2014 Fiesta Bowl logo. Photo courtesy of Fiesta Bowl.Β 

My lasting concern about the Fiesta Bowl was the excessive spending on unnecessary items. For example, bowl volunteers had eight vans available until midnight with which to shuttle reporters to a place of their choice: golf courses, movie theaters, or a late-night pizza run. That’s absurd. The Boise State marching band, about 200 strong, arrived via bus, a 950-mile journey, paid for by the Fiesta Bowl (that is, ESPN). Each school was required to use 150 rooms for six nights at tony Scottsdale resorts as part of the Fiesta Bowl contract, and another 125 rooms for three nights when support staff arrived later. There is so much TV money in college sports it is scary.Β 


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