Arizona State imposes one-year postseason ban on football program

The Arizona State football program will not be playing in the postseason this year.

The school announced on Sunday that it has self-imposed a one-year postseason ban on the football team while the NCAA investigates the program for recruiting violations during the Herm Edwards era. 

Edwards was dismissed just three games into the 2022 season following an embarrassing loss to Eastern Michigan. The Sun Devils were 26-20 during Edwards' tenure. 

The investigation is looking into allegations of repeated recruiting violations, including the ignoring of COVID-19 restrictions during the recruiting dead period at that time. 

Along with Edwards, several other coaches have already left the program or been fired, including former defensive coordinator Antonio Pierce.

The Sun Devils did not play in a bowl game in 2022, going just 3-9 in what was considered a wildly disappointing season. The last bowl appearance for the program was in 2021 when they lost the Las Vegas Bowl to Wisconsin. 

Arizona State opens its season under first-year head coach Kenny Dillingham on Thursday night against Southern Utah.

According to ESPN's Pete Thamel, many members of the team were devastated to learn of the bowl ban for this season as they were hoping to turn the program around and play in the postseason. 

The bowl ban also seems like a pretty drastic step for Arizona State given what happened with the Tennessee Volunteers program in recent weeks. Tennessee was facing a similar investigation for recruiting violations during the tenure of former coach Jeremy Pruitt. The program was hit with a heavy financial penalty and the loss of scholarships but did not receive a postseason ban.

The self-imposed bowl ban probably will not be enough to keep the NCAA from giving Arizona State a similar penalty.