Football Fiesta Bowl

The Fiesta Bowl is one of the six major College Football bowl games that takes place on or around January 1st. This group of six bowl games is known as the New Year’s Six. The game is currently held in the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. 

What is the Fiesta Bowl in Football?

The Fiesta Bowl is currently held in the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Fiesta Bowl has hosted a total of nine National Championship games in its history. Since 2014, the game has been part of the College Football Playoffs (CFP) alongside the Cotton Bowl, the Rose Bowl, the Orange Bowl, the Peach Bowl, and the Sugar Bowl. All those bowl games rotate to host one of two National College Football semi-finals every three years. The Fiesta Bowl hosted its first semi-final in 2016, and will again host the semifinal for the 2023 edition.

Different from other traditional bowl games, the Fiesta Bowl currently does not have any conference tie-ins. Whenever it is not hosting a College Football Playoff semi-final, a committee selects the teams that are going to play in the Fiesta Bowl. Being a very prestigious bowl game, matchups are always of a high-level with some of the nation’s best teams facing off at the Fiesta Bowl.

Basic Information:

• Stadium: State Farm Stadium
• Location: Glendale, Arizona
• First Game: 1971
• Conference Affiliation: N/A (Previously affiliated with the WAC)
• Most Appearances: Ohio State (9 appearances)
• Most Wins: Penn State (6 wins)

Fiesta Bowl 2022

The Fiesta Bowl will be held on December 31st, 2022, and will be played between the Michigan Wolverines and the TCU Horned Frogs. This year’s game will be a semi-final game in the College Football Playoff (CFP). The game will start at 2:00PM EST at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Ticket prices start at around $300 for 400 level seating and can cost over $1,000 for 100 level seats.

Fiesta Bowl History

The first Fiesta Bowl game was played on December 27th, 1971, where Arizona State defeated Florida State. The Fiesta Bowl was created as a way for teams in the Western Athletic (WAC) Conference to get an automatic bowl game bid. The idea came up after very competitive WAC teams failed to get invitations from important bowl games. With that, the event had a tie-in with the WAC, which lasted until 1978. Despite the end of the agreement with the WAC, the game kept the high level of its matchups, continuing to be very successful.

A tipping point in Fiesta Bowl history is considered to be the 1987 edition of the game. That year, Miami and Penn State were ranked as the first and second best teams in the country, and were not part of any conference, consequently not getting automatic bids to any bowl games. With that, the Fiesta Bowl hosted both teams in an exciting matchup to determine the best team in the country. Penn State won the game 14-10.

The Fiesta Bowl was held at the Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, from its inception in 1971 until 2006. In 2007, the game started to be played at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona (formerly known as the University of Phoenix Stadium).

Winning the Fiesta Bowl

The Fiesta Bowl is considered to be one of the six major bowls in college football; making “Fiesta Bowl Champions” a very desired title by coaches and players. The winner of the Fiesta Bowl takes home a pay-out of $18 million and a very unique prize: the Fiesta Bowl trophy. The trophy was made to be unique, with remarkable detailing and colors. The trophy is also very heavy and was designed with a removable football on top that allows Fiesta Bowl winners to raise their prize (or at least part of it) when celebrating their victory. Some teams that have won the Fiesta Bowl are Penn State, Notre Dame, and Syracuse.

Fiesta Bowl Conference Tie-Ins

The Fiesta Bowl was originally created as a bowl game that guaranteed an invitation to the champion of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). This conference affiliation lasted from the first Fiesta Bowl in 1971 until 1978. From 1978 until 2014, the Fiesta Bowl hosted two of the top teams in the nation that were not invited to other major bowls. When the College Football Playoff (CFP) was introduced in 2014, the Fiesta Bowl made it into the rotation of semi final hosts.

FAQ