1. Fiesta Bowl Trophy
We have reached the end of our countdown and this behemoth of a trophy is my personal favorite. The trophy stands at nearly four feet tall and weighs 200 pounds. The offensive linemen of the winning team need to lift it most likely.
The bowl’s website gives some more details of this magnificent piece of art. It took over 3000 hours to create. It is valued at a whopping 1.2 million dollars. There is only one trophy the Fiesta Bowl Committee keeps on display at the Fiesta Bowl Museum in Scottsdale, Arizona. The winning team does get to take home a replica not worth nearly as much.
The Fiesta Bowl was formed from the old WAC trying to find a home for its champion as they were constantly locked out of the major bowls. Through the early years, the bowl did attract some big-time matchups and the Fiesta was the first bowl to acquire a corporate sponsor, Sunkist at the time.
The breakthrough for the bowl came at the conclusion of the 1986 season. Miami and Penn State were the top two teams in the country and both being independents at the time, were not contractually obligated to one of the other major bowls in the Rose, Orange, Sugar, or Cotton.
The Fiesta Bowl won the rights to host both teams and moved the game to January 2nd, the night after the other bowls. Thus it was a de facto national championship game with Penn State defeating Miami 14-10. It was the most-watched college football game at the time.
Now in the playoff era, the Fiesta Bowl is part of the New Year’s Six. In years the bowl does not host a semifinal game, the CFP committee chooses the participants. The winner gets to hold and pass around the 18 karat gold football.