Opening Kickoff February is a month of celebrations. We celebrate love for others on Valentine’s Day and celebrate the many accomplishments from the Black community as part of Black History Month. One of college football’s most memorable moments came when Boise State’s Ian Johnson proposed to his girlfriend after the running back scored on the famous Statue of Liberty play to seal Boise State’s upset win over Oklahoma. The Fiesta Bowl is proud to be a leader and be a “Bowl of Firsts.” We are honored to have the first Black president of a Bowl game when Dr. Morrison Warren presided in 1982, also our first time playing the Bowl on January 1. His son Kevin became a Fiesta
FIESTA BOWL ORGAN I Z AT I O N N E WS L E T T ER
Bowl Board member 20 years later and in 2020 was the first Black individual to be Commissioner of a Power 5 college athletics conference, when he was hired by the Big Ten Conference. In the same decade as Dr. Warren’s historic achievement, the Fiesta Bowl hosted the 1989 National Championship between Notre Dame and West Virginia. On top of its high stakes, it was the first time that two Black quarterbacks played one another for the National Title. The Irish’s Tony Rice (who went on to be Offensive MVP) led No. 1 Notre Dame and Major Harris was the starting quarterback for the Mountaineers. Our efforts to help create historic change come through in several forms – scholarships, mentoring, grant funding and programs. You are an important part of the Fiesta Bowl family, and we thank you for your partnership in assisting us serve our community across the board. We are Fiesta!
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