Fiesta Bowl

The Fiesta Bowl is one of the four major Bowl Championship Series bowl games. Every four years, it also hosts the BCS Championship Game. The game was first held at Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, from its inception in 1971 until 2006. Currently, the game is played at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.http://espn.go.com/ncf/topics/_/page/fiesta-bowl The game typically hosts the Big 12 Conference Champion, unless that team plays in the title game, against an at-large team from another conference.http://www.bcsfootball.org/news/story?id=4819597

In the 2010-11 college football season, the Fiesta Bowl featured the Oklahoma Sooners from the Big 12 playing winning 48-20 over the Connecticut Huskies from the Big East.http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=310010201 The game took place on January 1, 2011, at 8:30 p.m. EST and aired on ESPN. Oklahoma brought a seventh-place ranking in the BCS standings after going 11-2 in their 2010 season to win the Big 12 Conference. The Huskies finished with an 8-4 record, including going 5-2 against Big East opponents to share the Big East Championship.http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/preview?gameId=310010201

Also in 2011, the Fiesta Bowl hosts the 2011 BCS Championship Game on January 10, 2011, starting at 8:30 p.m. EST on ESPN. The top-ranked Auburn Tigers face the second-ranked Oregon Ducks.http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/preview?gameId=310100002

The Fiesta Bowl was initially organized as an outlet for Western Athletic Conference teams. Eventually, the game was able to attract top teams, specifically from the Big 8 Conference. In 1981, it became a New Year's Day bowl game. In 1986, they were able to secure the top-ranked Miami and second-ranked Penn State to play for a mythical national championship. Two years later, Notre Dame and West Virginia battled for the title.http://www.fiestabowl.org/index.php/tostitos/history/ Today, the Fiesta Bowl is considered one of the big four bowl games along with the Orange Bowl, Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl.http://www.bcsfootball.org/news/story?id=4819597

• 2010: Boise State 17 - TCU Horned Frogs 10http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/bowls/bowl_results.php?bowlid=103
• 2009: Texas 24 - Ohio State 21http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/bowls/bowl_results.php?bowlid=103
• 2008: West Virginia 48 - Oklahoma 28http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/bowls/bowl_results.php?bowlid=103
• 2007: Boise State 43 - Oklahoma 42http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/bowls/bowl_results.php?bowlid=103
• 2006: Ohio State 34 - Notre Dame 20http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/bowls/bowl_results.php?bowlid=103
• 2005: Utah 35 - Pittsburgh 7http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/bowls/bowl_results.php?bowlid=103
• 2004: Ohio State 35 - Kansas State 28http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/bowls/bowl_results.php?bowlid=103
• 2003: Ohio State 31 - Miami 24http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/bowls/bowl_results.php?bowlid=103
• 2002: Oregon 38 - Colorado 16http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/bowls/bowl_results.php?bowlid=103
• 2001: Oregon State 41 - Notre Dame 9http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/bowls/bowl_results.php?bowlid=103