The Fiesta Bowl has always been one of the most popular college bowl games since its debut in 1971, but the game really gained momentum in the late 1980's, and eventually evolved into the BCS Bowl game that it is today. Held at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the Fiesta Bowl traditionally hosts the Big 12 Conference Champions as they face a chosen at-large BCS team. Sponsored by Tostitos, the contest is officially called the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl and has been the site of the 1999 and 2003 BCS Championship games.
The Bowl Championship Series (BCS) is a five-game series of postseason college football games, designed to match the #1 and #2 ranked teams in a national championship game, while providing four other exciting and competitive games amongst eight of the most highly regarded teams in college football that year. The five BCS bowl games are the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl, the FedEx Orange Bowl, the Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi, the Allstate Sugar Bowl, and the BCS National Championship Game that is rotated between BCS bowl sites each year.
In 2007, the Fiesta Bowl game was played across the Valley of the Sun from Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, at the new University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Additionally, that same year, the BCS agreement was written so that the Fiesta Bowl was to automatically host the Big 12 Conference champions against a highly ranked at-large school, unless the Big 12 Champs were already involved in the BCS National Championship game.
On January 1, 2007, the undefeated Boise State Broncos won by defeating the Oklahoma Sooners 43–42 in overtime. The completely unexpected upset has been called one of the greatest college football games ever played, due to the combination of the underdog Broncos team, numerous trick plays, multiple comebacks by each team, and the thrilling overtime finish.
