Fiesta Bowl

Fiesta Bowl
Vrbo Fiesta Bowl
Stadium	State Farm Stadium
Location	Glendale, Arizona
Previous stadiums	Sun Devil Stadium (1971–2006)
Previous locations	Tempe, Arizona (1971–2006)
Operated	1971–present
Championship affiliation	CFP (2014–present) BCS (1998–2013) Bowl Alliance (1995–1997) Bowl Coalition (1992–1994)
Previous conference tie-ins	WAC (1971–1978) Big 12 (1997–2013)
Payout	US$17 million (As of 2009 [update] ) [1]
Sponsors
Sunkist (1986–1990) IBM (1993–1995) Tostitos (1996–January 2014) Vizio (December 2014) BattleFrog (January 2016) PlayStation (December 2016–2022) Vrbo (2022–present)
Former names
Fiesta Bowl (1971–1985, 1991–1992) Sunkist Fiesta Bowl (1986–1990) IBM OS/2 Fiesta Bowl (1993–1995) Tostitos Fiesta Bowl (1996–January 2014) Vizio Fiesta Bowl (December 2014) BattleFrog Fiesta Bowl (January 2016) PlayStation Fiesta Bowl (2016–2022)
2022 season matchup
TCU vs. Michigan (TCU 51–45)
2023 season matchup
Oregon vs. Liberty (Oregon 45–6)

The Fiesta Bowl is an American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area. From its beginning in 1971 until 2006, the game was hosted at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been played at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Since 2022, it has been sponsored by Vrbo and officially known as the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl. ^[2] Previous sponsors include PlayStation (December 2016–2022), BattleFrog (January 2016), ^[3] Vizio (December 2014), ^{[4] [5] [6]} Tostitos (1996–January 2014), IBM (1993–1995) and Sunkist (1986–1990).

Since 1992, the Fiesta Bowl has been part of some organization of bowls designed to determine an undisputed national champion. In 1992, it was named as one of the Bowl Coalition games, but the bowl was never used to determine the champion. In 1995, the organizers of the Fiesta Bowl joined with the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl to form the Bowl Alliance, with each bowl guaranteed to host a championship game as the coaches’ poll was contractually obligated to choose the winner of the Bowl Alliance championship game as its national champion. The Fiesta Bowl hosted the first of these games in January 1996.

After the 1997 season, the three Bowl Alliance bowls joined with the Rose Bowl to form the Bowl Championship Series (BCS), with the Fiesta Bowl guaranteed to host the national championship game every four years. As with the Bowl Alliance, the Fiesta Bowl was given first chance at hosting the BCS' championship in 1999; they also hosted the game in 2003. When the BCS reconstituted itself following the 2005 season, it began staging a separate national championship game, which rotated between BCS bowl sites.

Beginning with the 2014 season, Fiesta Bowl became a member of College Football Playoff, hosting a semifinal game every three years; all the teams playing in this bowl will be selected by the CFP Selection Committee in those years. In years that it serves as a semifinal, the winner of the Fiesta Bowl faces the winner of the Peach Bowl in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game the following week. Unlike in the previous years, the National Championship Game is not awarded to the bowl organizations in the CFP; instead, the selection process is similar to the one used to determine a host for the Super Bowl.

The Fiesta Bowl has donated over $12 million to charity. ^[7] In 2020, it donated $1 million in emergency relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. ^[8]

History

Origins

Fiesta Bowl logo with no corporate sponsor

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 berth for the WAC champion.

1970s

In its first decade of existence, the Fiesta Bowl was played in the last week of December (including the afternoon of Christmas Day from 1976 to 1979). The 1971 inaugural game featured another top-ten Arizona State squad against top-twenty opponent Florida State. The 1974 game featured WAC champ BYU and their new coach, future Hall of Fame member LaVell Edwards in their first ever bowl game vs. Oklahoma State. BYU was in control until BYU's first All-American quarterback Gary Sheide went down with a leg injury and eventually lost 16–6. 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 its 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 WAC ended as its champ went to the newly inaugurated Holiday Bowl. From then until the advent of the Bowl Coalition in 1992, Fiesta Bowl matchups typically featured runners-up of major conferences and/or major independents.

1980s

The game continued to attract high quality matchups; beginning with the 1981 season, it shifted to New Year's Day alongside the major bowl games—the Cotton, Orange, Sugar, and Rose. At the time, NBC had the broadcast rights to the Fiesta, Rose, and Orange; the Fiesta was played first and had a late morning kickoff (11:30 a.m. MST). It was the first bowl game to acquire a corporate title sponsor, via an agreement with Sunkist Growers in September 1985, making the game the "Sunkist Fiesta Bowl" starting with the January 1986 edition. ^{[9] [10]} The Tangerine Bowl had previously reached agreement in March 1983 with the Florida Citrus Commission, a state government agency, to rename itself as the Florida Citrus Bowl. ^[11]

A major breakthrough occurred after the 1986 season 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 granted automatic bids to their conference champions. 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 in order to ensure that they would meet on the field. The Fiesta Bowl won the bidding and the game was set to be played on Friday, January 2, 1987—the night after the "big four" bowls of New Year's Day. Penn State won 14–10, and the game drew the largest television audience in the history of college football at the time. Two years later, #1 Notre Dame played undefeated #3 West Virginia for the national championship at the 1989 Fiesta Bowl on January 1.

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. The 1988 game returned to New Year's Day, and the 1989 game kicked off three hours later (2:30 p.m. MST on NBC) and opposite the Rose Bowl, which had switched networks to ABC.

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. Had the two top-ranked teams in the Bowl Coalition not come from the SEC, Big Eight or SWC, the Fiesta Bowl would have hosted the Bowl Coalition's "national championship game," though this never happened during the three years of the Bowl Coalition's run.

When the Bowl Coalition was reconfigured as the Bowl Alliance for the 1995 season, the Fiesta was included as one of the three top games. In that season, it hosted the Bowl Alliance National Championship game featuring undefeated #1 Nebraska playing undefeated #2 Florida for the national championship. Nebraska won the game 62–24, the largest win margin in the history of the national championship game, and the most points ever scored in a national championship game. Finally, with the addition of the Big Ten and Pac-10 conferences to the new 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, 23–16.

Starting with the 1999 season, the Big 12 Conference champion received an automatic bid to the Fiesta Bowl in years when it was not slated as the BCS title game, an arrangement that continued to the end of the BCS era.

2000s

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

In 2002, the Fiesta Bowl had the right to take the 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, 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 Texas and Pac-10 champion Southern California qualified for the National Championship Game (USC's participation has since been vacated). ^[12]

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 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.

The Fiesta Bowl was the first BCS bowl to have had a team from outside the automatic qualifying (AQ) BCS conferences (the Big 12, Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Southeastern Conference (SEC), Pac-10, Big East, and Notre Dame). The 2005 game saw undefeated Utah from the Mountain West Conference become the first BCS non-AQ school ever to play in a BCS game, easily defeating Big East champion Pittsburgh 35–7.

In 2007, the Fiesta Bowl game was played for the first time at the new then-named University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, across the Phoenix metropolitan area from Sun Devil Stadium. 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. ^[13]

2010s

The 2010 Fiesta Bowl featured #6 Boise State defeating #4 TCU, 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. In the 2012 Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma State defeated Stanford 41–38. Notable players included Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon for Oklahoma State, and Andrew Luck for Stanford.

In November 2016, PlayStation was announced as the bowl's new title sponsor. ^[14]

The December 2016, December 2019, and December 2022 editions served as a semifinal for the College Football Playoff. The Fiesta Bowl will host a semifinal, alongside the Peach Bowl, again in 2025 and 2028.

2020s

The 50th edition of the Fiesta Bowl featured #10 Iowa State defeating #25 Oregon Ducks 34-17. The game was behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Arizona, with only player's family members admitted. In the 2022 Fiesta Bowl, Oklahoma State rallied from a 28-7 deficit late in the 2nd quarter to defeat Notre Dame 37-35. In the December edition of that game (which was also a CFP semifinal), #3 TCU defeated #2 Michigan 51-45, the highest scoring game in Fiesta Bowl history, and the second-highest scoring CFP semifinal game.

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. ^[15] This came after #5 ranked BYU was not invited to play in the 1997 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. ^[16]

For the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, the selections of TCU and Boise State caused a great deal of controversy. For the first and only time in the BCS era, two BCS non-AQ teams were chosen to play in BCS bowls in the same bowl season: however, they ended up facing each other in this bowl. Because the two non-AQ teams were placed in the same bowl game, the bowl was derisively referred to as the "Separate But Equal Bowl", ^[17] the "Quarantine Bowl", the "Fiasco Bowl", the "BCS Kids' Table", ^[18] etc. Some had called for a boycott because of this arrangement. ^[19] There was wide speculation that the BCS bowl selection committees maneuvered TCU and Boise State into the same bowl so as to deny them the chances to "embarrass" two AQ conference representatives in separate bowls, as Boise State had done in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl and Utah had done in the 2005 Fiesta Bowl and 2009 Sugar Bowl (prior to the game, non-AQ teams were 3–1 versus AQ teams in BCS bowls). ^{[18] [20]} In response, Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker called those allegations "the biggest load of crap that I've ever heard in my life" and said that "We're in the business of doing things that are on behalf of our bowl game and we don't do the bidding of someone else to our detriment." ^[21] Beyond the unappealing nature of a major bowl contest with two programs then perceived as underdogs, the appeal was further diminished as it was a rematch of the Poinsettia Bowl from the previous bowl season.

Financial scandals

In 2009, in the weeks prior to the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, past and present Fiesta Bowl employees alleged that they were encouraged to help maintain its position as one of the four BCS bowls by making campaign contributions to politicians friendly to the Fiesta Bowl, with those contributions subsequently reimbursed to the employees. If the allegations were true, this would have been a violation of both state and federal campaign finance laws. ^[22] Furthermore, as a non-profit organization, the Fiesta Bowl is prohibited from making political contributions of any kind. ^[23] 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." ^[24]

The following year, in a November 2010 article, Sports Illustrated reported 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. ^[25] While these alleged activities are not illegal, they did result in considerable damage to the reputation of the Fiesta Bowl.

On March 29, 2011, the Fiesta Bowl Board of Directors released a 276-page "scathing internal report", commissioned by them to re-examine the accusations of illegal political activities. ^[26] 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. ^[27] The scandal threatened the Fiesta Bowl's status as a BCS game, as the BCS said it might replace the bowl in its lineup if officials could not convince them it should remain. ^{[28] [29]} 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. ^[30] On February 22, 2012, former CEO John Junker pleaded guilty to a federal felony charge in the campaign financing matter, and two members of his former staff pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges. ^[31] Junker was to be sentenced soon after, facing up to 2.5 years in prison as the result of his plea, but his sentencing was repeatedly postponed in return for cooperation in other cases. ^{[32] [33]} On March 13, 2014, Junker was sentenced to eight months in prison, with the sentence starting on June 13, 2014; ^[34] he was released on February 11, 2015. ^[35] On March 20, 2014, Junker was sentenced to three years of probation on state charges. ^[36]

Parade

One of the Fiesta Bowl events, the annual Fiesta Bowl Parade, takes place in downtown Phoenix. It features marching bands from high schools as well as the two universities participating in the Fiesta Bowl, and the two universities participating in the Cactus Bowl, along with floats, equestrian units, and a seven-member queen and court. The parade began in 1973. Grand Marshals include celebrities from sports and entertainment.

In 2018, the sponsor was changed from Bank of Arizona to Desert Financial. Appearances in the 2018 parade included Cindy McCain and the marching band from Salem High School in Salem, New Hampshire, which was the group that had traveled the farthest for the parade.

Game results

Team rankings entering games for which the Fiesta Bowl was designated a CFP semifinal are taken from CFP rankings. Otherwise, rankings are taken from the AP Poll (inaugurated in 1936), before each game was played. Italics denote a tie game.

Date played	Winning team		Losing team		Attendance	Notes
December 27, 1971	No. 8 Arizona State	45	Florida State	38	51,089	notes
December 23, 1972	No. 15 Arizona State	49	Missouri	35	51,318	notes
December 21, 1973	No. 10 Arizona State	28	Pittsburgh	7	50,878	notes
December 28, 1974	Oklahoma State	16	No. 17 BYU	6	50,878	notes
December 26, 1975	No. 7 Arizona State	17	No. 6 Nebraska	14	51,396	notes
December 25, 1976	No. 8 Oklahoma	41	Wyoming	7	48,174	notes
December 25, 1977	No. 8 Penn State	42	No. 15 Arizona State	30	57,727	notes
December 25, 1978	No. 8 Arkansas	10	No. 15 UCLA	10	55,227	notes
December 25, 1979	No. 10 Pittsburgh	16	Arizona	10	55,347	notes
December 26, 1980	No. 10 Penn State	31	No. 11 Ohio State	19	66,738	notes
January 1, 1982	No. 7 Penn State	26	No. 8 USC	10	71,053	notes
January 1, 1983	No. 11 Arizona State	32	No. 12 Oklahoma	21	70,533	notes
January 2, 1984	No. 14 Ohio State	28	No. 15 Pittsburgh	23	66,484	notes
January 1, 1985	No. 14 UCLA	39	No. 13 Miami (Florida)	37	60,310	notes
January 1, 1986	No. 5 Michigan	27	No. 7 Nebraska	23	72,454	notes
January 2, 1987	No. 2 Penn State	14	No. 1 Miami (Florida)	10	73,098	notes
January 1, 1988	No. 3 Florida State	31	No. 5 Nebraska	28	72,112	notes
January 2, 1989	No. 1 Notre Dame	34	No. 3 West Virginia	21	74,911	notes
January 1, 1990	No. 5 Florida State	41	No. 6 Nebraska	17	73,953	notes
January 1, 1991	No. 18 Louisville	34	No. 25 Alabama	7	69,098	notes
January 1, 1992	No. 6 Penn State	42	No. 10 Tennessee	17	71,133	notes
January 1, 1993	No. 6 Syracuse	26	No. 10 Colorado	22	70,224	notes
January 1, 1994	No. 16 Arizona	29	No. 10 Miami (Florida)	0	72,260	notes
January 2, 1995	No. 4 Colorado	41	Notre Dame	24	73,968	notes
January 2, 1996 BA	No. 1 Nebraska	62	No. 2 Florida	24	79,864	notes
January 1, 1997	No. 7 Penn State	38	No. 20 Texas	15	65,106	notes
December 31, 1997	No. 10 Kansas State	35	No. 14 Syracuse	18	69,367	notes
January 4, 1999 BCS	No. 1 Tennessee	23	No. 2 Florida State	16	80,470	notes
January 2, 2000	No. 3 Nebraska	31	No. 6 Tennessee	21	71,526	notes
January 1, 2001	No. 5 Oregon State	41	No. 10 Notre Dame	9	75,428	notes
January 1, 2002	No. 2 Oregon	38	No. 3 Colorado	16	74,118	notes
January 3, 2003 BCS	No. 2 Ohio State	31	No. 1 Miami (Florida)	24 (2 OT)	77,502	notes
January 2, 2004	No. 7 Ohio State	35	No. 8 Kansas State	28	73,425	notes
January 1, 2005	No. 5 Utah	35	No. 19 Pittsburgh	7	73,519	notes
January 2, 2006	No. 4 Ohio State	34	No. 5 Notre Dame	20	76,196	notes
January 1, 2007	No. 9 Boise State	43	No. 7 Oklahoma	42 (OT)	73,719	notes
January 2, 2008	No. 11 West Virginia	48	No. 3 Oklahoma	28	70,016	notes
January 5, 2009	No. 3 Texas	24	No. 10 Ohio State	21	72,047	notes
January 4, 2010	No. 6 Boise State	17	No. 3 TCU	10	73,227	notes
January 1, 2011	No. 9 Oklahoma	48	No. 25 Connecticut	20	67,232	notes
January 2, 2012	No. 3 Oklahoma State	41	No. 4 Stanford	38 (OT)	69,927	notes
January 3, 2013	No. 5 Oregon	35	No. 7 Kansas State	17	70,242	notes
January 1, 2014	No. 15 UCF	52	No. 6 Baylor	42	65,172	notes
December 31, 2014	No. 21 Boise State	38	No. 12 Arizona	30	66,896	notes
January 1, 2016	No. 7 Ohio State	44	No. 8 Notre Dame	28	71,123	notes
December 31, 2016 CFP	No. 2 Clemson	31	No. 3 Ohio State	0	70,236	notes
December 30, 2017	No. 9 Penn State	35	No. 12 Washington	28	61,842	notes
January 1, 2019	No. 11 LSU	40	No. 7 UCF	32	69,927	notes
December 28, 2019 CFP	No. 3 Clemson	29	No. 2 Ohio State	23	71,330	notes
January 2, 2021	No. 12 Iowa State	34	No. 25 Oregon	17	0	notes
January 1, 2022	No. 9 Oklahoma State	37	No. 5 Notre Dame	35	49,550	notes
December 31, 2022 CFP	No. 3 TCU	51	No. 2 Michigan	45	71,723	notes
January 1, 2024	No. 8 Oregon	45	No. 18 Liberty	6	47,769	notes

Source: ^[37]

^BA Denotes Bowl Alliance Championship Game

^BCS Denotes BCS National Championship Game

^CFP Denotes College Football Playoff semifinal game

Future games

Main article: New Year's Six § Future games

MVPs

An offensive MVP and defensive MVP are selected for each game.

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

Date played MVPs Team Position 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 January 2, 2012 Justin Blackmon Oklahoma State WR Justin Gilbert Oklahoma State CB January 3, 2013 Marcus Mariota Oregon QB Michael Clay Oregon LB January 1, 2014 Blake Bortles UCF QB Terrance Plummer UCF LB December 31, 2014 Thomas Sperbeck Boise State WR Tanner Vallejo Boise State LB January 1, 2016 J. T. Barrett Ohio State QB Eli Apple Ohio State CB December 31, 2016 Deshaun Watson Clemson QB Clelin Ferrell Clemson DE December 30, 2017 Trace McSorley Penn State QB Marcus Allen Penn State S January 1, 2019 Joe Burrow LSU QB Rashard Lawrence LSU DL December 28, 2019 Trevor Lawrence Clemson QB Chad Smith Clemson LB January 2, 2021 Brock Purdy Iowa State QB O'Rien Vance Iowa State LB January 1, 2022 Spencer Sanders Oklahoma State QB Malcolm Rodriguez Oklahoma State LB December 31, 2022 [38] Quentin Johnston TCU WR Dee Winters TCU LB January 1, 2024 [39] Bo Nix Oregon QB Jeffrey Bassa Oregon LB

Most appearances

Updated through the January 2024 edition (53 games, 106 total appearances).

Rank Team Appearances Record Win pct. 1 Ohio State 9 5–4 .556 2 Penn State 7 7–0 1.000 T3 Arizona State 6 5–1 .833 T3 Nebraska 6 2–4 .333 T3 Notre Dame 6 1–5 .167 6 Oklahoma 5 2–3 .400 T7 Oregon 4 3–1 .750 T7 Florida State 4 2–2 .500 T7 Pittsburgh 4 1–3 .250 T7 Miami (Florida) 4 0–4 .000 T11 Boise State 3 3–0 1.000 T11 Oklahoma State 3 3–0 1.000 T11 Arizona 3 1–2 .333 T11 Colorado 3 1–2 .333 T11 Kansas State 3 1–2 .333 T11 Tennessee 3 1–2 .333

Rank Team Appearances Record Win pct. T17 Clemson 2 2–0 1.000 T17 UCLA 2 1–0–1 .750 T17 Michigan 2 1–1 .500 T17 Syracuse 2 1–1 .500 T17 Texas 2 1–1 .500 T17 UCF 2 1–1 .500 T17 West Virginia 2 1–1 .500 T17 TCU 2 1–1 .500

Teams with a single appearance

Won (5): Iowa State, LSU, Louisville, Oregon State, Utah
Lost (11): Alabama, Baylor, BYU, Connecticut, Florida, Liberty, Missouri, Stanford, USC, Washington, Wyoming
Tied (1): Arkansas

• As of 2023 ^[update] , Cal and Washington State are the only Pac-12 members that have not appeared in the game. Kansas, Texas A&M and Texas Tech are the only Big 12 or Big Eight members (current or former) that have not appeared in the game.

Appearances by conference

Updated through the January 2024 edition (53 games, 106 total appearances).

Conference	Record					Appearances by year
	Games	W	L	T	Win pct.	Won	Lost	Tied
Independents	21	10	11	0	.476	1977D, 1979D, 1980D, 1982, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992	1971D, 1973D, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1995, 2001, 2006, 2016, 2022
Big 12	15	8	7	0	.533	1997D, 2000, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2021, 2022, 2022D	1997, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2013, 2014
Pac-12	14	7	6	1	.536	1983, 1985, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2013, 2024	1979D, 1982, 2012, 2014D, 2017D, 2021	1978D
Big Ten	13	8	5	0	.615	1984, 1986, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2016, 2017D	1980D, 2009, 2016D, 2019D, 2022D
Big Eight	11	4	7	0	.364	1974D, 1976D, 1995, 1996	1972D, 1975D, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993
WAC	9	6	3	0	.667	1971D, 1972D, 1973D, 1975D, 2007, 2010	1974D, 1976D, 1977D
The American	9	3	6	0	.333	1993, 2008, 2014	1994, 1997D, 2003, 2005, 2011, 2019
SEC	6	2	4	0	.333	1999, 2019	1991, 1992, 1996, 2000
Mountain West	3	2	1	0	.667	2005, 2014D	2010
ACC	3	2	1	0	.667	2016D, 2019D	1999
SWC	1	0	0	1	.500			1978D
C-USA	1	0	1	0	.000		2024

• Games marked with an superscript D (^D) were played in December.
• Conferences that are defunct or no longer active in FBS are marked in italics.
• Records reflect conference affiliations at the time the game was played.
  • Several teams—such as Penn State and Miami (Florida)—have appeared both as an Independent and as a conference member.
• The Pac-12's record includes eight appearances (5–2–1) by teams when the conference was known as the Pac-10.
• Following the 2013 split of the original Big East along football lines, the FBS schools reorganized as the American Athletic Conference ("The American"), which retains the charter of the original Big East. Teams representing the Big East appeared in seven games, compiling a 2–5 record.

Game records

Team	Performance vs. Opponent	Year
Most points scored (both teams)	96, TCU (51) vs. Michigan (45)	Dec. 2022
Most points scored (one team)	62, Nebraska vs. Florida	1996
Most points scored (losing team)	45, Michigan vs. TCU	Dec. 2022
Fewest points allowed	0, Clemson (31) vs. Ohio State 0, Arizona (29) vs. Miami	2016 1994
Largest margin of victory	39, Oregon (45) vs. Liberty (6)	2024
First downs	34, Oklahoma State vs. Notre Dame	Jan. 2022
Rushing yards	524, Nebraska vs. Florida	1996
Passing yards	509, Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma State	Jan. 2022
Total yards	718, Arizona State vs. Missouri	1972
Fewest Rushing yards allowed	–28, Nebraska vs. Florida	1996
Fewest Passing yards allowed	23, Wyoming vs. Oklahoma	1976
Fewest Total yards allowed	155, Oregon State vs. Notre Dame	2001
Individual	Performance, Player, Team vs. Opponent	Year
Total offense	505, Jack Coan, Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma State (509 pass, –4 rush)	Jan. 2022
Rushing yards	245, Marcus Dupree, Oklahoma vs. Arizona State (17 att., 0 TD)	1983
Rushing TDs	4, Ezekiel Elliott, Ohio State vs. Notre Dame 4, Woody Green, Arizona State vs. Missouri	2016 1972
Passing yards	509, Jack Coan, Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma State	Jan. 2022
Passing TDs	5, Bo Nix, Oregon vs. Liberty 5, Jack Coan, Notre Dame vs. Oklahoma State 5, Peter Tom Willis, Florida State vs. Nebraska	2024 Jan. 2022 1990
Receiving yards	206, Darnell McDonald, Kansas State vs. Syracuse	1998
Receiving TDs	3, shared by four players
Tackles	18, Ted Johnson, Colorado vs. Notre Dame	1995
Sacks	3, shared by three players
Interceptions	3, Steve Smith, Oregon vs. Colorado	2002
Long plays	Performance, Player, Team vs. Opponent	Year
Touchdown run	92, Saquon Barkley, Penn State vs. Washington	2017
Touchdown pass	85, Troy Smith to Santonio Holmes, Ohio State vs. Notre Dame	2006
Kickoff return	100, shared by: Kirby Dar Dar, Syracuse vs. Colorado Mike Fink, Missouri vs. Arizona State	1993 1972
Punt return	68, shared by: Eddie Brown, Miami vs. UCLA Steve Holden, Arizona State vs. Florida State	1985 1971
Interception return	54, Dwayne Goodrich, Tennessee vs. Florida State	1999
Fumble return
Punt	66, Pat McAfee, West Virginia vs. Oklahoma	2008
Field goal	59, Jake Moody, Michigan vs. TCU	Dec. 2022

Source: ^[40]

Broadcasting

See also: Fiesta Bowl broadcasters

As of the 2010–11 season, the game along with the rest of the BCS and its successor, the College Football Playoff, exclusively airs on ESPN. ^[41] 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 to 2006, the game aired on ABC as part of the first BCS package, and from 1996 to 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.

In 2013, ESPN Deportes provided the first Spanish U.S. telecast of the Fiesta Bowl. ^[42]

References

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27. Fiesta Bowl fires CEO John Junker, March 29, 2011{{citation}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
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External links

• Official website