Fiesta Bowl Reps Set To Meet With NCAA Licensing Committee On April 28

Fiesta Bowl representatives are fixing to get called to the principal's office in just a few short weeks, when they meet with the NCAA's licensing subcommittee during the annual BCS meetings. Both sides are playing it cool, and there's every reason to think a reasonable compromise can be worked out to save face in an era where both the BCS and the NCAA need to look clean and orderly, but the potential consequences could be dire for the bowl in the event of a hammer drop:

[The] Fiesta could potentially have its four-year license revoked, though in the past licenses had only been revoked because of financial or attendance problems.

If the bowl organizers are hoping to keep a low profile between now and then and hope a Division I starting quarterback knocks over a bank or something to distract national attention, they might want to keep an eye on their political connections rapidly abandoning ship:

In the past week, eight state lawmakers have filed amended reports with the Secretary of State's Office or other local agencies, acknowledging that they accepted gifts in excess of $500 from the Fiesta Bowl and its representatives.

Here's the statement released by the bowl, which gracefully skims over the delicious irony of who's in the investigating task force:

We look forward to meeting with the NCAA to answer any questions about the Special Committee report, and to discuss the new bylaws, policies and controls that the board of directors has put in place to prevent the activities described in the report from occurring again.

Final fun note: These meetings will take place in New Orleans. Wonder what kind of partying these cats will get up to?