| 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) | |
TheFiesta Bowl is an annual Americancollege footballbowl game played annually in thePhoenix metropolitan area since 1971.
From its beginning until 2006, the game was hosted atSun Devil Stadium inTempe, Arizona. Since 2007, the game has been played atState Farm Stadium inGlendale, Arizona. Since 2022, it has been sponsored byVrbo and officially known as theVrbo Fiesta Bowl.[2] Previous sponsors includePlayStation (December 2016–2022),BattleFrog (January 2016),[3]Vizio (December 2014),[4][5][6]Tostitos (1996–January 2014),IBM (1993–1995) andSunkist (1986–1990).
Unlike other major bowls, the Fiesta Bowl has not always had major conference tie-ins. For the first nine editions, theWestern Athletic Conference champion was invited to the bowl. In 1997, the Fiesta Bowl agreed to invite the champion of the newly-formedBig 12 Conference; the tie-in continued until 2014 when the Big 12 tie-in moved to theSugar Bowl. During the late 1980s, the Fiesta Bowl used its lack of tie-ins to create twode facto national championship games betweenindependents or teams from conferences without mandatory bowl obligations. These national championship games increased the Fiesta Bowl's stature among bowl games.
Beginning in1992, the Fiesta Bowl joined with several other bowls to create theBowl Coalition in an effort to produce anundisputed national champion in college football. It subsequently was part of theBowl Alliance andBowl Championship Series. From 1992 to 2006, the Fiesta Bowl served as the national championship game of these systems in1996,1999, and2002. The Phoenix metropolitan area and the Fiesta Bowl Committee hosted theBCS National Championship Game in2007 and2011 in addition to the regular Fiesta Bowl game.
In2014, the Fiesta Bowl, along with the "New Year's Six" bowls, became a part of theCollege Football Playoff. As part of the four team playoff from 2014 to2023, the Fiesta Bowl served as a semifinal game in2016,2019, and2022.
With the expansion of the College Football Playoff to twelve teams in the2024–25 season, the Fiesta Bowl will serve as either a quarterfinal or semifinal each year. It served as a quarterfinal for the2024 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 theCOVID-19 pandemic.[9] Jim Barnett has been the public address announcer at the Fiesta Bowl since the game moved to Glendale in2007, and, in his capacity as PA announcer at State Farm Stadium, has served as the pregame announcer ofSuper BowlsXLII,XLIX andLVII
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The Fiesta Bowl was born from theWestern Athletic Conference's frustrated attempts to obtain bowl invitations for its champions. In1968 and1969 respectively, championsWyoming andArizona State failed to secure any bowl selection. Thenext year, undefeated Arizona State was bypassed by the major bowls and had to settle for an appearance in the less prestigiousPeach Bowl. The Fiesta Bowl therefore initially provided an automatic berth for the WAC champion.
In its first decade of existence, the Fiesta Bowl was played in the last week of December (including the afternoon ofChristmas Day from 1976 to 1979). The 1971 inaugural game featured another top-ten Arizona State squad against top-twenty opponentFlorida State. The 1974 game featured WAC champBYU and their new coach, future Hall of Fame memberLaVell Edwards in their first-ever bowl game vs. Oklahoma State. BYU was in control until BYU's first All-American quarterbackGary Sheide went down with a leg injury and eventually lost 16–6. By 1975, the game was able to attractBig Eight co-championNebraska 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 inPenn State, despite WAC champion #16BYU refusing to play in the bowl due to its being held on Sunday.
In 1978,Arizona and Arizona State both joined thePac-10 Conference and the Fiesta Bowl's tie-in with the WAC ended, so its champ went to the newly inauguratedHoliday Bowl. From then until the advent of theBowl Coalition in 1992, Fiesta Bowl matchups typically featured runners-up of major conferences and/or major independents.
The game continued to attract high quality matchups. Beginning with the1981 season, it shifted toNew Year's Day alongside the major bowl games—theCotton,Orange,Sugar, andRose. 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 corporatetitle sponsor, via an agreement withSunkist Growers in September 1985, making the game the "Sunkist Fiesta Bowl" starting with theJanuary 1986 edition.[10][11] TheTangerine 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.[12]
A major breakthrough occurred after the1986 season when the top two teams in the country,Miami andPenn State, agreed to play for thede factonational 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 wereindependents at that time, and were thus free to choose a bowl. As such, the Fiesta Bowl and theFlorida 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 andthe 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 won14–10, and the game drew the largest television audience in the history of college football at the time. Two years later, #1Notre Dame played undefeated #3West Virginia for the national championship at the1989 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. The1988 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 theRose Bowl, which had switched networks toABC.
Before the1991 game, several major universities declined invitations due to theState of Arizona's decision at that time not to adopt theMartin Luther King Holiday. However, in1992, the Fiesta Bowl was invited to participate in theBowl Coalition, a predecessor to theBowl 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 theBowl 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 #1Nebraska playing undefeated #2Florida 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 theBig Ten andPac-10 conferences to the newBowl Championship Series, the Fiesta Bowl became a permanent fixture in the four-yearBCS National Championship Game rotation. In1998, the Fiesta Bowl featured the firstBCS National Championship Game, whichTennessee won over Florida State, 23–16.
Starting with the 1999 season, theBig 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.
In2002, theFiesta Bowl had the right to take the Pac-10 Conference Champion, should that team not reach theRose 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 the2006 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 championTexas and Pac-10 championSouthern California qualified for the National Championship Game (USC's participation has since been vacated).[13]
The BCS National Championship game returned to theFiesta Bowl in2003 with the Big Ten championsOhio State Buckeyes beating the Big East championsMiami 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 firstBCS bowl to have had a team from outside the automatic qualifying (AQ) BCS conferences (theBig 12,Big Ten,Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC),Southeastern Conference (SEC),Pac-10,Big East, andNotre Dame). The2005 game saw undefeatedUtah from theMountain West Conference become the first BCS non-AQ school ever to play in a BCS game, easily defeatingBig East championPittsburgh 35–7.
In2007, the Fiesta Bowl game was played for the first time at the new then-namedUniversity of Phoenix Stadium inGlendale, across thePhoenix metropolitan area from Sun Devil Stadium. The undefeatedBoise State Broncos won by defeating theOklahoma Sooners 43–42 inovertime. It has been calledone 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.[14]
The2010 Fiesta Bowl featured #6Boise State defeating #4TCU, 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 the2012 Fiesta Bowl,Oklahoma State defeatedStanford 41–38. Notable players includedBrandon Weeden andJustin Blackmon for Oklahoma State, andAndrew Luck for Stanford.
In November 2016,PlayStation was announced as the bowl's new title sponsor.[15]
TheDecember 2016,December 2019, andDecember 2022 editions served as a semifinal for theCollege Football Playoff. The Fiesta Bowl will host a semifinal, alongside thePeach Bowl, again in 2025 and 2028.
The50th edition of the Fiesta Bowl featured #10Iowa State defeating #25Oregon Ducks, 34–17. The game was behind closed doors due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in Arizona, with only players' family members admitted. In the2022 Fiesta Bowl,Oklahoma State rallied from a 28–7 deficit late in the second quarter to defeatNotre Dame, 37–35. In theDecember edition of that game (which was also a CFP semifinal), #3TCU defeated #2Michigan, 51–45, the highest scoring game in Fiesta Bowl history, and the second-highest scoring CFP semifinal game.
In 1996, a group of students fromBrigham 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.[16] This came after #5 ranked BYU was not invited to play in the1997 Fiesta Bowl in favor of #7 ranked Penn State. This event is one of those referred to by proponents ofcollege football implementing a playoff series rather than the controversialBowl Alliance.Penn State went on to win the game over #20 Texas, 38–15, while BYU defeated #14 Kansas State in theCotton Bowl Classic, 19–15.[17]
For the2010 Fiesta Bowl, the selections ofTCU andBoise State caused a great deal of controversy. For the first and only time in theBCS era, twoBCS 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",[18] the "Quarantine Bowl", the "Fiasco Bowl", the "BCS Kids' Table",[19] etc. Some had called for a boycott because of this arrangement.[20] 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, asBoise State had done in the2007 Fiesta Bowl andUtah had done in the2005 Fiesta Bowl and2009 Sugar Bowl (prior to the game, non-AQ teams were 3–1 versus AQ teams in BCS bowls).[19][21] 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."[22] Beyond the unappealing nature of a major bowl contest with two programs then perceived asunderdogs, the appeal was further diminished as it was a rematch of the2008 Poinsettia Bowl from the previous bowl season.
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 fourBCS 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.[23] Furthermore, as a non-profit organization, the Fiesta Bowl is prohibited from making political contributions of any kind.[24] 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."[25]
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.[26] 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.[27] 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.[28] 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.[29][30] The BCS ultimately chose not to expel the Fiesta Bowl, instead fining the organization $1 million.
In June 2011University of Arizona president Robert Shelton was hired to replace Junker.[31] On February 22, 2012, former CEO John Junker pleaded guilty to a federalfelony charge in the campaign financing matter, and two members of his former staff pleaded guilty tomisdemeanor charges.[32] 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.[33][34] On March 13, 2014, Junker was sentenced to eight months in prison, with the sentence starting on June 13, 2014;[35] he was released on February 11, 2015.[36] On March 20, 2014, Junker was sentenced to three years of probation on state charges.[37]
One of the Fiesta Bowl events, the annual Fiesta Bowl Parade, takes place in downtownPhoenix. It features marching bands from high schools as well as the two universities participating in the Fiesta Bowl, and the two universities participating in theCactus 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 includedCindy McCain and the marching band fromSalem High School inSalem, New Hampshire, which was the group that had traveled the farthest for the parade.
All rankings are taken from theAP poll (inaugurated in1936), before each game was played.Italics denote a tie game.
| Date played | Winning team | Losing team | OT | Attendance | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 27, 1971 | No. 8Arizona State | 45 | Florida State | 38 | — | 51,089 | notes |
| December 23, 1972 | No. 15Arizona State | 49 | Missouri | 35 | — | 51,318 | notes |
| December 21, 1973 | No. 10Arizona State | 28 | Pittsburgh | 7 | — | 50,878 | notes |
| December 28, 1974 | Oklahoma State | 16 | No. 17BYU | 6 | — | 50,878 | notes |
| December 26, 1975 | No. 7Arizona State | 17 | No. 6Nebraska | 14 | — | 51,396 | notes |
| December 25, 1976 | No. 8Oklahoma | 41 | Wyoming | 7 | — | 48,174 | notes |
| December 25, 1977 | No. 8Penn State | 42 | No. 15Arizona State | 30 | — | 57,727 | notes |
| December 25, 1978 | No. 8Arkansas | 10 | No. 15UCLA | 10 | — | 55,227 | notes |
| December 25, 1979 | No. 10Pittsburgh | 16 | Arizona | 10 | — | 55,347 | notes |
| December 26, 1980 | No. 10Penn State | 31 | No. 11Ohio State | 19 | — | 66,738 | notes |
| January 1, 1982 | No. 7Penn State | 26 | No. 8USC | 10 | — | 71,053 | notes |
| January 1, 1983 | No. 11Arizona State | 32 | No. 12Oklahoma | 21 | — | 70,533 | notes |
| January 2, 1984 | No. 14Ohio State | 28 | No. 15Pittsburgh | 23 | — | 66,484 | notes |
| January 1, 1985 | No. 14UCLA | 39 | No. 13Miami (Florida) | 37 | — | 60,310 | notes |
| January 1, 1986 | No. 5Michigan | 27 | No. 7Nebraska | 23 | — | 72,454 | notes |
| January 2, 1987 | No. 2Penn State | 14 | No. 1Miami (Florida) | 10 | — | 73,098 | notes |
| January 1, 1988 | No. 3Florida State | 31 | No. 5Nebraska | 28 | — | 72,112 | notes |
| January 2, 1989 | No. 1Notre Dame | 34 | No. 3West Virginia | 21 | — | 74,911 | notes |
| January 1, 1990 | No. 5Florida State | 41 | No. 6Nebraska | 17 | — | 73,953 | notes |
| January 1, 1991 | No. 18Louisville | 34 | No. 25Alabama | 7 | — | 69,098 | notes |
| January 1, 1992 | No. 6Penn State | 42 | No. 10Tennessee | 17 | — | 71,133 | notes |
| January 1, 1993 | No. 6Syracuse | 26 | No. 10Colorado | 22 | — | 70,224 | notes |
| January 1, 1994 | No. 16Arizona | 29 | No. 10Miami (Florida) | 0 | — | 72,260 | notes |
| January 2, 1995 | No. 4Colorado | 41 | Notre Dame | 24 | — | 73,968 | notes |
| January 2, 1996BA | No. 1Nebraska | 62 | No. 2Florida | 24 | — | 79,864 | notes |
| January 1, 1997 | No. 7Penn State | 38 | No. 20Texas | 15 | — | 65,106 | notes |
| December 31, 1997 | No. 10Kansas State | 35 | No. 14Syracuse | 18 | — | 69,367 | notes |
| January 4, 1999BCS | No. 1Tennessee | 23 | No. 2Florida State | 16 | — | 80,470 | notes |
| January 2, 2000 | No. 3Nebraska | 31 | No. 6Tennessee | 21 | — | 71,526 | notes |
| January 1, 2001 | No. 5Oregon State | 41 | No. 10Notre Dame | 9 | — | 75,428 | notes |
| January 1, 2002 | No. 2Oregon | 38 | No. 3Colorado | 16 | — | 74,118 | notes |
| January 3, 2003BCS | No. 2Ohio State | 31 | No. 1Miami (Florida) | 24 | (2OT) | 77,502 | notes |
| January 2, 2004 | No. 7Ohio State | 35 | No. 8Kansas State | 28 | — | 73,425 | notes |
| January 1, 2005 | No. 5Utah | 35 | No. 19Pittsburgh | 7 | — | 73,519 | notes |
| January 2, 2006 | No. 4Ohio State | 34 | No. 5Notre Dame | 20 | — | 76,196 | notes |
| January 1, 2007 | No. 9Boise State | 43 | No. 7Oklahoma | 42 | (OT) | 73,719 | notes |
| January 2, 2008 | No. 11West Virginia | 48 | No. 3Oklahoma | 28 | — | 70,016 | notes |
| January 5, 2009 | No. 3Texas | 24 | No. 10Ohio State | 21 | — | 72,047 | notes |
| January 4, 2010 | No. 6Boise State | 17 | No. 3TCU | 10 | — | 73,227 | notes |
| January 1, 2011 | No. 9Oklahoma | 48 | No. 25Connecticut | 20 | — | 67,232 | notes |
| January 2, 2012 | No. 3Oklahoma State | 41 | No. 4Stanford | 38 | (OT) | 69,927 | notes |
| January 3, 2013 | No. 5Oregon | 35 | No. 7Kansas State | 17 | — | 70,242 | notes |
| January 1, 2014 | No. 15UCF | 52 | No. 6Baylor | 42 | — | 65,172 | notes |
| December 31, 2014 | No.21Boise State | 38 | No.12Arizona | 30 | — | 66,896 | notes |
| January 1, 2016 | No. 7Ohio State | 44 | No. 8Notre Dame | 28 | — | 71,123 | notes |
| December 31, 2016SF | No.3Clemson | 31 | No.2Ohio State | 0 | — | 70,236 | notes |
| December 30, 2017 | No. 9Penn State | 35 | No.12Washington | 28 | — | 61,842 | notes |
| January 1, 2019 | No. 11LSU | 40 | No.7UCF | 32 | — | 69,927 | notes |
| December 28, 2019SF | No. 3Clemson | 29 | No. 2Ohio State | 23 | — | 71,330 | notes |
| January 2, 2021 | No.12Iowa State | 34 | No. 25Oregon | 17 | — | 0 | notes |
| January 1, 2022 | No. 9Oklahoma State | 37 | No. 5Notre Dame | 35 | — | 49,550 | notes |
| December 31, 2022SF | No. 3TCU | 51 | No. 2Michigan | 45 | — | 71,723 | notes |
| January 1, 2024 | No. 8Oregon | 45 | No. 18Liberty | 6 | — | 47,769 | notes |
| December 31, 2024QF | No.5Penn State | 31 | No.8Boise State | 14 | — | 63,854 | notes |
Source:[38]
An offensive MVP and defensive MVP are selected for each game.
|
|
Updated through the December 2024 edition (54 games, 108 total appearances).
|
|
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
Updated through the December 2024 edition (54 games, 108 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 | |
| Big Ten | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 1984, 1986, 1997, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2016, 2017D, 2024D | 1980D, 2009, 2016D, 2019D, 2022D | |
| Pac-12 | 14 | 7 | 6 | 1 | .536 | 1983, 1985, 1994, 2001, 2002, 2013, 2024 | 1979D, 1982, 2012, 2014D, 2017D, 2021 | 1978D |
| 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 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | .500 | 2005, 2014D | 2010, 2024D | |
| ACC | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | .667 | 2016D, 2019D | 1999 | |
| SWC | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .500 | 1978D | ||
| C-USA | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 2024 | ||
| 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: Darnell McDonald, Kansas State vs. SyracuseJustin Blackmon, Oklahoma State vs. StanfordTay Martin, Oklahoma State vs. Notre Dame | 1998 20122022 |
| 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 toSantonio Holmes, Ohio State vs. Notre Dame | 2006 |
| Kickoff return | 100, shared by: Kirby Dar Dar, Syracuse vs. Colorado Mike Fink, Missouri vs. Arizona State D'Anthony Thomas, Oregon vs. Kansas State | 1993 1972 2013 |
| 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 | 31, Tony Bouie, Arizona vs. Miami (FL) | 1994 |
| Punt | 66,Pat McAfee, West Virginia vs. Oklahoma | 2008 |
| Field goal | 59,Jake Moody, Michigan vs. TCU | Dec. 2022 |
Source:[42]
As of the 2010–11 season, the game along with the rest of the BCS and its successor, the College Football Playoff, exclusively airs onESPN.[43] From 2007 through 2010,Fox telecast the game along with the other BCS games – theSugar Bowl,Orange Bowl, andBCS National Championship Game from 2006 though 2009, while only theRose Bowl and the2010 BCS National Championship Game aired onABC 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 onCBS 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.[44]
