885, when the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature passed an act to create a normal school to train teachers for the Arizona Territory. The campus consisted of a single, four-room schoolhouse on a 20-acre plot largely donated by Tempe residents George and Martha Wilson. Classes began with 33 students on February 8, 1886. The curriculum evolved over the years and the name was changed several times; the institution was also known as Arizona Territorial Normal School(1889–1896), Arizona Normal School (1896–1899), Normal School of Arizona (1899–1901), and Tempe Normal School (1901–1925). The school accepted both high school students and graduates, and awarded high school diplomas and teaching certificates to those who completed the requirements.

In 1923 the school stopped offering high school courses and added a high school diploma to the admissions requirements. In 1925 the school became the Tempe State Teachers College and offered four-year Bachelor of Education degrees as well as two-year teaching certificates. In 1929, the legislature authorized Bachelor of Arts in Education degrees as well, and the school was renamed the Arizona State Teachers College. Under the 30-year tenure of president Arthur John Matthews the school was given all-college student status. The first dormitories built in the state were constructed under his supervision. Of the 18 buildings constructed while Matthews was president, six are still currently in use. Matthews envisioned an "evergreen campus," with many shrubs brought to the campus, and implemented the planting of Palm Walk, now a landmark of the Tempe campus. His legacy is being continued to this day with the main campus having been declared a nationally recognized arboretum.

During the Great Depression, Ralph W. Swetman was hired as president for a three-year term. Although enrollment increased by almost 100 percent during his tenure due to the depression, many faculty were terminated and faculty salaries were cut.

1930–1989

In 1933, Grady Gammage, then president of Arizona State Teachers College at Flagstaff, became president of ASU, a tenure that would last for nearly 28 years. Like his predecessor, Gammage oversaw construction of a number of buildings on the Tempe campus. He also oversaw the development of the university's graduate programs. The school's name was changed to Arizona State College in 1945, and finally to Arizona State University in 1958. At the time, two other names considered were Tempe University and State University at Tempe.

By the 1960s, with the presidency of G. Homer Durham, the University began to expand its academic curriculum by establishing several new colleges and beginning to award Doctor of Philosophy and other doctoral degrees.

The next three presidents—Harry K. Newburn, 1969–71, John W. Schwada, 1971–81, and J. Russell Nelson, 1981–89—and Interim President Richard Peck, 1989, led the university to increased academic stature, creation of the West campus, and rising enrollment.

1990–present

Under the leadership of Lattie F. Coor, president from 1990 to 2002, ASU grew through the creation of the Polytechnic campus and extended education sites. Increased commitment to diversity, quality in undergraduate education, research, and economic development occurred over his 12-year tenure. Part of Coor's legacy to the university was a successful fundraising campaign: through private donations, more than $500 million was invested in areas that would significantly impact the future of ASU. Among the campaign's achievements were the naming and endowing of Barrett, The Honors College, and the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts; the creation of many new endowed faculty positions; and hundreds of new scholarships and fellowships.

In 2002, Michael M. Crow became the university's 16th president. At his inauguration, he outlined his vision for transforming ASU into a "New American University" — one that would be open and inclusive, and set a goal for the university to meet Association of American Universities criteria and to become a member. Crow initiated the idea of transforming ASU into "One university in many places" — a single institution comprising several campuses, sharing students, faculty, staff and accreditation. Subsequent reorganizations combined academic departments, consolidated colleges and schools, and reduced staff and administration as the university expanded its West and Polytechnic campuses. ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus was also expanded, with several colleges and schools relocating there. The university established learning centers throughout the state, including the ASU Colleges at Lake Havasu City and programs in Thatcher, Yuma, and Tucson. Students at these centers can choose from several ASU degree and certificate programs.

During Crow’s tenure, and aided by hundreds of millions of dollars in donations, ASU began a years-long research facility capital building effort, resulting in the establishment of the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University, the Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability, and several large interdisciplinary research buildings. Along with the research facilities, the university faculty was expanded, including the addition of three Nobel Laureates. Since 2002 the university's research expenditures have tripled and more than 1.5 million square feet of space has been added to the university's research facilities.

The economic downturn that began in 2008 took a particularly hard toll on Arizona, resulting in large cuts to ASU's budget. In response to these cuts, ASU capped enrollment, closed down about four dozen academic programs, combined academic departments, consolidated colleges and schools, and reduced university faculty, staff and administrators; however, with an economic recovery underway in 2011, the university continued its campaign to expand the West and Polytechnic Campuses, and establishing a set of low-cost, teaching-focused extension campuses in Lake Havasu City and Payson, Arizona.

In 2015, the existing Thunderbird School of Global Management became the fifth ASU campus, as the Thunderbird School of Global Management at ASU. Partnerships for education and research with Mayo Clinic established collaborative degree programs in health care and law, and shared administrator positions, laboratories and classes at the Mayo Clinic Arizona campus.

The Arizona Center for Law and Society, the new home of ASU’s Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, will open in fall 2016 on the Downtown Phoenix campus, relocating faculty and students from the Tempe campus to the state capital.

Accreditation

Institutional Accreditation or Recognition - The Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools

Rankings

• The 2017 U.S. News & World Report ratings of nearly 1,800 U.S. colleges and universities ranked ASU 62nd among public universities, 129th of national universities, and 121st in the world's top 1,000 global universities.
• ASU was also ranked No. 1 among America’s 28 "Most Innovative Universities." The innovation ranking, new for 2016, was determined by a poll of top college officials nationwide asking them to name institutions "that are making the most innovative improvements in terms of curriculum, faculty, students, campus life, technology or facilities."
• ASU is ranked 47th in the U.S. and 93rd in the world among the top 500 universities in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU), and 55th U.S./97th world by the Center for World University Rankings.
• Money Magazine ranked ASU 214th of nearly 1,500 U.S. schools it evaluated for its 2014 Best Colleges ranking.
• The Daily Beast ranked ASU 172nd of nearly 2,000 U.S. schools in its 2014 Best Colleges ranking.
• The Wall Street Journal ranks ASU 5th in the nation for producing the best-qualified graduates, determined by a nationwide poll of corporate recruiters, and Forbes magazine named ASU one of America's best college buys.
• In 2012, Public University Honors wrote, "ASU students ranked fifth among all public universities in National Science Foundation grants for graduate study and 11th among all universities, including the schools of the Ivy League. Among other things, the high achievement in this area of excellence points to consistently strong advising and support, a logical outcome of Barrett (Arizona State University's honor college) investing more in honors staff than any other honors program."
• Several ASU colleges and schools appear near the top of the 2016 U.S. News & World Report rankings, including the 35th-ranked W. P. Carey School of Business (along with its 5th-ranked program in Supply Chain Management), the 20th-ranked Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts (along with its 7th-ranked program in Ceramics, 9th-ranked program in Photography and 5th-ranked program in Printmaking), the 12th-ranked School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, the 25th-ranked Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law (along with its 7th-ranked program in Legal Writing and 11th-ranked program in Dispute Resolution), the 43rd-ranked Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, the 13th-ranked School of Public Affairs (along with its 4th-ranked program in City Management and Urban Policy, 7th-ranked program in Environmental Policy and Management, 11th-ranked program in Public Finance and Budgeting and 11th-ranked program in Public Management and Administration), the 14th-ranked Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College and the 30th-ranked College of Nursing and Health Innovation. Individual Ph.D. program rankings included Audiology (9th), Clinical Psychology (41st), Computer Science (48th), Earth Science(20th), Economics (36th), Nursing Practice (14th), Physics (50th), Psychology (38th), Social Work (32nd), and Speech-Language Pathology (17th).
• In 2011, ASU was included in the Quacquarelli Symonds list as the 21st best school in the world for biological sciences.
• ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication has been named one of America's top 10 journalism schools by national publications and organizations for more than a decade. The most recent rankings (2012) include: NewsPro (6th), Quality Education and Jobs (6th), and International Student (1st).
• For its efforts as a national leader in campus sustainability, ASU was named one of the top 20 "Cool Schools" by the Sierra Club in 2009, was named to the Princeton Review"Green Honor Roll," and earned an "A-" grade on the 2010 College Sustainability Green Report Card.
• ASU was ranked the #1 college offering an online bachelor's degree in communications by Online College Plan.

Student life @ASU

Extracurricular programs

Arizona State University has an active extracurricular involvement program (Sun Devil Involvement Center). Located on the 3rd floor of the Memorial Union, the Sun Devil Involvement Center (SDIC) provides opportunities for student involvement through clubs, sororities, fraternities, community service, leadership, student government, and co-curricular programming.

Changemaker Central is student-run centralized resource hub for student involvement in social entrepreneurship, civic engagement, service learning and community service that catalyzes student-driven social change. Changemaker Central locations have opened on all campuses in fall 2011, providing flexible, creative workspaces for everyone in the ASU community. The project is entirely student run and advances ASU’s institutional commitments to social embeddedness and entrepreneurship. The space allows students to meet, work and join new networks and collaborative enterprises while taking advantage of ASU’s many resources and opportunities for engagement.Changemaker Central has signature programs, including Innovation Challenge and 10,000 Solutions, that support students in their journey to become changemakers by creating communities of support around new solutions/ideas and increasing access to early stage seed funding. The Innovation Challenge seeks undergraduate and graduate students from across the university who are dedicated to making a difference in our local and global communities through innovation. Students can win up to $10,000 to make their innovative project, prototype, venture or community partnership ideas happen.The 10,000 Solutions Project leverages the power of collaborative imagination and innovation to create a solutions bank. As an experimental problem solving platform, the project showcases and collects ideas at scale with local and global impact. The 10,000 Solutions Project aims to see what can be accomplished when passionate people join a collaborative community that builds upon each other’s innovative ideas.

In addition to Changemaker Central, the Freshman Year Residential Experience (FYRE) and the Greek community (Greek Life) at Arizona State University have been important in binding students to the university, and providing social outlets. The Freshman Year Residential Experience at Arizona State University was developed to improve the freshman experience at Arizona State University and increase student retention figures. FYRE provides advising, computer labs, free walk-in tutoring, workshops, and classes for students. ASU is also home to one of the nation's first and fastest growing gay fraternities, Sigma Phi Beta, founded in 2003; considered a sign of the growing university's commitment to supporting diversity and inclusion.

The second Eta chapter of Phrateres, a non-exclusive, non-profit social-service club, was installed here in 1958.

There are multiple councils for Greek Life, including the Interfraternity Council (IFC), Multicultural Greek Organization (MCG), National Association of Latino and Fraternal Organizations (NALFO), National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC), Panhellenic Association (PHA), and the Professional Fraternity Council (PFC).

Student media

The State Press is the university's independent, student-operated news publication. The State Press covers news and events on all four ASU campuses. Student editors and managers are solely responsible for the content of the State Press website. These publications are overseen by an independent board and guided by a professional adviser employed by the university.

The Downtown Devil is a student-run news publication website for the Downtown Phoenix Campus, produced by students at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

ASU has two radio stations. KASC The Blaze 1330 AM, is a broadcast station that is owned and funded by the Cronkite School of Journalism, and is completely student-run save for a faculty and professional adviser. The Blaze broadcasts local, alternative and independent music 24 hours a day, and also features news and sports updates at the top and bottom of every hour. W7ASU is an amateur radio station that was first organized in 1935. W7ASU has about 30 members that enjoy amateur radio, and is primarily a contesting club.

Student government

Associated Students of Arizona State University (ASASU) is the student government at Arizona State University. It is composed of the Undergraduate Student Government and the Graduate & Professional Student Association (GPSA). Members and officers of ASASU are elected annually by the student body.

The Residence Hall Association (RHA) of Arizona State University is the student government for every ASU student living on-campus. Each ASU campus has an RHA that operates independently of each other. The purpose of RHA is to enhance the quality of residence hall life and provide a cohesive voice for the residents by addressing the concerns of the on-campus populations to university administrators and other campus organizations; providing cultural, diversity, educational, and social programming; establishing and working with individual community councils.

On-campus living

Arizona State University offers on-campus living arrangements on all three campuses. On the main Tempe campus it includes dorms such as Palo Verde East, Palo Verde West, Palo Verde Main (under construction), University Towers, Arcadia, Manzanita, Hassayampa Academic Village, San Pablo (otherwise known as "CLAS Academy"), the Sonora Center, and multiple Barrett dorms. Recently, ASU has added Vista Del Sol on Apache road to the on campus living for upper class honors college students. Coming Fall 2017, the new Palo Verde Main will be completed. Each dormitory is identified with a specific college, institute, major, or sport, and are relatively close to all the classes the student would be taking according to their major (excluding the Sonora Center which is meant to house 'overflow' students that do not fit in the other dormatory complexes, as well as students who have declared their major as 'exploratory'). For example, University Towers is strictly all Engineering students. Aside from the on-campus dorms, Arizona State also offers residential halls for upper-division housing and Greek life housing. Greek Life housing is only available for sororities that are current members of ASU Panhellenic. There are currently 12 sororities residing in Greek life housing. Sororities are housed in a gated complex called Adelphi Commons and it is only accessible to members of the sororities.

Athletics

Arizona State University's Division I athletic teams are called the Sun Devils, which is also the nickname used to refer to students and alumni of the university. They compete in the Pac-12 Conference in 20 varsity sports. Historically, the university has highly performed in men's, women's, and mixed archery; men's, women's, and mixed badminton; women's golf; women's swimming and diving; baseball; and football. Arizona State University's NCAA Division I-A program competes in 9 varsity sports for men and 11 for women. ASU's athletic director is Ray Anderson, former executive vice president of football operations for the National Football League. Anderson replaced Steve Patterson, who was appointed to the position in 2012 after Lisa Love, the former Senior Associate Athletic Director at the University of Southern California, was relieved of her duties. Love was responsible for the hiring of coaches Herb Sendek, the men's basketball coach, and Dennis Erickson, the men's football coach. Erickson was fired in 2011 and replaced by Todd Graham. The rival to Arizona State University is University of Arizona.

ASU has won 23 national collegiate team championships in the following sports: baseball (5), men's golf (2), women's golf (7), men's gymnastics (1), softball (2), men's indoor track (1), women's indoor track (2), men's outdoor track (1), women's outdoor track (1), and wrestling (1).

In September 2009 criticism over the seven-figure salaries earned by various coaches at Arizona's public universities (including ASU) prompted the Arizona Board of Regents to re-evaluate the salary and benefit policy for athletic staff. With the 2011 expansion of the Pac-12 Conference, a new $3 billion contract for revenue sharing among all the schools in the conference was established. With the infusion of funds, the salary issue and various athletic department budgeting issues at ASU were addressed. The Pac-12's new media contract with ESPN allowed ASU to hire a new coach in 2012. A new salary and bonus package (maximum bonus of $2.05 million) was instituted and is one of the most lucrative in the conference. ASU also plans to expand its athletic facilities with a public-private investment strategy to create an amateur sports district that can accommodate the Pan American Games and operate as an Olympic Training Center. The athletic district will include a $300 million renovation of Sun Devil Stadium that will include new football facilities.The press box and football offices in Sun Devil Stadium were remodeled in 2012.

Arizona State Sun Devils football was founded in 1897 under coach Fred Irish. Currently, the team has played in the 2012 Fight Hunger Bowl, the 2011 Las Vegas bowl, the 2016 cactus bowl, and the 2007 Holiday Bowl. The Sun Devils played in the 1997 Rose Bowl and won the Rose Bowl in 1987. The team has appeared in the Fiesta Bowl in 1983, 1977, 1975, 1973, 1972, and 1971 winning 5 of 6. In 1970 and 1975 they were champions of the NCAA Division I FBS National Football Championship. The Sun Devils were Pac-12 Champions in 1986, 1996, and 2007. Altogether, the football team has 17 Conference Championships and has participated in a total of 29 bowl games as of the 2015–2016 season with a 14-14-1 record in those games.

The university also participates in the American Collegiate Hockey Association (ACHA) and is billed as the top program within that league. Beginning in 2013, ASU will be a founding member of the new Western Collegiate Hockey League (WCHL). ASU Sun Devils Hockey will compete with NCAA Division 1 schools for the first time in 2012, largely due to the success of the program. In 2016 they will begin as a full-time Division 1 team. Competing as an independent for their first year, then joining a respective conference in 2017. The conference will either be the NCHC or the WCHA.

Eight members of ASU's Women's Swimming and Diving Team were selected to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team on April 5, 2010. In addition, five member of ASU's Men's Swimming and Diving Team were selected to the Pac-10 All-Academic Team on April 6, 2010.

In April 2015, Bobby Hurley was hired as the men's basketball coach, replacing Herb Sendek. Previously, Hurley was the head coach at the University of Buffalo as well as an assistant coach at Rhode Island and Wagner University.

In 2015, Bob Bowman was hired as the head swim coach. Previously, Bowman trained Michael Phelps through his Olympic career.

As of Fall 2015, ASU students, including those enrolled in online courses, may avail of a free ticket to all ASU athletic events upon presentation of a valid student ID.