Established:                        1885

School type:                        Public

President:                            Michael Crow
Location:                             Tempe, Arizona, USA

Campus:                              Urban, 580 acres (2.3 km²)

Enrollment:                         37,366 undergraduate, 10,577 graduate
Faculty:                               2,406
Mascot:                               Sparky 

Homepage:                          www.asu.edu

Prospective Students:         www.asu.edu/prospective/

Video about Tempe:           www.turnhere.com/city/Phoenix_AZ/All/films/526.aspx

ArizonaStateUniversity (ASU) is (as of 2004) the third-largest university in the United States with a student body of 57,543.  Founded in 1885 as a territorial normal school, the institution has gone through several name and purpose changes before becoming a state university in 1958.  ASU's main campus is in Tempe, Arizona, at the site of the original school.  Satellite campuses were created in 1984 in Phoenix (ASU West) and in 1996 in Mesa (ASU East).

Each year nearly 10,000 students graduate from the university's three campuses.  ASU houses the world-renowned Institute of Human Origins.  It is also home to the WalterCronkiteSchool of Journalism & Mass Communication.  ASU attracts many National Merit scholars; there were 173 in the 2003 freshman class. Many are part of the BarrettHonorsCollege, which produces nationally recognized students, including 54 Fulbright scholars, 28 Goldwater scholars, and 13 Truman scholars. ASU is becoming a major center for research. Under the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education ASU is classified as a Doctoral/Research University–Extensive; under the previous Carnegie classification, it was considered a Research I University.
  
 

Current state of the university

ASU is currently aspiring to climb up in the rankings in U.S. News and World Report under the leadership of its 16th president, MichaelCrow, who took office in July 2002.  Toward this goal several initiatives are being pursued, the most notable of which is the Arizona Biodesign Institute.  Additionally, two gifts of $50 million each were given to the College of Engineering and the College of Business; both were named after their benefactors.  The COE is now the Ira A. Fulton School of Engineering, and the COB is now the W. P. Carey School of Business.  Administrators hope that the extra money will help both schools move up in national rankings.

In a sign of increasing national prominence, ASU was chosen to host the third Presidential debate on October 13, 2004 at Gammage Auditorium.  In an additional boost to the school's prestige, it was announced just days before the debate that Dr.EdwardPrescott of the W. P. Carey School of Business would be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.  Not only did ASU have its first Nobel Laureate in 2004; it also received the honor of having the director of its Biodesign Institute, Dr.GeorgePoste, named Scientist of the Year by R&D Magazine.

Athletics

ASU is a member of the Pac-10 athletic conference.  Athletes, students, and alumni of ASU are known as "Sun Devils," a nickname adopted in 1946; earlier nicknames were the Normals or the Owls and, later, the Bulldogs.  The Sun Devil mascot, Sparky, was designed by Disney illustrator BertAnthony.  ASU's chief rival is the University of Arizona, who are known as the "Wildcats."

The university has won national championships in men's archery 15 times, women's archery 21 times, mixed archery 20 times, men's badminton 13 times, women's badminton 17 times, mixed badminton 10 times, baseball 5 times, women's tennis 3 times, men's gymnastics once, men's track and field once, wrestling once, men's golf twice, women's golf 13 times, women's softball twice, and women's swimming and diving 7 times for a total of 129 national championships.  Additionally, the men's basketball team has attended the NCAA tournament 12 times and the football team won the RoseBowl in 1986 as well as the Fiesta Bowl in 1982, 1975, 1973, 1972, and 1971.

Famous (non-archer) Alumni

Barry Bonds: professional baseball player
Reggie Jackson: former professional baseball player
Paul LoDuca: professional baseball player
Jake Plummer: professional football player
Danny White: former professional football player and Arena Football League coach
Pat Tillman: former professional football player and US Army Corporal
Terrell Suggs: professional football player
Al Michaels: T.V. broadcaster
Phil Mickelson: professional golfer
Ed Pastor: U.S. Congressman
Matt Salmon: former gubernatorial candidate for Arizona
David Spade: comedian