BCS Bowls: 10 Reasons Cotton Bowl Makes More Sense as BCS Bowl Than Fiesta Bowl

As the cloud of uncertainty floats over the Fiesta Bowl in light of its recent financial scandal, the possibility of the long-running bowl game getting replaced in the Bowl Championship Series has been talked about. The Cotton Bowl is currently the frontrunner if that does occur.

After the Fiesta was chosen in the early 1990s to be part of the new Bowl Alliance, the Cotton Bowl was left on the outside looking into the BCS for the next decade and a half, with multiple attempts to have the bowl added to the group of high-profile bowl games.

With that, let's take a look at the reasons why the Cotton Bowl should finally get its place in the BCS over the Fiesta Bowl in the coming years.

Surrounding Major Metropolitan Cities

Phoenix: 1,445,632 (Sixth-biggest city in the United States)

Dallas: 1,197,816 (Ninth-biggest city in the United States)

While Phoenix has more population by the numbers, the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex has a more rabid fanbase for football than the Valley of the Sun, as the entire state of Texas is the unofficial home of the best football fanbases in the United States.

Stadium

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ARLINGTON, TX - JANUARY 07: The LSU Tigers are reflected in the Cotton Bowl Championship trophy while celebrating a 41-24 win against the Texas A&M Aggies during the AT&T Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium on January 7, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by R

University of Phoenix Stadium: Opened 2006

Cowboys Stadium: Opened 2009

With both of the stadiums being opened recently, the amenities offered at the new Cowboys Stadium from the field-level suites to the ridiculously large jumbotron stretching from one 20-yard line to the other 20-yard line gets the nod over UOP Stadium.

History

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ARLINGTON, TX - JANUARY 07: Wide receiver Rueben Randle #2 of the LSU Tigers runs the ball against the Texas A&M Aggies during the AT&T Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium on January 7, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Cotton Bowl First Year: 1934

Fiesta Bowl First Year: 1971

In the history of college football, the Cotton is only bested by two current bowl games, the Sun and Sugar, compared to the Fiesta, which was founded some 37 years after the first Cotton Bowl took place between TCU and Marquette at the Texas State Fair grounds in 1934.

Attendance

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ARLINGTON, TX - FEBRUARY 06: A Doritos ad is displayed on the screen during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium on February 6, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)

Cowboys Stadium: 100,000 plus

University of Phoenix Stadium: 78,000

This could be the easiest reason why the Cotton should be considered for the BCS, as Cowboys Stadium could welcome 25,000 more fans.

Sponsors

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ARLINGTON, TX - JANUARY 07: Wide receiver Jeff Fuller #8 and Uzoma Nwachukwu #7 of the Texas A&M Aggies celebrate a touchdown against the LSU Tigers during the AT&T Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium on January 7, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Ronald

Corporate Sponsor for Cotton Bowl: AT&T

Corporate Sponsor for Fiesta Bowl: PepsiCo

Even though PepsiCo makes a lot of great food products for fans of all sports, the Cotton Bowl might have the edge technology-wise, as its currently being sponsored by AT&T, which has almost $124 billion in net income and a variety of ways to spread the word across the planet on a variety of mediums.

Television Deal

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ARLINGTON, TX - JANUARY 07: Members of the Louisiana State University Tigers celebrate after defeating the Texas A&M Aggies 41-24 during the AT&T Cotton Bowl at Cowboys Stadium on January 7, 2011 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Image

With the Worldwide Leader holding television rights to the BCS bowls, the Cotton Bowl has a exclusive deal with the broadcast network Fox through the 2014 season, keeping the game in prime time on national television.

Having BCS bowls on ESPN limits the eyes that can see the games, unlike when they were on ABC.

Jerry Jones

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NEW ORLEANS, LA - MARCH 21: Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones attends the NFL Annual Meetings at the Roosevelt Hotel on March 21, 2011 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Despite a NFL owners imposed lockout in effect since March 12 the league is conducting its ann

Jerry Jones is an NFL owner, and most of his attention is on the Dallas Cowboys, but he is a former Arkansas alum from the old Southwest Conference days in the 1960s, when he was an All-conference offensive lineman for the Razorbacks.

Some of you might think it's odd to include an NFL owner in this article, but Jones has a definite passion for college football, reviving the Texas A&M/Arkansas rivalry recently in addition to moving the Cotton Bowl from the Texas State Fair grounds to Cowboys Stadium to try and get it into the BCS.

Course into the BCS

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SCOTTSDALE, AZ - JANUARY 11: Head coach Gene Chizik of the Auburn Tigers sits with the (L-R) Associated Press, Football Writers of America, MacArthur Bowl and the Coaches trophys during a press conference for the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game a

While the Cotton has yet to find its way into the BCS, the Fiesta Bowl pretty much forced its way into the spotlight after extending invitations to teams from different conferences in the 1970s and gaining undefeated teams from leagues who didn't receive invites from the big bowls of that era.

The Cotton has been patient over the past few decades in its attempts to join the party by petitioning its entrance into the BCS, which proves the bowl deserves a chance to be entered into the rotation with the Rose, Sugar and Orange Bowls.

Scandals

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GLENDALE, AZ - JANUARY 10: A grounds crew member dries the logo on the field at the Tostitos BCS National Championship Game before the Oregon Ducks and the Auburn Tigers take the field at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 10, 2011 in Glendale, Ari

Cotton Bowl: No Notable Controversies

Fiesta Bowl: Financial Scandal of 2011

Unlike the Fiesta Bowl, which has been caught up in two different scandals in its time as a BCS bowl, the Cotton Bowl has had no such distinction in the course of the game's history.