OPENING KICKOFF Congratulations to Iowa State, our 2021 PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl champion. Now that it’s February, we plan for the year ahead and recognize Black History Month. Some of history’s most significant moments are honored during Black History Month. At the Fiesta Bowl, that includes celebrating the accomplishments of Dr. Morrison Warren, who was Fiesta Bowl President in 1981, becoming the first Black president of a Bowl game. Dr. Warren was a key figure in the Fiesta Bowl moving to January 1, a prime position we continue to hold proudly. He brought people together, from all walks of life, whether on the football field, in school hallways or at home as a father.
FIESTA BOWL ORGANIZATION NEWSLETTER
His legacy lives on through one of his sons, Kevin, who followed in his father’s footsteps to join the Fiesta Bowl Board of Directors in 2004, was named Big Ten Conference Commissioner in 2019, the first African-American to hold that position in a Power Five Conference, after serving as the first Black Chief Operating Officer of an NFL team, with the Minnesota Vikings. The Fiesta Bowl continues to promote diversity and seek where we can do more. This past year, alongside Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, we created an Empowering Diversity Scholarship program to provide resources for 16 minority students. As a partner of NACDA’s John McLendon Minority Foundation, we are honored to provide scholarship and educational opportunities and advocacy in college athletics. Moving forward, we are looking to offer an add-on program this Spring that would serve our next chapter of minority college athletics administrators and head coaches by connecting them with current industry leaders. Amidst the challenges, there is so much for us to celebrate and achieve. Thank you for being partners with the Fiesta Bowl in this journey together.
VOLUME 16
Mike Nealy Executive Director