The Fiesta Bowl

The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl is one of the most popular college football bowl games to be played in the United States. Originating in 1971, the Fiesta Bowl has been a member of the College Football Playoffs (CFP) since 2014. However, they have also been a part of Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, and Bowl Championship Series (BCS) in the past.

The first Fiesta Bowl game was played on December 27, 1971, between the Florida State Seminoles and the Arizona State Sun Devils. The early years of the Fiesta Bowl saw the game being played in the Sun Devil Stadium. However, the location of the game has changed to State Farm Stadium since 2007. The 2024-2025 edition of the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl game took place on December 31, 2024, with the Penn State Nittany Lions facing off against the Boise State Broncos. The Penn State Nittany Lions won the Fiesta Bowl 31-14 against the Boise State Broncos.

Fiesta Bowl History

The beginning of the Fiesta Bowl can be traced to the Western Athletic Conference wanted its 1968 and 1969 champions to be invited to bowl games, as per NCAA Football. This resulted in the creation of the Fiesta Bowl which played its first game on December 27, 1971. Notably, the Fiesta Bowl saw the battle for the national championship for the first time in 1987 when the Penn State Nittany Lions defeated the Miami Hurricanes to become the national champions. The Fiesta Bowl also saw controversy in 1991, when various colleges refused to participate in it as the state of Arizona did not recognize the Martin Luther King Holiday, as per NCAA Football.

This was followed by the Fiesta Bowl playing its first Bowl Championship Series game in 1999, in which the Tennessee Volunteers defeated the Florida State Seminoles to win the game. The 2007 version of the Fiesta Bowl game has been considered to be one of the greatest college football games. In this game, the Boise State Broncos defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 43-42. This was also the first Fiesta Bowl game to be played at State Farm Stadium (then called University of Phoenix Stadium).

In modern times, the Fiesta Bowl hosted College Football Playoff (CFP) games in the 2016, 2019 and 2022 seasons. Additionally, the Fiesta Bowl also celebrated its 50th edition in 2020, which was played behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fiesta Bowl Game Schedule 2024

The 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl game took place on December 31, 2024, at 5:30 pm at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, United States as per the Fiesta Bowl official site. The Penn State Nittany Lions and the Boise State Broncos faced off against each other at the game. Penn State won the game 31-14.

Fiesta Bowl Game Time

The Vrbo Fiesta Bowl game for the 2024-2025 season started at 5:30 pm at State Farm Stadium on December 31, 2024, as per the Fiesta Bowl official site.

Fiesta Bowl Teams Qualified for 2024

The following teams competed in the 2024 Vrbo Fiesta Bowl game-

Penn State Nittany Lions

The Penn State Nittany Lions are one of the teams that have qualified for the Fiesta Bowl game for the 2024-2025 season. Presently seeded at No. 6, the team has gained victory against the SMU Mustangs with a 38-10 record at the College Football Playoff-1st Round with a 38-10 record as per the Fiesta Bowl official site. They have also gained a 12-2 record in the regular season as per Sports Reference. They also won the Fiesta Bowl 31-14.

Boise State Broncos

The Boise State Broncos are the second team that has qualified for the 2024-2025 Fiesta Bowl game. This team is presently seeded at No.3 and has gained a 12-1 record in the 2024 regular season game as per Sports Reference. The Broncos lost the game 14-31 to the Penn State Nittany Lions.

Fiesta Bowl Game Tickets

The 54th version of the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl occurred on December 31, 2024, at State Farm Stadium. The kickoff happened at 5:30 pm as per the Fiesta Bowl official site. The tickets for the game were live on Seat Geek, the official ticketing partner of the game. Pricing for the tickets started at $159 and varied according to the seating arrangements.

Fiesta Bowl Location: State Farm Stadium

State Farm Stadium, formerly known as University of Phoenix Stadium has been the home of the Fiesta Bowl games since 2007. This stadium is notable for being the home of the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). The construction of the stadium cost $455 million and presently has a sitting capacity of 63,400 fans, as per StadiumDB.

State Farm Stadium is notable for being the only stadium in the United States with both a retractable roof and a sliding pitch. This makes it easier for the stadium to host both football games as well as several other events. Notably, the field is placed inside the stadium on game days while it is kept outside the stadium on other days so that it receives enough sunlight and water for growth as per Stadiums of Pro Football.

Fiesta Bowl Records

Fiesta Bowl Winner List

There have been 54 Fiesta Bowl games played over the years. The following is an account of all the winners of the Fiesta Bowl games from 1971 to 2024 -

• 1971: No. 8 Arizona State

• 1972: No. 15 Arizona State

• 1973: No. 10 Arizona State

• 1974: Oklahoma State

• 1975: No. 7 Arizona State

• 1976: No. 8 Oklahoma

• 1977: No. 8 Penn State

• 1978: No. 8 Arkansas

• 1979: No. 10 Pittsburgh

• 1980: No. 10 Penn State

• 1982: No. 7 Penn State

• 1983: No. 11 Arizona State

• 1984: No. 14 Ohio State

• 1985: No. 14 UCLA

• 1986: No. 5 Michigan

• 1987: No. 2 Penn State

• 1988: No. 3 Florida State

• 1989: No. 1 Notre Dame

• 1990: No. 5 Florida State

• 1991: No. 18 Louisville

• 1992: No. 6 Penn State

• 1993: No. 6 Syracuse

• 1994: No. 16 Arizona

• 1995: No. 4 Colorado

• 1996: No. 1 Nebraska

• 1997: No. 7 Penn State

• 1997: No. 10 Kansas State

• 1999: No. 1 Tennessee

• 2000: No. 3 Nebraska

• 2001: No. 5 Oregon State

• 2002: No. 2 Oregon

• 2003: No. 2 Ohio State

• 2004: No. 7 Ohio State

• 2005: No. 5 Utah

• 2006: No. 4 Ohio State

• 2007: No. 9 Boise State

• 2008: No. 11 West Virginia

• 2009: No. 3 Texas

• 2010: No. 6 Boise State

• 2011: No. 9 Oklahoma

• 2012: No. 3 Oklahoma State

• 2013: No. 5 Oregon

• 2014: No. 15 UCF

• 2014: No. 21 Boise State

• 2016: No. 7 Ohio State

• 2016: No. 3 Clemson

• 2017: No. 9 Penn State

• 2019: No. 11 LSU

• 2019: No. 3 Clemson

• 2021: No. 12 Iowa State

• 2022: No. 9 Oklahoma State

• 2023: No. 3 TCU

• 2024: Penn State