Ex-Arizona State football players recall early days at Legends Luncheon
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Not many can say they’ve played football at Arizona State, but even fewer Sun Devils were All-Americans.
The Legends Luncheon brought together the top ASU players from several decades on Friday, Nov. 14, at the Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU.
Each reunion brings the usual: big smiles of former players reminiscing about their playing days. But they also get caught up with old friends on what they’re up to now. Some conversations revolved around their teenage kids considering colleges like ASU, Grand Canyon, Northern Arizona or Arizona, which goes against their family’s wishes.
Others have several grandchildren waiting for them at home while they’re in Tempe, reliving their college years.
As varied as the conversations are, most come back to the common thread of football. Coaches’ stories are swapped. Inside jokes from decades ago are dusted off. Others might even mention their NFL careers.
“Everybody’s got jokes and slugging each other on the arm,” said former linebacker Bob Breunig, who starred at ASU in the 1970s and went on to an NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys, playing in three Super Bowls. “It’s just good to see everybody and everybody seems to be in reasonable health, so far so good.”
All wore maroon and gold, but represented a different era of ASU football. Some were part of the building blocks of the program, others were part of the most successful years.
“It’s great to be part of it. Seeing everyone here past and present, there’s not many older than me,” said former offensive guard Gary Venturo, who played for an undefeated Sun Devil team that went to the 1970 Peach Bowl — a game the Sun Devils would not return to until last year as part of the College Football Playoffs. “It’s nice to see them.”
Several others at the event looked up to their peers, who ultimately influenced them to pick ASU.
Tom Magazzeni, an offensive lineman in the early 1980s, not only wanted to get out of the Midwest and play in the Pac-10, but also play where the people he idolized in the NFL had competed.
“They’re the ones that basically made the road for us,” Magazzeni said of players from the 1970s, who built a national power under coach Frank Kush in the Western Athletic Conference. That led to ASU and Arizona eventually being invited to join what was then the Pac-8, creating the Pac-10 conference in 1978. “We had a lot to live up to, and I hope in some small way, we had.”
“When we came here with coach Kush being my coach, there was a great tradition,” said former running back Willie Gittens, who played from 1978-82. “You always talked about the ones before you and they set the path for us. They laid their blood down on the field for us. It was known for a while that you have an opportunity to be part of that legacy and of that legend.”
Arizona State was the biggest show in town when it came to football until the Cardinals arrived in 1988. Crowds of around 70,000 packed then-Sun Devil Stadium on Saturday nights (the facility, now called Mountain America Stadium, has since had its capacity reduced).
“When I came here, I didn’t know how big football really was in Arizona, especially at Arizona State, until I stepped onto the field,” Gittens said. “Just coming off the field from games and getting mobbed by fans who wanted your jersey and want you to sign, it was tremendous. My daughter is an athlete and I hope that she gets to witness some of that passion when she gets to go to college.”
Many have since moved away from Tempe after graduating, but former players like Magazzeni and Venturo have stayed in the area and have continued to impact the program.
The insight from former players has especially been welcomed by current coach Kenny Dillingham, who regularly brings in former players ahead of the Territorial Cup game against Arizona.
“It was nice that they could have a perspective of what it was like in the earlier years that set the pace for them,” Magazzeni said. “And it was very much well received and I’m glad to see the tradition continues.”
Reach the reporter at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.
Catch the best high school sports coverage in the state. Sign up for Azcentral Preps Now. And be sure to subscribe to our daily sports newsletters so you don’t miss a thing.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: ASU honors top football players at 2025 Legends Luncheon
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos