Fiesta Bowl

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Fiesta Bowl
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl
Tostitos Fiesta Bowl logo
Stadium	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)
Payout	US$17,000,000 (2006)
Sponsors
Sunkist (1986 — 1992) IBM (1993 — 1995) Tostitos (1996 — present)
2007 Matchup
Boise State vs. Oklahoma (43-42 (OT))

The Fiesta Bowl, now sponsored by Tostitos tortilla chips (a Frito-Lay product), is a United States college football game played annually since 1971. Originally, the game was hosted in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium where it remained until 2006. University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona is the current venue. Previous bowl game sponsors included Sunkist and IBM's OS/2 operating system.

In 1998 the Fiesta Bowl became part of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), and prior to 2007 every four years (most recently in 2003) was the designee for the national championship game.

[edit] History

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.

In 1978, Arizona and Arizona State each joined the Pac 10 Conference and the Fiesta Bowl's tie-in with the Western Athletic Conference ended. 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 national championship in the Fiesta Bowl. At the time, the "big four" 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. 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 viewership 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 Fiesta Bowl. By this time, the Fiesta Bowl's ability to stage games with national championship implications propelled it to major-bowl status in the minds of college football fans, replacing the Cotton Bowl as a member of the bowl season's "big four."

2006 Fiesta Bowl, the last Fiesta Bowl game in Sun Devil Stadium

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. In 1992, the Fiesta Bowl was invited to participate in the Bowl Coalition, a predecessor to the Bowl Championship Series, assuring the game would feature major conference champions or prestigious runners up, and the possibility of hosting further national title games. When this series incorporated a title game with a preset rotating site beginning in 1996, the Fiesta Bowl was the first to host the 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.

2007 Fiesta Bowl, Boise State vs. Oklahoma; January 1, 2007, the first Fiesta Bowl at University of Phoenix Stadium

The BCS National Championship game returned to the Fiesta Bowl 2003 with The Ohio State Buckeyes beating the Miami Hurricanes in the first overtime national championship game. The game went into 2 overtimes 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 in 2004 beating Kansas St. and in 2006 beating Notre Dame. During the trophy presentation Ohio State quarterback and MVP, Troy Smith, commented on The Buckeyes dominance in the Fiesta Bowl by saying "The National Championship game is here next year; we like that."

The Fiesta Bowl is the only BCS bowl to date that has had an entry from outside the BCS conferences (independent Notre Dame is also a full BCS member). 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. In January 2007, the game was played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, along with the new stand-alone BCS National Championship Game. In the BCS alignment the bowl will host the Big 12 Conference champion unless they are involved in the national championship game.

On January 1, 2007, the undefeated and untied Boise State Broncos became the 2007 Fiesta Bowl Champions by defeating the Oklahoma Sooners 43-42 in overtime. The game was called one of the best college football games ever played, due to the combination of an underdog team, Trick plays, comebacks and a thrilling overtime victory. ^[1]

[edit] Controversy

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.^[2] This came after #5 ranked BYU was not invited to play in the 1996-97 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 Championship Series (BCS), so the teams with smaller fan bases can be treated the same as the larger schools. Penn State went on to win the game over the Texas Longhorns 38-15, while BYU defeated Kansas State in the Cotton Bowl 19-15.

In 1987, players from the University of Miami walked out of a steak dinner after Penn State punter John Bruno made a racist remark about the UM team's disparate racial makeup. Bruno got hold of a microphone at the dinner and, imitating a white UM player, said: "In the interest of the team, we decided that once a week we'd allow the black guys to eat with us at the training table." ^[3]

[edit] Game results

Italics denote a tie game.
* - Denotes BCS National Championship Game

[edit] Game MVPs

[edit] See also

• List of college bowl games
• 1987 Fiesta Bowl

[edit] External links

• Fiesta Bowl

[edit] References

1. ^ Thamel, Pete. "Playbook Full of Tricks Gives Boise State Dramatic and Defining Victory", New York Times, 2007-01-02. Retrieved on January 2, 2007.
2. ^ 1996 AP archives. December 11, 1996. Honolulu Star-Bulletin
3. ^ Jeff, Shain (1/5/2007). Remembering Canes' Walkout. The Miami Herald. McClatchy Media Company.