Arizona's Vote Has Turned Fiesta Into Fiasco Bowl : College football: New Year's Day game loses top-ranked Notre Dame, No. 11 Virginia and escape-hatch to San Diego.

By GENE WOJCIECHOWSKI

Nov. 12, 1990 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

The beleaguered Fiesta Bowl, already reeling from the supercharged political controversy in Arizona, received a triple dose of bad news Sunday.

First came word that No. 1-ranked Notre Dame, which was atop the Fiesta’s wish list of invitees, chose to accept an unofficial Orange Bowl bid and play soon-to-be No. 2-rated Colorado in a game that will probably have national championship implications.

Later Sunday morning, the NCAA Postseason Football Subcommittee, meeting via a hastily arranged teleconference, ruled against a Fiesta Bowl contingency plan that would have moved the Tempe, Ariz.-based game to San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium. The plan was made necessary after a referendum calling for the establishment of a paid state holiday in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was narrowly defeated last week by Arizona voters. Since then, prospective Fiesta Bowl teams have expressed reservations about playing in a state that doesn’t have an official King day of remembrance.

However, the subcommittee did grant Fiesta organizers the option of relocating the New Year’s Day game--as long as it is played in a city that doesn’t have a bowl. That rules out San Diego, site of the Holiday Bowl.

The worst blow of all came Sunday afternoon, when the University of Virginia, ranked 11th and heavily courted by the Fiesta, announced its intention to play in the Sugar Bowl against the Southeastern Conference champion. That sent Fiesta officials, their list of eligible and willing candidates dangerously low, their alternatives increasingly scarce, back to the meeting room where they tried desperately to salvage a bowl that only two seasons ago played host to a national championship game.

At day’s end, Fiesta Bowl organizers, who briefly considered canceling the game, chose to stay put and hope for a political solution. Faced with the logistics nightmare of changing sites less than two months before the game, Fiesta officials decided it was best to take their chances and keep the game at Sun Devil Stadium.

The Fiesta shopping list still includes the Southeastern Conference runner-up and several other teams, most notably Louisville, North Carolina and possibly Baylor or Texas Christian. According to a source familiar with Sunday’s meetings, SEC school presidents will vote on a Fiesta invitation today. Approval is expected.

The Fiesta Bowl is under pressure to make a meaningful gesture concerning the King issue. Already there is talk of a Fiesta-sponsored Martin Luther King Jr. scholarship, as well as a pregame or halftime ceremony acknowledging King’s contributions to society.

Don Meyers, Fiesta team selection chairman, has said that the state legislature or Gov. Rose Mofford also needs to help rectify the situation.

“My heart goes out to them,” said the president of a New Year’s Day bowl game who requested anonymity. “I don’t know who the hell’s going to go (to the Fiesta). When they got that negative (King referendum) vote, well, you’ve got to be careful because there’s campus politics.”

The bowl president did offer one suggestion: Change the date of the Fiesta. That would allow Fiesta officials to invite a Big Ten or Pac-10 team--probably the winner of the Ohio State-Michigan game. Under present rules, no Big Ten or Pac-10 team will accept a Fiesta invitation because it is played the same day and at about the same time that the Rose Bowl is played.

Fiesta organizers explored the possibility of swapping dates with the Aloha Bowl, which is played Christmas Day, but decided the idea was unfeasible.

“I really feel sorry for those guys,” said the bowl president. “You know, nobody says anything about the Copper Bowl.”

The one-year-old Copper Bowl is played at Arizona Stadium, which is located in Tucson. Merle Miller, the executive director, said he expects invitees Cal and Wyoming to accept the formal invitations Nov. 24.

“At this point, we have no reason to believe (the King controversy) will cause a problem . . . this year,” he said. “My feeling all along has been that this would not affect our bowl game this year, but could very soon in the future.”

Kevin Reneau, Cal sports information director, said that the football team voted Sunday to accept a bid, but only if they were allowed to wear a commemorative patch honoring King on their Copper Bowl uniform jersey. Kevin McKinney, Wyoming’s sports information director, said he knows of no plans to turn down a Copper Bowl invitation.

Meanwhile, the remainder of the bowl picture became clearer Sunday as Notre Dame promised to return to Miami for a New Year’s Day rematch with Colorado. The Irish beat then-No. 1 Colorado in the 1990 Orange Bowl.

“There are some big hurdles remaining for our team (games against Penn State and USC), but this does set up the possibility of having the numbers one and two team meet on Jan. 1,” said Dick Rosenthal, Notre Dame athletic director. “But even if we should happen to stumble, this still would afford us the probability of playing the No. 1 team.”

With Notre Dame no longer available, the Cotton Bowl locked up Miami and the Sugar Bowl lured Virginia, which was headed to the Fiesta before last week’s vote.

The Sugar Bowl also was desirable because of its larger payout ($3.5 million vs. the Fiesta’s $2.5 million) and its geographical location. “We had read other things, but we knew Virginia was still in our picture,” said Milton Walther, Sugar Bowl president.

PROBABLE BOWL LINEUP

CALIFORNIA (DEC. 8, FRESNO)

Central Michigan vs. Big West champion (Fresno State or San Jose State)

INDEPENDENCE (D. 15, SHREVEPORT)

Baylor vs. Southern Mississippi

ALOHA (DEC. 25, HONOLULU)

Arizona vs. Syracuse

LIBERTY (DEC. 27, MEMPHIS)

Air Force vs. Michigan-Ohio State loser

ALL-AMERICAN (DEC. 28, BIRMINGHAM)

Louisville, Louisiana State, North Carolina or North Carolina State

PEACH (DEC. 29, ATLANTA)