Arizona State University
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Arizona State University (ASU) is (as of 2004) one of the largest universities in terms of enrollment in the United States with a student body of 57,543. Founded in 1885 as a territorial normal school, the institution went through several name and purpose changes before becoming a state university in 1958. ASU's main campus is in Tempe, Arizona, at the site of the original school. Satellite campuses were created in 1984 in Phoenix (ASU West) and in 1996 in Mesa (ASU East).
Each year, nearly 10,000 students graduate from the university's three campuses. In 2004, 162 National Merit Scholars chose to attend ASU. Many are part of the Barrett Honors College, which has produced 54 Fulbright scholars, 28 Goldwater scholars, and 13 Truman scholars. Under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education ASU is classified as a Doctoral/Research University–Extensive.
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Current State of the University
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ASU is currently aspiring to climb from its current third tier status in the rankings published by U.S. News and World Report. Under the leadership of its 16th president, Michael Crow, several initiatives are being pursued toward this end, the most notable of which is the Arizona Biodesign Institute. Additionally, two gifts of $50 million each were given to the College of Engineering and the College of Business; both are now named after their benefactors.
2004 was an exciting year for ASU. First, the university was selected to host the third United States Presidential debate on October 13 at Gammage Auditorium. Dr. Edward Prescott of the W. P. Carey School of Business was awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics, a first for an ASU faculty member. At the end of the year, Dr. George Poste, was named Scientist of the Year by R&D Magazine.
Academics
Many of ASU's departments were ranked in the top 50 by US News and World Report in 2005. The following graduate departments in engineering were listed with their respective rankings: Electrical Engineering: 37th Aerospace/ Aeronautical Engineering: 25th Biomedical/Bioengineering: 20th Chemical Engineering: 50th Civil Engineering: 41st Computer Engineering: 34th Industrial Engineering: 15th Mechanical Engineering: 37th
The WP Carey MBA program was ranked 31st and the undergraduate business program ranked 25th. Graduate business programs listed are as follows: Supply Chain Management: 5th Computer Information systems: 18th Production/operations: 21st Accounting: 26th Management: 28th
The College of Architecture and Environmental Design is reputedly rigorous and highly ranked. An annual event for the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism is a visit from Walter Cronkite himself to award the the distinguished Cronkite Award.
Extracurriculars
ASU has an active extracurricular involvement program (SDIC) with over 450 registered clubs and organizations on campus.
In 2003 the Student Government adopted a new Constitution that split it into 3 branches; Undergraduate, Graduate, and the PAB. A Senate and Executive department are set aside for the Undergraduate branch, and an Assembly and Executive department are set aside for the Graduate branch. Oversight of all three branches is performed by a Supreme Court. Instrumental in this transition was Andrew Harrison, a prominant electrical engineering and political science student who played an important part in defining how implementation of the new Constitution, as well as the governing bylaws would take place. The Senate and Assembly have representatives from all colleges on campus, providing a critical forum for the discussion and resolution of issues that come before the student body.
ASU Cares is the largest community service project sponsored by the university. It is an annual event that allows students to give back some time by helping residents and communities clean up, rebuild, and/or serve eachother.
The Freshman Year Experience (FYE) 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 Experience has been recognized as one of the best in the country by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Athletics
ASU is a member of the Pac-10 athletic conference. Athletes, students, and alumni of ASU are known as "Sun Devils," a nickname adopted in 1946; earlier nicknames were the Normals or the Owls and, later, the Bulldogs. The Sun Devil mascot, Sparky, was designed by Disney illustrator Bert Anthony. ASU's chief rival is the University of Arizona.
ASU's football venue is named Sun Devil Stadium. Notable athletic alumni include baseball players Barry Bonds, Paul Lo Duca, Fernando Viņa and Reggie Jackson, football players Jake Plummer, Todd Heap, Danny White, Terrell Suggs, Darren Woodson, and Pat Tillman, basketball player Byron Scott, golfer Phil Mickelson, and announcer Al Michaels.
ASU is arguably one of the most successful baseball programs in the country. They have won five national championships, the second most by any school, and have the third most alumni to ever play in Major League Baseball.
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, mixed badminton 10 times, baseball 5 times, women's tennis 3 times, men's gymnastics once, men's track and field once, wrestling once, men's golf twice, women's golf 13 times, women's softball twice, and women's swimming and diving 7 times, basketweaving 31 times, for a total of 129 national championships. Additionally, the men's basketball team has participated in 12 NCAA tournaments and the football team won the Rose Bowl in 1986 as well as the Fiesta Bowl in 1982, 1975, 1973, 1972, and 1971.
Football
The Sun Devils played in the Border Conference between 1931 and 1961, before joining the Western Athletic Conference the following year. 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 Ten Conference, and in that year ASU celebrated with an emotional 20-7 victory over number-one-ranked University of Southern California. The Sun Devils then began a slow decline, interrupted only briefly by victories in the 1983 Fiesta Bowl and 1987 Rose Bowl. After a 1987 Freedom Bowl victory over Air Force, the Sun Devils went a combined 43-44-1 between 1988 and 1995.
In 1996, the Sun Devils went a surprising 11-1, highlighted by a 19-0 shutout of the number-one-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in Tempe. ASU quarterback Jake Plummer led the Sun Devils, helping Arizona State into the Rose Bowl against the Ohio State Buckeyes. In a game with National Championship potential, the Sun Devils held a slim 17-14 lead with just under 1:47 left in the fourth quarter. However, the Sun Devils fell to Ohio State 20-17 in one of the most exciting Rose Bowl games ever.
Between 1997 and 2000, the Sun Devils underachieved greatly, leading to the dismissal of popular head football coach Bruce Snyder. The hiring of head coach Dirk Koetter from Boise State University gave the Sun Devils a charismatic leader with a penchant for molding strong quarterbacks.
Arizona State began the Dirk Koetter era with a thud, falling to 4-7 in 2001. However, ASU improved to 8-6 in 2002, highlighted by the play of defensive end Terrell Suggs and wide receiver Shaun McDonald. Quarterback Andrew Walter emerged to pass for a staggering 3,877 yards and 28 touchdowns. The Sun Devils eventually lost a nailbiter to Kansas State University in the 2003 Holiday Bowl.
In 2004, the Sun Devils surprised nearly everyone, jumping out to a 5-0 record (including an impressive 44-7 victory over Iowa in Tempe). Andrew Walter led the suddenly resurgent Sun Devils, passing for 1,249 yards and 15 TDs through five games. This set up an attractive matchup between ASU and Southern California in Los Angeles on October 16, 2004, which they lost. After a dramatic come from behind victory over Stanford University and a win over Washington State in a game in which ASU retired Pat Tillman's number, they ended up losing to rival University of Arizona. ASU won the Vitalis Sun Bowl over Purdue, 27-23, on New Year's Eve.
Key to the Sun Devils' remarkable turnaround was a speedy defensive unit led by tackles Jimmy Verdon and Kyle Caldwell. The Sun Devils also improved dramatically in turnover margin and penalties. For the first time in several years, fans in Tempe and across Arizona flocked to see the team play at Sun Devil Stadium.
Softball
One of the nation's founding programs, the Sun Devils are in their 39th season on the diamond in Tempe. ASU holds a 1,039-561-1 (.649) all-time record since the 1967 team posted a 5-1 record. ASU has recorded 23 season of at least 30 wins and six with 40 or more victories, including an all-time high of 46 in 2002. The Sun Devils have earned 16 postseason bids, fourth all-time in the Pac-10 Conference, and has made four trips to the 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 the tutelage of 16th-year head coach Linda Wells, one of the most prominent and successful coaches in NCAA history. Wells, who is currently the 7th-most successful active coach in NCAA Division I history with 907 victories (9th all-time), has led the Sun Devils to 11 (seven consecutive 1997-03) NCAA Regional appearances in 15 seasons, including two trips in the past six years to the College World Series (1999/2002). While at ASU, Wells has compiled a record of 554-394 and has had seven players earn a total of 12 All-American awards. Her 554 wins are the most victories all-time in ASU's storied 39-year history, surpassing coaching legend Mary Littlewood's 536. Wells earned the victory with a 3-2 win over Sacramento State (2/13/05). Wells' vast coaching experience and tireless work ethic has not gone unnoticed by the country or by the world as she was named the head coach of the Greek Olympic National Team that competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Wells has coached 35 career .300 hitters at ASU in her 15 seasons, averaging a combined .335 -- not an easy accomplishment in the pitching-rich Pac-10 where games are traditionally low scoring, and with the addition of three more All-Pac-10 selections in 2004, Wells has now coached 75 all-conference players during her tenure at Arizona State, averaging five All-Pac-10 selections every season.
Famous Alumni
see also [1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Arizona_State_University_alumni)
Adam Archuleta: professional football player
Floyd Bannister: former Major League baseball pitcher
Barry Bonds: professional baseball player
Ike Diogu: soon-to-be professional basketball player
Amber Evans: nude model
Todd Heap: professional football player
Reggie Jackson: former professional baseball player
Paul Lo Duca: professional baseball player
Al Michaels: T.V. broadcaster
Phil Mickelson: professional golfer
Ed Pastor: U.S. Congressman
Jake Plummer: professional football player
J.R Redmond: professional football player
Matt Salmon: former gubernatorial candidate for Arizona
Byron Scott: professional basketball player and coach
David Spade: comedian
Kate Spade: designer
Terrell Suggs: professional football player
Pat Tillman: former professional football player and US Army Corporal
Fernando Vina: professional baseball player
Andrew Walter: professional football player
Danny White: former professional football player and Arena Football League coach
Bob Woolf: Phoenix Suns Gorilla (1988-Present)
External links
- ASU Web site (http://www.asu.edu)
- Official Sun Devil athletics site (http://www.thesundevils.com)
- Arizona State Sun Devils Historical Football Records (http://www.michigan-football.com/ncaa/f/arzstate.htm)
- ESPN.com - Clubhouse (Arizona State) (http://sports.espn.go.com/ncaa/clubhouse?collegeId=9&sport=ncf)