I have been shocked, shocked, in the last week to learn that there might be corruption in intercollegiate athletics.
The long-time CEO of the Fiesta Bowl, John Junker, has been fired for a whole host of recently-uncovered acts of improper and illegal actions he undertook in his role as that bowl's CEO. Though the four-figure expenses at strip clubs might not have been particularly well thought-out, and though the reimbursed membership in golf clubs throughout the country might have revealed that Junker might have been treating the finances of the technically non-profit Fiesta Bowl as a personal piggy bank, what seems to have been the final straw was the revelation that Junker allegedly directed that Fiesta Bowl employees be reimbursed, through bonuses, for their personal contributions to friendly politicians.
That's a felony, folks. (If true, the lawyer in me insists upon including.)
Why this is relevant to us here at BON is that, suddenly, it at the very least appears as though the Fiesta's status as a BCS bowl is in jeopardy, as soon as this upcoming season. BCS Executive Director Bill Hancock has demanded that the Fiesta "demonstrate why it should remain a BCS bowl game."
And if the Fiesta were to fall out of the BCS rotation, all indications are that the Cotton Bowl would be the overwhelming favorite to take the Fiesta's place in the rotation. Presumably, if this were to happen, the Cotton Bowl would become the new home BCS bowl for the Big 12 champion and would host an additional championship game every four years, which would mean it would presumably host the BCS championship after the 2014 season. (That would mean that the men's basketball and the football championships would both be settled at Cowboys Stadium in one nine-month span, given that the stadium is also hosting the 2014 Final Four.)
I have my doubts that all this will actually happen, as I sense that similar problems would be unveiled, as they were at the Orange Bowl recently as well, if the finances of any of the major bowls were closely investigated. But I suppose it is possible that (1) what happened at the Fiesta was far beyond what any other bowl has done, (2) the BCS throws the Fiesta to the lions to preserve its own hide, and (3) we won't have as far to travel next January to watch Oklahoma lose another BCS game.