Arizona State football great Gary Venturo reflects on playing and coaching journey

ATLANTA As Arizona State prepares to face Texas in the Peach Bowl, a quarterfinal game in the new 12-team College Football Playoff, Sun Devil fans are reflecting on the last time their team competed in this game back in 1970.

Gary Venturo was a key member of that undefeated Sun Devil football team as an offensive guard who is heralded as one of the greatest linemen in ASU history.

Venturo played under legendary coach Frank Kush, who opened the door to coaching for the young man he recruited from a small town in Pennsylvania in the 1960s.

Many people around the Valley these days know the former Sun Devil football great as Coach Venturo.

He came to Tempe 58 years ago and now his impact has reached as far east as Kearny at Ray High School, west to Yuma High School, and south to Nogales High School.

Venturos coaching legacy was left at Corona del Sol, just 15 minutes south of Arizona States Tempe campus.

He spent 23 years leading the Aztecs and retired following the 2009 season.

Venturo is proud of the number of players and coaches hes worked with who have continued to elevate their careers in and out of Arizona.

He often spends his Friday nights visiting games where former players are coaching and he spends Saturdays watching ASU games in Tempe with his wife, Vicky.

After 31 years as the head of many on various Arizona high school football sidelines, Venturo is now a member of the Tempe All-City Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, and enjoying retired life visiting the games of his former players during football season.

Venturos coaching tree reaches throughout the East Valley and beyond but he himself is a branch of a tree the late coach Kush plated more than five decades ago in the desert.

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Arizona sports The city of Phoenix is home to five major professional sports league teams; The NFL's Arizona Cardinals, NBA's Phoenix Suns, WNBAs Phoenix Mercury and MLB's Arizona Diamondbacks.

The Cardinals have made State Farm Stadium in Glendale their home turf and the Footprint Center in downtown Phoenix is home to both the Suns and the Mercury.

The Indoor Football Leagues Arizona Rattlers play at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale.

Phoenix also has a soccer team with the USL's Phoenix Rising FC, who play at Phoenix Rising FC Stadium in Phoenix.

The Valley hosts multiple major sporting events on a yearly basis, including college football's Fiesta Bowl and Guaranteed Rate Bowl; the PGA Tours highest-attended event, the WM Phoenix Open; NASCAR events each spring and fall, including Championship Weekend in November; and Cactus League Spring Training for 15 Major League Baseball franchises..

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