Arizona State fires Graham after six seasons

Arizona State fired head coach Todd Graham after six seasons on Sunday, a day after the Sun Devils beat rival Arizona to wrap up the regular season with a 7-5 record.

The 52-year-old Graham went 46-31 during his time in Tempe. He won 10 games in both 2013 and 2014, and was 2-2 in bowl games.

The Sun Devils defeated Arizona 42-30 in the annual Territorial Cup game on Saturday afternoon, but the victory did not save Graham’s job. Arizona State finished 6-3 in the Pac-12 for second place in the South division behind USC.

“Really proud of our guys to finish up like that and get that cup back where it belongs,” Graham said after Saturday’s game. “There’s nothing like winning that thing.”

Graham led the Sun Devils to the 2013 Pac-12 South title and posted the program’s first back-to-back 10-win seasons in more than three decades. But the Sun Devils were 5-7 in 2016 and 6-7 in 2015.

His final three seasons were a struggle as Arizona State went 18-19, forcing athletic director Ray Anderson to make a decision.

“When evaluating our head coaches, we have been very clear in our four-prong approach: integrity, academics, performance and fan affinity advancement,” Anderson said in a statement. “From the moment he arrived in Tempe, Todd helped change the culture and emphasized the student in student-athlete here at Arizona State, elevating the program to unprecedented heights in the classroom and strong citizenship across the board.

“However, our athletic department, university and community expect our football program to compete on the field for Pac-12 titles, be competitively consistent and qualify to participate in major bowl games on a regular basis. In evaluating Todd’s body of work over a four-year period, it became clear that a change is necessary.”

It is unknown whether Graham will get the opportunity to coach the Sun Devils in an upcoming bowl game. Arizona State is headed to a bowl game for the fifth time in six seasons under Graham, who came to Tempe in 2012 from Pittsburgh, where he was 6-6 in one season. Prior to that he spent four seasons at Tulsa (2007-10), where he compiled a 36-17 record.

According to the Arizona Republic, Anderson informed Graham in a meeting Sunday morning. Coaches then began informing players and Anderson met with team and staff members.

Graham has three seasons left on a contract that runs through the 2020 season and reportedly is owed at least $11 million.