Opening Kickoff October is well known for Halloween and the beautiful weather that Fall brings across the country. At the Fiesta Bowl, October will be known for the flurry of events we stage to enhance the lives of Arizonans. Our actions this month are focused on delivering on our mission. Our staff, volunteers and partners will be: • Building a new playground in Mesa • Hosting a Youth Football Clinic that will build life skills for children who might not otherwise have the opportunity • Staging the Par 3 Challenge that benefits our community through Fiesta Bowl Charities
FIESTA BOWL ORGAN I Z AT I O N N E WS L E T T ER
• Celebrating volunteers over our 50-year history with a party at Sun Devil Stadium (where it all started in 1971) Arizona is well known for its golf. The PNC Fiesta Bowl Par 3 Challenge presented by Chapman Automotive has emerged into an expanded and sold-out event. With three full days of morning and afternoon tee times, prizes on every hole and a hole-in-one shot to win $1 million, this is one of Arizona’s most sought-after golf experiences. As you read through the newsletter, you will learn more about our community impact and service. With one of the events this month commemorating our 50-year history, we carry on the mantra our Founders started in 1971 when they proclaimed the Fiesta Bowl would be “the state’s largest and most important community effort in history.” Every day is an opportunity for us to make a difference in people’s lives through our actions. Thank you for your contributions in our quest to do just that. We are Fiesta!
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NEWS & NOTES Let’s build a playground Fiesta Bowl Charities, along with partners SRP and KABOOM!, will build a new, innovative 2,000 square-foot playground at A New Leaf in Mesa from October 6-8. This is the 10th location for a Fiesta Bowl Charities playground legacy project over the last five years. If you wish to volunteer at any time over the three days, please let us know at charities@fiestabowl.org and help make a dream become reality. Earlier this year, children from the surrounding community created the concept of their dream play space and shared their artwork with project organizers. The drawings were used as inspiration for the playground design. VOLUNTEER NOW
Buckeye board member The Fiesta Bowl Organization has added one of the country’s highestregarded Directors of Athletics to its Board of Directors, with longtime Ohio State and former Arizona State athletics chief Gene Smith joining the organization’s highest level of volunteer leadership. Now in his 17th year leading the athletics department at Ohio State, Smith has been a key player in some of college athletics’ biggest initiatives. He cochaired the NCAA’s Federal State Legislative Working Group that guided the NCAA on name, image and likeness, served on the College Football Playoff Selection Committee, was a member of the NCAA’s Management Council, the Committee on Infractions, the Executive Committee, the Football Rules Committee and the President’s Commission Liaison Committee. READ MORE
PG 2
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TICKETS, WHO NEEDS TICKETS? The PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl has been played in front of full crowds for some of the most memorable college football moments. Ticket sales have begun to kick off New Year’s Day 2022 in style! Hot off our 50th Anniversary game, this year’s PlayStation Fiesta Bowl will be on Saturday, January 1, 2022, with tickets available at FiestaBowl.org/Tickets. By buying now, you receive the benefits of purchasing early by securing your preferred seat location for what will be the top college football matchup in the state of Arizona and locking in your seat location for the 2022 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl. The highly-anticipated Guaranteed Rate Bowl, featuring Bowl Season’s only matchup between members of the Big 12 and Big Ten Conferences, kicks off on Tuesday, December 28, at 8:15 p.m. MST. The game will be televised live on ESPN to a nationwide television and streaming audience. Tickets for the Guaranteed Rate Bowl are now available, with entry prices beginning at $35. Get in now before it’s too late! BUY NOW
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PG 3
NEWS & NOTES YOUTH FOOTBALL CLINIC Registration is now open for the Arizona Milk Producers Fiesta Bowl Youth Football Clinic, so please share with your network for children ages 7-14. The event will once again be held at the Salvation Army KROC Center, starting at 9 a.m. on Saturday, October 23. This FREE, non-contact clinic will teach participants more than just the fundamentals of football. Attendees will spend the day learning, practicing and going through various drills led by former ACC Player of the Year and NFL standout Andre Wadsworth, while developing confidence, a strong work ethic and motivation that will help them succeed on and off the field! LEARN MORE
HELPING TEENS GET BACK ON TRACK WITH GRADUATION ALLIANCE For many students, the past year of educational transitions has been difficult. Some have struggled, some have fallen behind, while others have simply disappeared from the rolls. To help re-engage students, the Arizona Governor’s Office of Education has committed funds through a partnership with Graduation Alliance, an organization known nationwide for providing academic and socialemotional support for at-risk learners. The Fiesta Bowl Organization, known for honoring, celebrating and supporting educators in its 50-year history, is helping with the initiative. The new partnership, known as ENGAGE Arizona, is available to students who are struggling or disengaged, providing each with an academic coach to work with them on a plan to get back on track for summer learning and for the Fall of 2021 school year. LEARN MORE
PG 4
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GOLDEN ANNIVERSARY Nine community leaders achieved their dreams to create the Fiesta Bowl, with the NCAA granting a charter on April 26, 1971, to make the Fiesta Bowl the 12th bowl in college football’s postseason. To celebrate that historic moment, a special website FiestaBowl.org/Fiesta50 was created to highlight the Bowl’s storied history. Please visit the site to enjoy inside stories and to re-live some of the greatest moments that college football has ever seen.
RELIVE HISTORY
F I E S TA B O W L . O R G
PG 5
VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT
LINDA RONDEAU Ambassador First Year as Volunteer: 2017
very worthy organization that gives so much back to the community along with providing me new friends and many fun moments in a sports environment.
First Year as Ambassador: 2017 Favorite Fiesta Bowl Game: The 49th PlayStation® Fiesta Bowl Game between Clemson vs. Ohio State. It was fun to have the opportunity to watch Trevor Lawrence play in person, knowing he was soon going to have a very promising NFL career. Favorite Fiesta Bowl Moment: Being able to include my father (now 97) these past few years with the Team Arrivals and Team Departures. It has been great father and daughter time together during the holiday week and without my involvement an experience he would not otherwise have. Why I Serve the Fiesta Bowl: I became aware of the Fiesta Bowl volunteer opportunities through my volunteer efforts at the 2017 Final Four. I felt that the Fiesta Bowl would allow me the opportunity to support a PG 6
Favorite Job: Participating in the Desert Financial Fiesta Bowl Kindness Arizona Tour in March where we supported local organizations with cheer and lending a hand in some of their projects. It was a great opportunity to learn more about some of the organizations that assist others in need and how important these random acts of kindness were in supporting their causes. Interesting fact: I once went parasailing. The line took me up 500 feet! It was exciting and scary at the same time, though I can’t believe that when I got up that high, all I could focus on was how I would perform a perfect swan dive if I fell. I later realized that was VERY wishful thinking.
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NEWSWORTHY
THE BAR IS NOW OPEN AT MORE COLLEGE FOOTBALL STADIUMS WALL STREET JOURNAL
OHIO STATE AD NAMED TO FIESTA BOWL BOARD OF DIRECTORS SATURDAY TRADITION
BRETT MCMURPHY PROJECTS BYU TO THE FIESTA BOWL SI.COM
F I E S TA B O W L . O R G
FIESTA BOWL PROGRAM HELPS TEACHERS
KGUN9 TUCSON
FIESTA BOWL PARADE BALLOONS TAKEN OUT OF STORAGE FOR CLEANING, TESTING FOX10 PHOENIX
CHARITY SPOTLIGHT: CHILDREN’S CANCER NETWORK FIESTABOWL.ORG
PG 7
CONTACT US
S C OTT L E IGH TMAN
S E N IO R DIRECTOR OF COMMUN ICATION S 4 8 0 - 5 1 7 - 6 2 9 1 | SL EIGH TMAN @ FIESTABOWL .ORG
AL E X NASH
CO M M UN ICATION S & SOCIAL MED IA MAN AGER 4 8 0 - 3 5 0 - 0 9 2 5 | AN ASH @ FIESTABOWL .ORG
FOLLOW US
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