Arizona State's Kenny Dillingham on NIL: 'Nap Lawrence built our football team'

Since being named the head coach at Arizona State in November, Kenny Dillingham has been honest about his assessment of the college football landscape.

In his opening press conference, the 33-year-old was blunt that NIL was taking up between 75 to 80% of the recruiting pitch. He spoke openly about his want to piece together a team that had Tempe businesses flocking to sign endorsement deals with athletes.

Sun Devils booster Charles “Nap” Lawrence heard the call for support loud and clear. In the question-and-answer portion of Dillingham’s introductory press conference, he stood up and pledged $1 million to jumpstart the head coach’s “Activate the Valley” NIL plan.

The first-year head coach has not forgotten the show of support. Speaking to media members after training camp on Thursday, he spoke emphatically about the role Lawrence’s donation has made on roster retention since taking the job. It’s why the donor has been out at practices ahead of the season.

“First of all, we wouldn’t have a football team without Nap Lawrence,” Dillingham said. “You can put that in every single streaming media you want. Nap Lawrence built our football team. Because of what he did the first day I got hired. We would not have a team. Point blank, zero, we would not have a football team without Nap Lawrence.

“So to see him out there, that dude’s as valuable to the program as anybody on the field. I called him the other day and said, ‘Come out on the field, do whatever you want. Without you, we don’t have a team.’ Point blank, simple. Because that’s the new day and age of college football.”

Kenny Dillingham dealing with NIL realities

A long-time supporter of Arizona State, Lawrence recently told AZ Central he’s donated $9 million to the Sun Devils in his lifetime. A successful insurance salesman, he was the founding chairman of The Bank of Case Grande Valley. He was also a 20-year board member of Arizona State’s Sun Angel Foundation.

Building an NIL war chest has been imperative for programs to attract and retain players. The race in college football is to stockpile the most cash to distribute to current players so recruits know what they can make once they enroll at the school.

Boosters have become major NIL figures, most notably, Miami donor John Ruiz and LSU‘s Gordon McKernan. Lawrence’s commitment has made all the difference in Kenny Dillingham’s first months on the job.

A Phoenix native and the former offensive coordinator at Oregon, he worked the transfer portal this offseason. The Sun Devils added 28 players, including quarterback Drew Pyne and EDGE Clayton Smith.

Arizona State’s portal success does not happen without a strong NIL operation, thanks in part to Lawrence.