Desert Financial Arena (DFA), home of Arizona State men’s basketball among other sports, opened in April 1974 and was originally named the University Activity Center. Over the last several years, the venue has long been rumored to receive a long-overdue facelift. These days, though, it seems as if the wait is closer than ever to being over.

ASU's athletic director, Graham Rossini, expressed earlier this week that these whispers of change have morphed into a top-line priority. Rossini stated that the athletic department considers future DFA renovations a leading focus, with the university eyeing summer 2026 as the ideal start for improvements to the 51-year-old venue.

“I think it’s a great building,” Rossini said. “I think it’s capable of a lot more, and we’re hard at work on all these things I alluded to this spring. We’re finalizing a plan for a multi-year renovation. We’re designing around a better game day for any sport. How is it a better tool for graduation? Could it also be a tool for attracting non-ASU events to campus?”

The conversation around DFA wasn’t always about upgrades. Following its initial opening, the arena remained Tempe’s top venue for major events throughout the remainder of the 20th century. Rossini has even encouraged newly hired women’s basketball coach Molly Miller to use the building’s legacy as a recruiting tool to impress parents.

“Those of you in the Valley in the ’70s and ’80s remember the concerts that came to that building, U2, AC/DC,” Rossini remarked. “Our women’s basketball team's room before they go on the court used to be the green room. So, I’m like, ‘Molly, you’ve got to tell parents. Maybe the kids won’t care, but the parents might be excited that Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, those guys were in DFA.”

Foundational work has already begun under Rossini’s tenure, though fans and spectators have yet to see direct results. Much of the initial investment has gone toward infrastructure, including a major renovation to the media room among other projects, which Rossini says is necessary before the fan-facing elements can take shape.

“We’ve already put about $10-plus million into it over the last 18 months that most people wouldn’t notice,” Rossini noted. “It’s more mechanical, more electrical—safety systems, etc. That’s the foundation we need before we do some of the more fan-facing upgrades we’re planning.”

While the first phase of renovations is underway, the finalized vision for DFA is still in development. Rossini said his team is working on it daily, with hopes of revealing a fully formed plan soon as the arena aims to reshape its image and reinvigorate its legacy.

“It’s been fun in the process,” Rossini commented. Talking to architects and people about what this building needs to be moving forward. It’s an incredible university asset. There’s great history, and there are great bones in the building. And we’ve got Mullett Arena, that’s the shiny new toy. We’ve got Desert Financial Arena, which has an incredible history and legacy and really strong bones.

"We want to bring those to life. We want to tell those stories throughout the concourse.”

Many Sun Devils would contend that the bones of the arena must be supported by better play on the hardwood. Sun Devil men’s basketball finished last season with a disappointing 13-20 record, earning just four wins in 20 conference games in its first season in the Big 12. Playing in one of the nation’s premier basketball conferences, and one that will retain that distinction this year as well, ASU ended with the worst winning percentage of all 16 programs, a substandard result, regardless of context.

For that reason, head coach Bobby Hurley has not been signed to a contract extension. Hurley has led ASU’s program for a decade, but with just one year left on his contract heading into the 2025–26 campaign calendar, questions remain about his future in Tempe.

“I believe in Bobby Hurley,” Rossini said. “I know his back is against the wall. I’m excited about how he’s responded. I’m excited about the work that his coaches have put in. We’ve tried to find all the ways we can resource our men’s basketball program to compete in a very competitive environment.”

Three Big 12 players were selected in the NBA draft lottery Thursday, highlighting the conference’s elite talent pool. Texas Tech and Houston both reached the Final Four this past spring, further stacking the deck against Hurley in recruiting and player retention.

To make matters worse, the Sun Devils lost all three of their top-50 recruits from the Class of 2024, Jayden Quaintance and Joson Sanon, both of whom were five-star recruits, as well as Amier Ali. All three will suit up elsewhere this fall. The team will be unrecognizable this year, returning just one scholarship player: sophomore guard Trevor Best, a midseason transfer who joined the program in January of this year after graduating early from Word of God Christian Academy in North Carolina, the same high school Quaintance attended.

“We’ve got to compete, and we’ve got to get creative,” Rossini admitted. “The nature of men’s basketball is probably our most unique sport right now. That’s not unique to ASU; that’s something everybody is navigating.

“We’ve got one returning player from last year. I give Bobby and his coaches a lot of credit. They’ve taken this challenge on. They know we didn’t retain some of the targets we anticipated. We didn’t get some of the incoming recruits we thought we were deep on. But they haven’t backed off. They’ve been aggressive in building a roster that may be less star-reliant, because that approach didn’t work last year.”

The lack of retention reflects the ever-changing landscape of modern college athletics. In today’s NCAA, when things go south, players often leave. Whether that’s a product of the players or the structure of the sport remains unclear. But for Rossini and Hurley, the challenge is building a program that inspires long-term commitment, an increasingly elusive goal.

“We need Bobby Hurley to be the best basketball coach he can be,” Rossini said. “We don’t need him to be a media magnate, a ticket seller, or a fundraiser. We should take on that responsibility. We should free him up to lead his team and coach his players at the highest level. The same goes for our 19 other head coaches as well.

“Retention is a daily battle. The reality of college sports right now, with the portal, is that players can jump ship every single year. So, the strength of the relationship matters.”

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