Sports

The Arizona State University Alumni Association and the Sun Devil Club will celebrate the silver anniversary of the 1996–97 Sun Devil football Pac-10 champions at the Legends Luncheon on Oct. 29.

The ASU Alumni Association recently added a new alumni club to its chapter network: the Spirit Squad club. The club’s president, Allyson Bingham, who danced with the Spirit Squad from 2014 to 2018, said the mission of the club is to connect Spirit Squad alumni and cheer on the current squad.

At ASU’s J. Orin Edson Entrepreneurship + Innovation Institute’s Demo Day competition this spring, students, staff, faculty and community entrepreneurs pitched short videos about their original products in hopes of being awarded funding. In the Sun Devil Athletics Venture Challenge category, three new biosensor companies won funding and will be beta-tested by Sun Devil athletes. The Global Sport Institute is providing mentorship and $25,000 in grant funding and mentorship elements.

“Muhammad Ali,” a new four-part documentary by Ken Burns that examines the life of one of the greatest figures in sports history, will air over four nights on Arizona PBS starting Sept. 19 and ending on Sept. 22. The 2½-hour premiere episode begins at 7 p.m. on Sunday, and the remaining three two-hour episodes follow Monday through Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Allan “Bud” Selig, Major League Baseball commissioner emeritus and distinguished professor of sports in America, is the namesake for ASU's sports law and business program, and his teaching, advice, mentorship and financial contributions have been instrumental in the program’s growth and success.

Legal sports betting is coming to Arizona this week, but is this a good thing for fans? Daniel McIntosh, a senior lecturer with ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business, talks about this about this new phenomenon, which promises to enhance the fan experience and add to state coffers. But only if done correctly, he says.