Scandal shakes up Fiesta Bowl
Matt Schaeffer
No more Bowl Championship Series games in Arizona. That’s a definite possibility following the firing of Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker. Junker was fired on March 29 following investigations of alleged political campaign-finance violations and other financial misconduct, according to the bowl officials.
Investigators claim that less than half of Junker’s expenses, $4.8 million over the last 10 years, on his expense reports were deemed “appropriate.”
According to the report, the bowl spent $33,188 for a birthday party in Pebble Beach, California for Junker and another $13,000 on a wedding and honeymoon of his assistant.
Junker reportedly paid a $1,200 tab at a Phoenix strip club, writing on the bill that the meeting was for “security site planning.”
The BCS threatened to remove the Fiesta Bowl from being a part of the organization if it didn’t abide by the rules.
The Fiesta Bowl is currently a BCS game, one of the top five bowl games at the end of the year in NCAA football.
The Fiesta Bowl committee also hosts the National Championship every fourth year.
In an attempt to right their wrongs, the board implemented several changes to their operations, such as the board will use a search firm to find a new executive director, chief financial officer and a general counsel/compliance officer.
A compliance officer will report directly to the board and the Audit and Compliance and Executive committees.
The board will also review and approve all compensation for senior level staff. Expense reimbursements to the executive director and any director will be approved by the board’s executive committee.
A hotline monitored by an independent company will take anonymous calls from anyone wanting to report any wrongdoings.
The scandal was first brought to light in December 2009 by the Arizona Republic with allegations that five former or current Fiesta Bowl employees had been reimbursed for political donations they made.
