Fiesta Bowl Lays Off Undisclosed Number Of Employees Ahead Of CFP Era

The Fiesta Bowl on Friday "laid off an undisclosed number of employees, citing projected declines in revenue," according to Craig Harris of the ARIZONA REPUBLIC. Fiesta Bowl Interim Exec Dir Duane Woods "declined to say how many employees were let go." The event "listed 33 employees on its staff directory on its website, but it was unknown as of Friday how many still had jobs." Woods said that the bowl is "flexing down" its staff as the organization transitions from the BCS into the new College Football Playoff that begins this year. That new 12-year deal "allows the Fiesta Bowl to host a semifinal playoff game every three years and other top-tier match-ups in non-playoff years, but it does not produce as much revenue for the bowl." The layoffs "come roughly two months after Robert Shelton abruptly resigned" as Exec Dir following differences with the BOD. The new system "no longer allows the bowls to control the lucrative championship game that was part of the BCS bonanza" (ARIZONA REPUBLIC, 3/22).