Kenny Dillingham explains why entire ASU football team was at Pat’s Run
TEMPE — The more college sports moves away from amateurism and into professionalism with NIL and revenue sharing, it can feel like the community aspect is leaving the sport.
That wasn’t the case on Saturday, however, as the entire ASU football team was out at Pat’s Run, an annual event that raises money for the Pat Tillman Foundation to provide scholarships to military service members, veterans and their spouses.
Saturday was the 21st iteration after Tillman lost his life in Afghanistan while deployed with the U.S. Army in April 2004.
It checks out the team would be heavily involved with the event, given Tillman was a standout player in his own right and the race ends on the 42-yard line at Mountain America Stadium in honor of the iconic No. 42 jersey he donned in Tempe. It ended up as an all-out community affair in honor of the late Tillman.
Head coach Kenny Dillingham was the race starter, many of the players participated in the kids’ run and Sam Leavitt placed medals on the kids who had finished.
At the end of the day, the community had the chance to pay it forward at an open football practice just past the midpoint of spring camp. And pay it forward they did, with the Kajikawa Practice Fields about as packed as they can be.
“It’s awesome, I mean this is a public university. It’s about the city,” Dillingham said after the practice. “It’s about getting people excited about ASU football … and come out to practices, and at the same token, our players loved that.
“I asked them in the team meeting, ‘Did you guys like that? Do you want to do that again? Did that seem like a chore?’ They’re like, ‘No, we loved it!’”
Dillingham said the players understand the weight of those interactions, especially when they’re with kids. He told of how cornerback Javan Robinson reminded his teammates they were providing an experience for kids they’ll remember the rest of their lives.
Pat’s Run attendance 1 way Tillman’s legacy lives on with ASU football
Dillingham said the team’s player leaders keyed the decision to have the entire group out at event. It was fitting given that the Tillman Leadership Council has the icon’s name attached.
“They wanted everybody to be there, so everybody got their jersey on and was out there together,” the coach said.
There are three baseline rules he has for the team: be a good person, make good decisions and have more fun working harder than anybody in the country. While he says the players could never match what Tillman did by laying down his life for others, striving for that same level of morality that people remember Tillman for ensures he lives on.
