BCS may strip Fiesta Bowl of it's inclusion in system

[FSUViking 184]

Fiesta Bowl cans long-time CEO Junker

Posted by John Taylor on March 29, 2011, 3:51 PM EDT

 

The results of a months-long internal investigation into alleged campaign contribution violations and other financial misconduct are in, and the findings were not kind to the long-time leader of the BcS bowl.

 

John Junker, who was placed on indefinite administrative leave back in February, has been “terminated with cause“, the Fiesta Bowl announced Tuesday afternoon. Junker was named the bowl’s executive director in 1990, and was promoted to president and chief executive officer in 2000.

 

In the report released by the bowl this afternoon, which can be read in its entirety HERE, it was determined that at least $46,500 in illegal campaign contributions were funneled to various politicians by the bowl and its employees. It was found that employees were encouraged to write checks to specific political candidates, and were then reimbursed by the bowl with bogus bonuses.

 

Junker may also face criminal charges relating to the campaign contributions, although the report did not conclude one way or the other whether he had broken any laws. Another offshoot of the investigation could be that the Fiesta Bowl’s tax-exempt status could be called into question based on the questionable manner in which funds were handled by an entity that’s technically considered a charity.

 

Additionally, Bill Hancock, commissioner of the BcS, told the Arizona Republic that the Fiesta Bowl could lose its spot in the championship series.

 

“The BCS group takes this matter very seriously and will consider whether they keep a BCS bowl game, and we will consider other appropriate sanctions,†Hancock told the paper. “If the bowl does remain a BCS bowl its handling of thing will be closely monitored going forward.â€

 

Among the numerous allegations of impropriety levied against Junker, the investigation into the not-for-profit found that the bowl had spent $33,000 on a four-day Pebble Beach party to celebrate Junker’s 50th birthday back in 2005. The report also details a trip Junker and two other individuals took to a Phoenix strip club, after which he expensed the $1,200 spent that night. Junker claimed there were valid business reasons behind the nudity.

 

“We are in the business where big strong athletes are known to attend these types of establishments. It was important for us to visit and we certainly conducted business.â€

 

You certainly did, Mr. Junker. You certainly did.

 

Junker, who earned in excess of $600,000 as the Fiesta Bowl’s CEO, also received several perks from the bowl. Among those perks were memberships at four country clubs, paid for by the bowl. If you want to get an idea of just how unscrupulous Junker is/was, read the following excerpt from the report:

 

Based on current rates, the Fiesta Bowl pays $10,800 per year for Junker’s membership at Whisper Rock Golf Club. Memberships in the Whisper Rock Golf Club for Junker and Blouin were purchased through separate $100,000 interest-free loans that the Fiesta Bowl granted to Junker and Blouin in April 2002. Under the terms of the promissory notes, Junker and Blouin were to each pay back the $100,000 loan through a $10,000 payment made to the Fiesta Bowl each year. Junker’s and Blouin’s compensation was then increased each year by $10,000, plus tax withholding, so that the additional payment made by the Fiesta Bowl would net to $10,000.

 

After reading the full report, it makes perfect sense that a bowl such as the Fiesta is in bed with a cartel like the BcS. The two entities are truly a match made in gutter heaven.

 

SOURCE: CFT

 

 

Bill Hancock: Fiesta Bowl may lose BCS status

Posted on: March 29, 2011 5:08 pm

Posted by Adam Jacobi

 

In the wake of the Fiesta Bowl's investigative report released today -- and its immediate firing of CEO John Junker thereafter -- there's bound to be mountains of scrutiny on the Fiesta Bowl going forward. Today, BCS chairman Bill Hancock announced that the BCS would consider stripping the Fiesta Bowl of its BCS status.

 

"The BCS group takes this matter very seriously and will consider whether they keep a BCS bowl game, and we will consider other appropriate sanctions," Hancock told the Arizona Republic. "If the bowl does remain a BCS bowl its handling of thing [sic] will be closely monitored going forward."

 

There's no timetable for these sanctions, nor any indication that the BCS is actively pursuing that level of punishment as yet, but the fact that it's even on the table should be terrifying for Fiesta Bowl officials. This isn't an idle threat, either; George Schroeder of the Register-Guard is reporting that the BCS will establish a task force and is asking the Fiesta Bowl to demonstrate why it should remain a BCS bowl.

 

The obvious beneficiary of this uncertainty is the Cotton Bowl, which is currently located in Jerry Jones' otherworldly Cowboys Stadium and has been looking to re-establish its former glory. A BCS bid would be enough to make that happen. The only major barrier to that bid, if the Fiesta Bowl does indeed have its bid stripped, is television; the Cotton Bowl is currently televised by Fox, while the BCS has a contract with ESPN. That can likely be negotiated away, though.

 

There's also the issue of what would happen to the Cotton Bowl Classic in its current state -- as in the January 7 game pitting the Big 12 #2 and SEC #3/4/5 against each other -- but that's about 12 steps down the line, and we're still waiting for step two.

 

SOURCE: CBS Sports

[rzb+ 367]

STRIP IT AND GIVE IT TO THE COTTON BOWL! YES YES YES!

[FSUViking 184]

Fiesta Bowl gets BcS reprieve, fined a cool million

Posted by John Taylor on May 11, 2011, 3:06 PM EDT

 

 

In the aftermath of a scandal that included illicit campaign contributions, questionable spending and the firing of its longtime CEO, the Fiesta Bowl’s future place amongst the BcS rotation was very much up in the air.

 

A little over a month later, the BcS has basically had a Leslie Nielsen moment when it comes to the future of the bowl in its system for determining a national champion.

 

The BcS announced Wednesday afternoon that the Fiesta Bowl will indeed be a part of the Bowl championship Series in the future, but will be forced to pay a $1 million fine. Additionally, the Associated Press writes, the BcS oversight committee, which appointed a task force to investigate the bowl’s internal investigation into itself, attached several other conditions to its ruling, including steps to strengthen supervision of the bowl so the same problems are not repeated.

 

What those specific steps or the other conditions on a stay of execution are is an unknown at this time.

 

Another unknown is whether the Fiesta Bowl will even be granted a license that would allow it to continue going forward. The NCAA, which is charged with issuing licenses for all Div. 1-A postseason games, announced last month that it was delaying a decision on the Fiesta Bowl’s license “until we can discuss these details with bowl officials and fully examine all appropriate information.â€

 

A decision on a license for the Fiesta Bowl is expected at some point in late May or early June, although the decision today by the BcS to allow their future participation in the series bodes well for the Fiesta on the NCAA side of the ledger.

 

SOURCE: CFT

 

Ah. Gotta love the NCAA disciplinary system. Sell your jersey? Get 4 game suspension. Violate some federal laws? Go to your room without desert and think about what you did.