It’s no secret that Arizona State head coach Greg Powers built the Sun Devil hockey program in Tempe, Arizona, from the ground up. It’s also no surprise to see the success he’s had since he was hired in 2008.
He’s promised to ‘Be The Tradition’ and he’s done just that.
On Friday, Sun Devil Athletics announced that Powers signed a five-year contract extension through 2030, enabled in part by a significant financial contribution from boosters Mike and Nancy Friend, which created “The Greg Powers Endowed Men’s Hockey Coach.”
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“Everybody that knows me and has been around the program knows this is the only job I’ve ever wanted and the only job I ever want to have,” Powers said. “To be rewarded by my institution and [athletic director] Graham Rossini and [university] President [Michael] Crow, it means a lot to me after putting in a ton of sweat equity over the last 18 years; pretty much dedicating my entire adult life to building this program into what it is.”
The contract will be the university’s first head coaching endowment.
Powers Continues to Build in the Desert
The donation, made by Mike and Nancy Friend, shows their support for Powers and what he has already accomplished in the desert and what they hope he’ll achieve in the near future.
“After many discussions with the Sun Devil Club, we were inspired to make a family legacy gift to fully endow the hockey head coaching position because we believe in coach Powers,” Mike Friend said. “There is no Sun Devil Hockey program without him, and we know the best is on the way.”
The Friends are demonstrating a commitment to Sun Devil Hockey, among other Sun Devil athletics, through their donation.
“Establishing the first endowed head coach position in our history is a meaningful milestone for the ASU Changing Futures Campaign and a clear sign of how our supporters continue to step forward in significant ways,” Rossini. “The Friend family’s belief in Coach Powers and in the future of this program strengthens our foundation and helps secure long-term success for generations of Sun Devils to come.”
Powers has taken Sun Devil hockey to new heights during his tenure as head coach in the valley. Over his 18 years, he led the charge in building Mullett Arena and ASU’s first NCAA Tournament in 2018-19.
“We’ve had high draft picks like Cullen Potter (Calgary’s first-round pick in 2025), we’ve had national team players, and we’ve become a program where players all over the world know they can come and develop into National Hockey League players,” Powers said. “The vision of the program we had to sell them was just that: a vision with no history behind it.”
Just last season, it was Powers’ first season in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference with ASU, a conference that has seen over 100 players reach the NHL.
The Sun Devils host No. 3 Denver this weekend at home, one of many examples of the caliber of teams rolling through the desert.
“It’s obviously a huge honor that Mike believes in everything that we’ve built and continue to build. Our program was built on philanthropy and continues to get support from great people like him and his family.”
