15 reasons to love being an ASU Sun Devil

From our game-day traditions to our less-sporty accolades, there are many reason to love Arizona State University.

Sun Devil fans are strong in the lead-up to ASU's and UA's basketball games and their yearly battle for the Territorial Cup, and there's no shortage of reasons for them to be proud.

To get in the spirit, here are just a few of the reasons to love being a Sun Devil.

We hate U of A

Certified by the NCAA as the oldest rivalry trophy in college football, the hatred between ASU and UA was sparked by the emergence of ASU as the state's second university in 1958, challenging UA's then-status as the only university in the state.

Today, the rivalry has challenged friendships and divided houses. Students on all four ASU campuses can be seen wearing their "No Pity for the Kitty" shirts every year leading up to the game.

We know how to throw up a pitchfork

ASU's signature hand signal is meant to simulate mascot Sparky's fearsome pitchfork, but it also requires proper form from fans: Connect the ring finger and thumb while always keeping your index and middle finger separated.

Traditionally, after a first down at football games, the crowd will make their pitchforks and point in unison to the end zone.

We’re the ‘most innovative’

Arizona State University has been named multiple times as the most innovative school among national universities by U.S. News & World Report in a popular survey that ranks universities in a number of categories.

ASU President Michael Crow has pushed innovation and entrepreneurship as core tenets of his vision for the university. One of its most popular innovations is a partnership with Starbucks that covers four years of an online bachelor's degree for Starbucks employees.

We go to great lengths to protect our ‘A’

ASU's signature Tempe Butte has featured a giant letter "A" on its face since 1938, earning it the nickname "A Mountain."

In the past, freshmen would hike the Butte as part of orientation, but today, each freshman class can volunteer to climb up the mountain to whitewash the A during welcome week.

During the week of the Territorial Cup, a coordinated squad of UA students will typically drive to Tempe and attempt to paint the giant gold "A" red. A defensive team of ASU students will camp out to keep watch and protect the "A" from any roaming Wildcats.

Pat Tillman made us proud

Tillman, a star with ASU and the Cardinals, left football in 2002 to enlist in the U.S. Army following the Sept. 11 attacks.

Tillman was killed by friendly fire while fighting in Afghanistan in April 2004 and has since become an icon at ASU.

Earlier this year, Adidas and ASU unveiled "PT-42" alternate football uniforms in his honor, and more than 29,000 people participated in the 11th annual Pat's Run, the largest one yet.

Tillman Tunnel is awesome

ASU's stadium renovations have redefined one of ASU's favorite game-day traditions: the Tillman Tunnel.

While fans typically jockey to get a glimpse of ASU football players lining up to enter the field from the stands, the new setup allows fans to hang directly over and inside of the tunnel.

The pre-game ritual includes fog machines, an intro video and Pat Tillman's iconic image.

With the new features, students get to experience the final moments and conversations before the team charges out onto the field.

Sparky's Journey gets us amped

Sparky's walk from the Grand Canyon to Sun Devil Stadium is one of the most electrifying intros in college football.

While it has been tweaked over the years, the journey has mostly remained the same. As the giant mascot makes his way into the stadium, he smashes the other team's bus with his foot, signaling the crowd's eruption before he steps into the stadium.

Once Sparky plants his pitchfork into the center of the field, cue the fireworks, screaming fans, ASU's fight song and the start of the game.

Mill Avenue is the best on game day

The bars and the drinks are constantly evolving, but one thing has remained the same: Gold-clad students flood Mill Avenue before and after any ASU sporting event.

ASU hosts Devils on Mill, a free event with food, free ASU gear, music, carnival games and activities between Forest and Mill on Sixth Street. After the game, Sun Devils know that any postgame snacks and libation needs will be met just steps away from the stadium on the reliable Mill Avenue mile.

We turned our reputation around



We’ve come a long way: ASU was Playboy's No. 1 party school in the nation in 2002, according to the State Press.Despite our plethora of bars, ASU has done a 180 in terms of reputation. For the fourth year in a row, ASU did not make the Princeton Review's list of the top 20 "party schools" in the country. We also were left off Playboy's annual list of Top 10 Party Schools.

Bigger is better

Arizona State University in 2017 enrolled more than 100,000 students.

About 30,000 of those students are enrolled in online-only classes and don't set foot on campus.

The remaining 72,000 ASU students are mainly spread over five campuses in the metro Phoenix area.

The enrollment increase puts ASU on track to have 125,000 students by 2025, a goal set by the Arizona Board of Regents to increase the percentage of Arizona residents with a college degree.

That size means ASU has a diverse range of experiences: It offers more than 300 undergraduate academic programs and majors.

We're all golden rays of sunshine

While the university's official colors include maroon, there's only one color expected on fans in the stands at ASU's football games: gold.

The university's Alumni Association says the color was initially chosen for the state's golden sunshine and promise of opportunity. But today's ASU faculty and students are encouraged to wear gold on Fridays to express their boundless school spirit.

We have amazing faculty

One ASU professor has a potential HIV vaccine.. Another, Laura Tohe, was named the Navajo Nation’s second-ever poet laureate.

Among our faculty members and experts are “two Nobel laureates, 13 National Academy of Sciences members, 10 American Academy of Arts and Sciences members, 127 Fulbright American Scholar award winners, 25 Guggenheim Fellows and three members of the Royal Society, according to ASU.

We have beautiful traditions

One of ASU's oldest traditions, Lantern Walk, takes place the Friday night before homecoming, as hundreds of students and alumni climb to the top of "A" Mountain with lanterns to light their way.

Fans gather to listen to faculty and speakers, culminating in fireworks over Tempe.

We're sassy in the stands

Periodically throughout football games, fans will stand up and begin wildly shaking their car keys, a tradition that has endured since the 1980s.

Legend says that the pitch of the jingling keys has been proven to strike fear into the hearts of visiting teams, but to most fans, the jingling merely represents the start of the next drive.

Our mascot is buff from those pushups

After each Sun Devil touchdown, the fight song erupts from the Sun Devil Marching Band, and Sparky is hoisted onto a board in front of the crowd.

For every point on the scoreboard, the mascot will do one push-up.

In recent years, fans and even small children could be seen throughout the stadium trying to match the mascot push-up for push-up.

We know we missed some; let us know what you love in the comments section.