11 fun facts about 11-seed Arizona State
Courtesy of Marie Obsuna
Kodi Justice is a senior from Mesa, Arizona, and he'll look to keep his career alive against Syracuse on Wednesday night.
As the selection show began at 6 p.m. on Sunday night, Jim Boeheim gave Syracuse (20-13, 8-10 Atlantic Coast) a five percent chance of being selected into the NCAA Tournament field.
Just 12 minutes later, the Orange was selected as the final team. Of the 36 at-large teams, SU was No. 36. Syracuse tips off with Arizona State (20-11, 8-10 PAC-12) Wednesday at 9:10 p.m. in the First Four.
Here are 11 facts you need to know about the Sun Devils before the two No. 11 seeds square-off in Dayton on Wednesday.
1. Anything but Normal
Arizona State was established in 1885 as a teachers’ college. Formed in Tempe, the school was initially a place to train and develop public school teachers. In its first 15 years, the name changed three times, becoming the Tempe Normal School of Arizona in 1889. It wasn’t until 1945 that the school was named Arizona State College, before officially becoming a university in 1958.
2. Made in the Happiest Place on Earth
Sparky the Sun Devil was designed by Berk Anthony, an alumnus of the school who worked as an illustrator for Disney. Anthony is believed to have based the facial features on Walt Disney himself. The ASU mascot was previously an owl and a bulldog in its history before officially becoming a devil holding a trident in the fall of 1946.
3. Snow? How about no.
The biggest snowstorm ever recorded in Phoenix is one inch, both in 1933 and 1937. The most recent measurable snow at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix was Dec. 21-22, 1990.
For reference, Syracuse is the snowiest major city in the United States at an average of 123.8 inches each winter.
4. Not his first rodeo
Arizona State head coach Bobby Hurley has never coached against the Orange, but he has played against them. As a freshman for then-No. 6 Duke in 1989, Hurley played 33 minutes against then-No. 1 Syracuse. He scored four points and tallied 10 assists as the Orange beat the Blue Devils 78-76.
In four seasons at Duke, Hurley made three National Championship game appearances, winning two.
5. Sparky the Sun Devil in legal trouble?
Sparky the Sun Devil got himself into trouble in 2015 after jumping on the back of Tempe city councilman David Schapira during a halftime ceremony. The mascot did not know that Schapira was recovering from back surgery. Schapira filed a claim against ASU, and the state paid Schapira over $76,000 for his additional injuries.
6. No Tortillas for You!
Tortillas have been banned from Sun Devil Stadium, home of ASU football, since 2014. Students would bring them to the games and throw them in the air and onto the field. Now, the school lists tortillas on its list of prohibited items that must left behind when entering the stadium.
7. When you hear the Jingle
Florida State has a tomahawk chop. Mississippi State uses cowbells. Florida is notorious for the Gator chomp. At Arizona State, you might hear the sound of thousands of jingling keys before kickoffs. The origin of this tradition is a mystery, but if you ever find yourself at Sun Devil Stadium, don’t forget to bring your keys. And earplugs, too.
8. Oozeball
Each April, Arizona State hosts a mud volleyball tournament, open to all students who form teams and pay the registration fee. The game is for charity but is notorious because it’s played in eight inches of mud. It originated at the University of Connecticut.
9. “Everything is bigger out West”
Arizona State Tempe campus, the largest of the four ASU campuses within the Phoenix metropolitan area, ranked sixth in enrollment in the nation during the 2016-17 school year. The University of Central Florida was first with 64,335 students, but ASU at Tempe tallied 51,869 undergraduate students. It’s the second largest school in the nation west of the Mississippi River.
10. Never a dull moment
ASU is best known for its athletes and entertainers. Famous alumni of the school include Barry Bonds, Phil Mickelson, Reggie Jackson, Jimmy Kimmel, David Spade and Steve Allen.
11. A bold fashion statement
The bolo tie was made the official neckwear of the state of Arizona in 1973. It is one of two states in the country to have an official neckwear along with New Mexico, which also claims the bolo tie. The tie is made of a thin piece of cord with a decorative ornament at its collar. It’s most common in the western states of New Mexico, Texas, California and Arizona.
Published on March 12, 2018 at 9:43 pm
Contact Anthony: amdabbun@syr.edu | @AnthonyDabbundo
