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| 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 | |
| Previous conference tie-ins | |
| Payout | US$17 million (As of 2009[update])[1] |
| Website | fiestabowl.org |
| Sponsors | |
| |
| Former names | |
| |
| 2023 matchup | |
| Oregon vs. Liberty (Oregon 45–6) | |
| 2024 matchup | |
| Penn State vs. Boise State (Penn State 31–14) | |
The Fiesta Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played annually in the Phoenix metropolitan area since 1971.
From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been played at 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).
Unlike other major bowls, the Fiesta Bowl has not always had major conference tie-ins. For the first nine editions, the Western Athletic Conference champion was invited to the bowl. In 1997, the Fiesta Bowl agreed to invite the champion of the newly-formed Big 12 Conference; the tie in would continue until 2014 when the Big 12 tie-in moved to the Sugar Bowl. During the late 1980s, the Fiesta Bowl used its lack of tie-ins to create two de facto national championship games between independents or teams from conferences without mandatory bowl obligations. These national championship games increased the Fiesta Bowl's stature among bowl games.
Beginning in 1992, the Fiesta Bowl joined with several other bowls to create the Bowl Coalition in an effort to produce an undisputed national champion in college football. It would subsequently participate in the Bowl Alliance and Bowl Championship Series. From 1992 to 2006, the Orange Bowl served as the national championship game of these systems in 1996, 1999, and 2002. The Phoenix metropolitan area and the Fiesta Bowl Committee hosted the BCS National Championship Game in 2007 and 2011 in addition to the regular Fiesta Bowl game.
In 2014, the Fiesta Bowl, along with the "New Year's Six" bowls, became a part of the College Football Playoff. As part of the four team playoff from 2014 to 2023, the Orange Bowl served as a semifinal game in 2016, 2019, and 2022.
With the expansion of the College Football Playoff to twelve teams in the 2024–25 season, the Fiesta Bowl will serve as either a quarterfinal or semifinal each year. It served as a quarterfinal for the 2024 season and will serve as a semifinal for the 2025 season. When serving as a semifinal, the game will be played one week after New Year's Day.[7]
The Fiesta Bowl has donated over $12 million to charity.[8] In 2020, it donated $1 million in emergency relief during the COVID-19 pandemic.[9]
- ^ "Real Insight. Real Fans. Real Conversations". The Sporting News. Archived from the original on December 19, 2008. Retrieved 2012-11-28.
- ^ "VRBO BECOMES NEW TITLE PARTNER FOR NEWLY-NAMED VRBO FIESTA BOWL". Retrieved July 25, 2022.
- ^ "BattleFrog Announced as Title Sponsor of 45th Annual Fiesta Bowl" (Press release). Fiesta Bowl. December 4, 2015. Archived from the original on December 8, 2015. Retrieved December 31, 2015.
- ^ "Vizio to sponsor Fiesta Bowl".
- ^ "Fiesta Bowl Announces VIZIO Partnership" (Press release). Fiesta Bowl. September 28, 2014. Archived from the original on October 30, 2014. Retrieved September 28, 2014.
- ^ "Fiesta Bowl, Cactus Bowl both looking for new naming rights sponsors". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved 2015-05-05.
- ^ "About the 12-Team College Football Playoff Format". College Football Playoff. Retrieved 2024-12-27.
- ^ Hobson, Will. "He runs one amateur football game per year. He makes more than $1 million - NY Daily News". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2018-12-30.
- ^ Harker, Victoria (2020-04-21). "Most charitable bowl in nation focuses on youth programs during COVID-19". Chamber Business News. Retrieved 2020-07-23.