Arizona State has promoted chief business officer Graham Rossini to athletic director, the school announced on Thursday. Rossini, a two-time ASU graduate, replaces former sports agent Ray Anderson, who led the athletic department since 2014.
Rossini spent 13 years with the Arizona Diamondbacks as VP of special projects, generating $300 million in capital projects for the MLB franchise during his tenure. He moved to Arizona State in 2021 as senior associate athletics director and was promoted to chief business officer in Fall 2023.
“The ability to lead the athletics department at my alma mater is a responsibility that I am enormously proud to take on,” Rossini said in a statement. “I am so thankful to the many opportunities in my life that were created through ASU, and I have much to repay as a result.”
Rossini steps into the job with a strong background in fundraising, which becomes more relevant in the name, image and likeness era and with potential revenue sharing on the horizon. He helped secure naming rights at several ASU stadiums and worked on the transition team for Arizona State joining the Big 12.
Football coach Kenny Dillingham has been outspoken about the Sun Devils’ struggles in NIL, describing ASU as “dead last” in the former Pac-12, according to Arizona Sports. Arizona State went 3-9 in Dillingham’s first season. According to 247Sports, Arizona State’s NIL collective put together the best fundraising day in its history after Anderson resigned as athletic director.
Arizona State football suffered several NCAA consequences due to disallowed recruiting and coaching violations during the COVID-19 dead period under former coach Herm Edwards. The university was slapped with recruiting restrictions and scholarship reductions by the NCAA in April.
