- Fiesta Bowl
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Fiesta Bowl Tostitos Fiesta Bowl 
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl logoStadium University of Phoenix Stadium Location Glendale, Arizona Previous stadiums Sun Devil Stadium (1971-2006) Previous locations Tempe, Arizona (1971-2006) Operated 1971-present Conference tie-ins Big 12 Previous conference tie-ins WAC (1971-1978), Pac-10 (2002) Payout US$17,000,000 (As of 2009[update])[1] Sponsors Sunkist (1986-1992)
IBM (1993-1995)
Tostitos (1996-present)2010 matchup TCU vs. Boise State (BSU 17-10) 2011 matchup Oklahoma vs. Connecticut (OU 48-20) The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Frito-Lay and named with their Tostitos brand, is a United States college football bowl game played annually at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Between its origination in 1971 and 2006, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium. Previous sponsors included Sunkist and IBM.
In 1998, the Fiesta Bowl became part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), and before 2007 every four years (most recently in 2003) was the designee for the national championship game.
Contents
History
Origins
The Fiesta Bowl was born from the Western Athletic Conference's frustrated attempts to obtain bowl invitations for its champions. In 1968 and 1969 respectively, champions Wyoming and Arizona State failed to secure any bowl selection. The next year, undefeated Arizona State was bypassed by the major bowls and had to settle for an appearance in the less prestigious Peach Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl therefore initially provided an automatic bowl tie-in for the Western Athletic Conference champion.
The 1971 inaugural game featured another top-ten Arizona State squad against top-twenty opponent Florida State. By 1975, the game was able to attract Big Eight co-champion Nebraska to play undefeated Arizona State in a matchup of top-five teams. In 1977, the game was again able to attract a top-five opponent in Penn State, despite WAC champion #16 BYU refusing to play in the bowl due to it being held on Sunday.
In 1978, Arizona and Arizona State both joined the Pac-10 Conference and the Fiesta Bowl's tie-in with the Western Athletic Conference ended.
1980s
The game continued to attract high quality matchups, so beginning with the 1981 game the Fiesta Bowl shifted to New Year's Day with the other major bowl games.
A major breakthrough occurred in 1986 when the top two teams in the country, Miami and Penn State, agreed to play for the de facto national championship in the Fiesta Bowl. At the time, the traditional four "major" bowl games—the Cotton, Orange, Sugar and Rose--had contracts with the major conferences whose champions were guaranteed selection. Both Miami and Penn State were independents at that time, and were thus free to choose a bowl. As such, the Fiesta Bowl and the Florida Citrus Bowl, each free from the obligation of conference tie-ins, vied to host the Miami-Penn State matchup. The Fiesta Bowl won the bidding and the game was set to be played on January 2, a day after the "big four" bowls. The 1987 Fiesta Bowl was won by Penn State 14–10 over Miami, and drew the largest television audience of any game in the history of college football. Two years later, #1 Notre Dame played undefeated #3 West Virginia for the national championship at the 1989 Fiesta Bowl.
The 1987 and 1989 games were two of four straight matchups of teams ranked in the AP Top 10 going into the bowl season to close out the 1980s. This significantly increased the Fiesta Bowl's prestige, to the point that it was now considered a major bowl by many fans and pundits.
1990s
Before the 1991 game, several major universities declined invitations due to the State of Arizona's decision at that time not to adopt the Martin Luther King Holiday. However, in 1992, the Fiesta Bowl was invited to participate in the Bowl Coalition, a predecessor to the Bowl Championship Series. This assured the game would feature major conference champions or prestigious runners-up and cemented its status as a major bowl. When the Bowl Coalition was reconfigured as the Bowl Alliance, the Fiesta was included as one of the three top games. By this time, the Fiesta had clearly replaced the Cotton Bowl Classic as a major bowl. In 1996, it included a title game with a preset rotating site. The Fiesta Bowl hosted the 1996 game, featuring undefeated #1 Nebraska playing undefeated #2 Florida for the National Championship. Finally, with the addition of the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences to the rechristened Bowl Championship Series, the Fiesta Bowl became a permanent fixture in the four year BCS National Championship Game rotation. In 1998, the Fiesta Bowl featured the first BCS National Championship Game, which Tennessee won over Florida State, 23 to 16.
2000-2006
In 2002, the Fiesta Bowl had the right to take Pac-10 Conference Champion, should that team not reach the Rose Bowl, which served as the National Championship game that season. Oregon failed to qualify for the championship game, and thus played Colorado in the Fiesta Bowl. A similar arrangement was made for the 2006 Fiesta Bowl. However, instead of gaining the Pac-10 Conference champion in addition to their usual tie-in with the Big 12 Conference, the Fiesta Bowl would have had a choice of the two teams. This turned out to be a moot point as both the Big 12 champion and Pac-10 champion (Texas and Southern California, respectively) qualified for the National Championship Game (USC's participation has since been vacated).[2]
The BCS National Championship game returned to the Fiesta Bowl in 2003 with the Big Ten champions Ohio State Buckeyes beating the Big East champions Miami Hurricanes in the first overtime national championship game. The game went into double overtime with the Buckeyes coming out on top 31–24 to claim the 2002 National Championship. Since that game, the Buckeyes have returned to the Fiesta Bowl three times, beating Kansas State in 2004, beating Notre Dame in 2006, and losing to Texas in the 2009 game. All but the 2006 games were against Big 12 schools, with the 2006 game being against an independent which is located in Big Ten territory and thus has been mentioned as a potential Big Ten expansion candidate.
The Fiesta Bowl was the first BCS bowl to have had an entry from outside the parameters of the BCS (the Big 12, Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Southeastern Conference (SEC), Pac-10, Big East, and Notre Dame have tie-ins, while all of the other conferences do not). The 2005 game saw undefeated Utah become the first non-BCS school ever to play in a BCS game, easily defeating Big East champion Pittsburgh 35–7.
2007
2006 Fiesta Bowl, the last Fiesta Bowl game in Sun Devil Stadium
In 2007, the Fiesta Bowl game was played for the first time at the new University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, across the Valley of the Sun from Sun Devil Stadium Tempe. The BCS agreement now stipulated that the Fiesta Bowl hosts the Big 12 Conference champions unless they are involved in the BCS national championship game.
2007 Fiesta Bowl, Boise State vs. Oklahoma; January 1, 2007, the first Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix StadiumOn January 1, 2007, the undefeated Boise State Broncos won by defeating the Oklahoma Sooners 43–42 in overtime. It has been called one of the greatest college football games ever played, due to the combination of an underdog team, trick plays, comebacks by each team and a thrilling overtime finish.[3]
2008
On January 2, 2008, the Fiesta Bowl game was played for the second year at the new University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. The game again pitted Big-12 champion #3 Oklahoma against the Big East champion #9 West Virginia. West Virginia beat Oklahoma, 48–28.
2010
The 2010 Fiesta Bowl took place on January 4, 2010. The BCS #6 Boise State defeated the BCS #4 TCU by the score of 17-10 . It was the first time a BCS bowl matched-up two non-automatic qualifying teams (i.e. two teams from conferences without automatic BCS bids) and the first time that two teams who went undefeated faced each other in a BCS game outside of the National Championship.
2011
The 2011 Fiesta Bowl took place on Saturday, January 1 at 8:30 PM ET. The Big 12 Conference Champion Oklahoma Sooners took on Big East Conference Champion Connecticut Huskies. The #7 Oklahoma Sooners, led by coach Bob Stoops, came off a 5 game losing streak in BCS bowls while the Connecticut Huskies, led by coach Randy Edsall, played in their first BCS game. The Sooners won the match, 48-20.
Controversies
Invitations
In 1996, a group of students from Brigham Young University, led by BYU professor Dennis Martin, burned bags of Tostitos tortilla chips in a bonfire and called for a boycott of all Tostitos products.[4] This came after #5 ranked BYU was not invited to play in the 1996 Fiesta Bowl in favor of #7 ranked Penn State. This event is one of those referred to by proponents of college football implementing a playoff series rather than the controversial Bowl Alliance. Penn State went on to win the game over #20 Texas 38-15, while BYU defeated #14 Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl Classic 19-15.[5]
Financial scandals
Sports Illustrated alleged in November 2010 that Fiesta Bowl officials, including bowl CEO John Junker, spent $4 million since 2000 to curry favor from BCS bigwigs and elected officials, including a 2008 "Fiesta Frolic", a golf-centered gathering of athletic directors and head coaches. The journal also reported that Junker's annual salary was close to $600,000 and that the bowl, in 2007 turned an $11.6 million profit at the same time that 106 of 120 Division I-A athletic departments were running a deficit.[6]
In 2009, prior to the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, past and present Fiesta Bowl employees alleged that they were encouraged to make directed campaign contributions which were subsequently reimbursed. If true, this would be a violation of both state and Federal campaign finance laws.[7] Furthermore, as a non-profit organization, the Fiesta Bowl is prohibited from making political contributions, of any kind, and from hiring lobbyists.[8] The Fiesta Bowl commissioned an "independent review" which found "no credible evidence that the bowl's management engaged in any type of illegal or unethical conduct."[9] On March 29, 2011, the results of a "scathing internal report" commissioned by the Fiesta Bowl board of directors were released. The report, 276 pages and with more than 1500 footnotes, was posted on the Fiesta Bowl's website.[10] The commission determined that $46,539 of illegal campaign contributions were made and the board immediately fired Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker, who had already been suspended pending the results of this investigation.[11] The scandal threatened the Fiesta Bowl's status as a BCS game, as the BCS said it might drop the bowl from its lineup if officials could not convince them it should remain.[12][13]
The BCS ultimately chose not to expel the Fiesta Bowl, instead fining the organization $1 million. In June 2011 University of Arizona president Robert Shelton was hired to replace Junker.[14]
Broadcasting
See also: Fiesta Bowl broadcastersAs of the 2010-11 season, the game along with the rest of the BCS, exclusively airs on ESPN.[15] From 2007 through 2010, Fox telecast the game along with the other BCS games - the Sugar Bowl, Orange Bowl and BCS National Championship Game from 2006 though 2009, while only the Rose Bowl and the 2010 BCS National Championship Game aired on ABC in that period. From 1999-2006, the game aired on ABC as part of the first BCS package, and from 1996-1998 the game aired on CBS as part of its bowl coverage. Prior to that, NBC aired the game for several years. This game, along with the Orange Bowl, is one of only two bowl games ever to air on all the "big 4" broadcast television networks in the United States.
ESPN Radio is the current radio home for the Fiesta Bowl.
Game results
Italics denote a tie game.
^ - Denotes Bowl Alliance Championship game
* - Denotes BCS National Championship GameDate played Winning team Losing team notes December 27, 1971 Arizona State 45 Florida State 38 notes December 23, 1972 Arizona State 49 Missouri 35 notes December 21, 1973 Arizona State 28 Pittsburgh 7 notes December 28, 1974 Oklahoma State 16 BYU 6 notes December 26, 1975 Arizona State 17 Nebraska 14 notes December 25, 1976 Oklahoma 41 Wyoming 7 notes December 25, 1977 Penn State 42 Arizona State 30 notes December 25, 1978 Arkansas 10 UCLA 10 notes December 25, 1979 Pittsburgh 16 Arizona 10 notes December 26, 1980 Penn State 31 Ohio State 19 notes January 1, 1982 Penn State 26 Southern California 10 notes January 1, 1983 Arizona State 32 Oklahoma 21 notes January 2, 1984 Ohio State 28 Pittsburgh 23 notes January 1, 1985 UCLA 39 Miami 37 notes January 1, 1986 Michigan 27 Nebraska 23 notes January 2, 1987 Penn State 14 Miami 10 notes January 1, 1988 Florida State 31 Nebraska 28 notes January 2, 1989 Notre Dame 34 West Virginia 21 notes January 1, 1990 Florida State 41 Nebraska 17 notes January 1, 1991 Louisville 34 Alabama 7 notes January 1, 1992 Penn State 42 Tennessee 17 notes January 1, 1993 Syracuse 26 Colorado 22 notes January 1, 1994 Arizona 29 Miami 0 notes January 2, 1995 Colorado 41 Notre Dame 24 notes January 2, 1996^ Nebraska 62 Florida 24 notes January 1, 1997 Penn State 38 Texas 15 notes December 31, 1997 Kansas State 35 Syracuse 18 notes January 4, 1999* Tennessee 23 Florida State 16 notes January 2, 2000 Nebraska 31 Tennessee 21 notes January 1, 2001 Oregon State 41 Notre Dame 9 notes January 1, 2002 Oregon 38 Colorado 16 notes January 3, 2003* Ohio State 31 Miami 24 (2 OT) notes January 2, 2004 Ohio State 35 Kansas State 28 notes January 1, 2005 Utah 35 Pittsburgh 7 notes January 2, 2006 Ohio State 34 Notre Dame 20 notes January 1, 2007 Boise State 43 Oklahoma 42 (OT) notes January 2, 2008 West Virginia 48 Oklahoma 28 notes January 5, 2009 Texas 24 Ohio State 21 notes January 4, 2010 Boise State 17 TCU 10 notes January 1, 2011 Oklahoma 48 Connecticut 20 notes Game MVPs
Date played MVPs Team Position December 27, 1971 Gary Huff Florida State QB Junior Ah You Arizona State DE December 23, 1972 Woody Green Arizona State HB Mike Fink Missouri DB December 21, 1973 Greg Hudson Arizona State SE Mike Haynes Arizona State CB December 28, 1974 Kenny Walker Oklahoma State RB Phil Dokes Oklahoma State DT December 26, 1975 John Jefferson Arizona State WR Larry Gordon Arizona State LB December 25, 1976 Thomas Lott Oklahoma QB Terry Peters Oklahoma CB December 25, 1977 Matt Millen Penn State LB Dennis Sproul Arizona State QB December 25, 1978 James Owens UCLA RB Jimmy Walker Arkansas DT December 25, 1979 Mark Schubert Pittsburgh K Dave Liggins Arizona S December 26, 1980 Curt Warner Penn State RB Frank Case Penn State DE January 1, 1982 Curt Warner Penn State RB Leo Wisniewski Penn State NT January 1, 1983 Marcus Dupree Oklahoma RB Jim Jeffcoat Arizona State DL January 2, 1984 John Congemi Pittsburgh QB Rowland Tatum Ohio State LB January 1, 1985 Gaston Green UCLA TB James Washington UCLA DB January 1, 1986 Jamie Morris Michigan RB Mark Messner Michigan DT January 2, 1987 D.J. Dozier Penn State RB Shane Conlan Penn State LB January 1, 1988 Danny McManus Florida State QB Neil Smith Nebraska DL January 2, 1989 Tony Rice Notre Dame QB Frank Stams Notre Dame DE January 1, 1990 Peter Tom Willis Florida State QB Odell Haggins Florida State NG January 1, 1991 Browning Nagle Louisville QB Ray Buchanan Louisville FS January 1, 1992 O.J. McDuffie Penn State WR Reggie Givens Penn State OLB January 1, 1993 Marvin Graves Syracuse QB Kevin Mitchell Syracuse NG January 1, 1994 Chuck Levy Arizona RB Tedy Bruschi Arizona DE January 2, 1995 Kordell Stewart Colorado QB Shannon Clavelle Colorado DT January 2, 1996 Tommie Frazier Nebraska QB Michael Booker Nebraska CB January 1, 1997 Curtis Enis Penn State TB Brandon Noble Penn State DT December 31, 1997 Michael Bishop Kansas State QB Travis Ochs Kansas State LB January 4, 1999 Peerless Price Tennessee WR Dwayne Goodrich Tennessee CB January 2, 2000 Eric Crouch Nebraska QB Mike Brown Nebraska DB January 1, 2001 Jonathan Smith Oregon State QB Darnell Robinson Oregon State LB January 1, 2002 Joey Harrington Oregon QB Steve Smith Oregon DB January 3, 2003 Craig Krenzel Ohio State QB Mike Doss Ohio State SS January 2, 2004 Craig Krenzel Ohio State QB A.J. Hawk Ohio State OLB January 1, 2005 Alex Smith Utah QB Paris Warren Utah WR Steve Fifita Utah NG January 2, 2006 Troy Smith Ohio State QB A.J. Hawk Ohio State OLB January 1, 2007 Jared Zabransky Boise State QB Marty Tadman Boise State S January 2, 2008 Pat White West Virginia QB Reed Williams West Virginia OLB January 5, 2009 Colt McCoy Texas QB Roy Miller Texas DT January 4, 2010 Kyle Efaw Boise State TE Brandyn Thompson Boise State CB January 1, 2011 Landry Jones Oklahoma QB Jamell Fleming Oklahoma CB Appearances by Team
Rank Team Appearances Record T1 Penn State 6 6-0 T1 Arizona State 6 5-1 T1 Ohio State 6 4-2 T1 Nebraska 6 2-4 5 Oklahoma 5 2-3 T6 Florida State 4 2-2 T6 Notre Dame 4 1-3 T6 Pittsburgh 4 1-3 T6 Miami 4 0-4 T10 Colorado 3 1-2 T10 Tennessee 3 1-2 T12 Boise State 2 2-0 T12 Arizona 2 1-1 T12 Kansas State 2 1-1 T12 Syracuse 2 1-1 T12 Texas 2 1-1 T12 West Virginia 2 1-1 T12 UCLA 2 1-0-1 T19 Louisville 1 1-0 T19 Michigan 1 1-0 T19 Oklahoma State 1 1-0 T19 Oregon 1 1-0 T19 Oregon State 1 1-0 T19 Utah 1 1-0 T19 TCU 1 0-1 T19 Arkansas 1 0-0-1 T19 Alabama 1 0-1 T19 BYU 1 0-1 T19 Connecticut 1 0-1 T19 Florida 1 0-1 T19 Missouri 1 0-1 T19 Southern California 1 0-1 T19 Wyoming 1 0-1 Game records
Team Performance vs. Opponent Year Most points scored 62, Nebraska vs. Florida (24) 1996 Fewest points allowed 0, Arizona vs. Miami (29) 1994 First downs 33, Texas vs. Ohio State
33, Arizona State vs. Missouri2009
1972Rushing yards 524, Nebraska vs. Florida 1996 Passing yards 458, Louisville vs. Alabama 1991 Total yards 718, Arizona State vs. Missouri 1972 Individual Performance, Team vs. Opponent Year Total Offense 431, Browning Nagle, Louisville vs. Alabama (39 plays) 1991 Rushing Yards 239, Marcus Dupree, Oklahoma vs. Arizona State (17 att., 0 TD) 1980 Rushing TDs 4, Woody Green, Arizona State vs. Missouri 1972 See also
References
- ^ http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=494772
- ^ "Oregon clinches berth in Fiesta Bowl; National title still a possibility". The Seattle Times. November 17, 2001. http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=20011117&slug=oregon18.
- ^ Thamel, Pete (2007-01-02). "Playbook Full of Tricks Gives Boise State Dramatic and Defining Victory". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/02/sports/ncaafootball/02fiesta.html. Retrieved 2007-01-02.
- ^ 1996 AP archives. December 11, 1996. Honolulu Star-Bulletin
- ^ Weinreb, Michael. "The Night College Football Went To Hell". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/eticket/story?page=fiesta87&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab1pos1. Retrieved 2010-01-03.
- ^ Murphy, Austin, and Dan Wetzel, "Does It Matter?", Sports Illustrated, 15 November 2010, p. 45.
- ^ "Fiesta Bowl employees say bowl repaid political contributions". http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2009/12/18/20091218fiesta-bowl-investigation.html.
- ^ "Fiesta Bowl Scandal Causes Stir". http://bleacherreport.com/articles/314585-fiesta-bowl-scandal-causes-stir.
- ^ "Fiesta Bowl finds no wrongdoing after allegations of illegal political donations". http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/73565-fiesta-bowl-finds-no-wrongdoing-after-allegations-of-illegal-political-donations.
- ^ "Final Report". http://www.fiestabowl.org/_documents/reports/Fiesta_Bowl_Final_Public.pdf.
- ^ "Fiesta Bowl fires CEO John Junker", AP, March 29, 2011, http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=6270459
- ^ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/football/ncaa/03/30/fiesta-bowl-bcs.ap/index.html#ixzz1I8IZ4dwj BCS confident it could cut ties with Fiesta Bowl if deemed necessary
- ^ Wetzel, Dan, "BCS conducts shallow probe as party rages on", Yahoo! Sports, retrieved on 31 March 2011.
- ^ Associated Press, "Fiesta Bowl names new president", Japan Times, 15 June 2011, p. 15.
- ^ Fox pulls out of bidding for next round of BCS games
External links
Fiesta Bowl Game History | Sun Devil Stadium | University of Phoenix Stadium | BCS | Broadcasters
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