TEMPE, Ariz. — The walls around Sun Devil Stadium and the new football complex are lined with photos of Pat Tillman. Images of the former player and Army Ranger can be found across the campus and around town, too.
Now there’s a bronze likeness of perhaps the greatest Sun Devil in school history.
Arizona State unveiled a bronze statue of Tillman during a ceremony at Sun Devil Stadium on Wednesday, a monument designed as a tribute to the man who gave so much and as inspiration to the players trying to follow his footsteps.
“Pat spent his whole life trying to be the best person he could possibly be,” Tillman’s brother, Kevin, said before the drape was dropped. “He didn’t focus on money, he didn’t focus on fame, he didn’t focus on a pretty statue. It was, ‘How can I make myself a better person in all these different facets of my life?’ And ASU gave him an opportunity to do that.”
The ceremony, held in the redesigned football facilities in the north end zone, drew several hundred people, including Tillman’s family, former and current ASU players and university officials.
Tillman played at Arizona State from 1994-97 and went on to play for the NFL’s Arizona Cardinals before walking away from a multimillion contract to serve his country in wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Tillman became an Army Ranger in 2003 and served until being killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan in 2004.
