The CEO of the Fiesta Bowl is in trouble.
John Junker, who has overseen the BSC game for more than a decade, was fired after an investigation found that Junker grossly mismanaged the finances of the Fiesta Bowl.
Allegations include spending $33,000 of bowl money for his 50th birthday at Pebble Beach. Other purchases with funds collected from the Fiesta Bowl include a $13,000 wedding of an aide of Junkers, 27 trips taken by Junker and his family, and the purchase of a $1,000 bottle of wine.
Once an NCAA committee uncovered this information, Junker was out of the job.
In an era of budget reductions and unemployment, the public is not too keen on hearing about such abuses in the management for high-powered jobs.
Now that the Fiesta Bowl CEO got the axe what are the implications for the Pac-10?
The Fiesta Bowl will be played next year because the bowl contract doesn’t expire until 2013. If the Fiesta Bowl gets the boot from the BCS then major shifts of conference teams that are represented in a BCS bowl game could occur.
Pac-10 fans are often disappointed and feel that their schools don’t get the amount of recognition they deserve when it comes to BCS bowl games. These games are typically awarded to SEC or Big 12 teams.
With the expansion of the Pac-12, the conference could be considered more prominent and competitive- traits that would make a suitable team for a BCS game. If the Fiesta Bowl gets the boot because of this recent controversy then the Cotton Bowl may take its place in the BCS.
If the Fiesta Bowl was demoted to a lesser bowl and the Cotton Bowl took its place, then this outcome could be positive for Pac-10 teams. This is because the Fiesta Bowl is played in Tempe, Arizona (Pac-10 territory) and could easily draw a Pac-10 team because it is a lesser bowl than the Cotton Bowl.
Only time will tell how this complicated (and politicized) system turns out in the wake of the Junker scandal.
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