The Fiesta Bowl announced today that Ellie Ziegler has been elected the Chairman of the Board for the Bowl’s 2006-07 season.

She has been a Fiesta Bowl volunteer since 1987 and a member of the Bowl’s Board of Directors since 2001. For the past 25 years, Ziegler has worked in the field of marketing for four different Arizona corporations.

“It is certainly an honor to lead our contingent of community volunteers, following my service of nearly two decades with the Fiesta Bowl as a member of that same volunteer corps,” Ziegler said. “I am enthusiastic to begin this historic year with our volunteers and our community.”

Ziegler has been a Valley resident for 32 years since moving from Des Moines, Iowa in 1974 for studies at Arizona State University, where she graduated cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications.

Glendale residents got a taste Saturday of the attention that's coming their way this year.

Officials from the Arizona Cardinals, Fiesta Bowl, Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority and the Arizona Super Bowl Host Committee set up booths inside the Glendale Civic Center.

The goal was to let residents know where each organization stood in their quest to descend on Glendale in the coming years. The talk centered on the multitude of sports activities scheduled for Cardinals Stadium, which will open in
August, and Glendale's ability to attract games.
"The battle is over, folks," Fiesta Bowl President John Junker told the crowd. "The city of Glendale has won."

First up will be the Cardinals' opener in August. City and team officials are expecting a sellout. Then comes the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1, followed a week later by the inaugural Bowl Championship Series title game.

The college games are expected to generate revenue for the Valley equal to the $400 million predicted for the Super Bowl, which will be held in Glendale in 2008.

"The majority of that stays in the host community," said Glendale's Director of Marketing Julie Frisoni.

More than 400 people reserved a space for the Saturday event, which also featured city departments that will have a hand in safety, transportation and hosting duties for the events.

John Flores, a Glendale native, said residents are itching for kickoff for several reasons. First, because of the attention the games will bring the city.

Second, Flores said, is the chain reaction the games will have on bringing in more attractions and sales-tax dollars to the city.

"Progress is always a good investment," he said. "You can't just sit back."

In all, the city expects to invest more than $4 million to host the Cardinals' home opener and subsequent season, the Fiesta Bowl, and the Bowl Championship Series title game.

The money will go toward keeping fans safe during the games and for transportation plans that will attempt to move people in and out of the stadium smoothly. About $2 million dollars will be used for beautification projects and for right-of-way acquisitions.

The University of Notre Dame's 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl football appearance against Ohio State Jan. 2 on ABC Sports earned a 12.9 Nielsen television rating, up four percent from the comparable time slot a year ago (a 12.4 for Texas' 2005 Rose Bowl win over Michigan).

The 12.9 rating marked the highest non-championship game rating for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl since the start of the Bowl Championship Series in the 1998 regular season. The Fiesta Bowl earned 17.2 figures both for its Tennessee-Florida State title game in 1999 ('98 season) and its Ohio State-Miami championship matchup in 2003 ('02 season). The previous Fiesta high for a non-title game matchup was an 11.3 for Oregon vs. Colorado in 2002. Notre Dame's other BCS appearance in 2001 in the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon State earned a 10.7 rating.

The 12.9 number represents Notre Dame's highest rating of the 2005 season (the Oct. 15 Notre Dame-USC game on NBC drew a 6.7, highest of the regular season), its largest rating for any game since a 16.0 for the 1993 Notre Dame-Florida State contest - and its highest bowl rating since a 17.5 for the 1991 Orange Bowl ('90 season) between Notre Dame and Colorado.

Other recent ratings for Irish major bowl appearances included an 18.5 for the 1990 Orange Bowl vs. Colorado, a 15.0 for the 1989 Fiesta Bowl vs. West Virginia, a 12.5 for the 1996 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State, an 11.4 for the 1992 Sugar Bowl vs. Florida, an 11.3 for the 1994 Cotton Bowl vs. Texas A&M, and a 10.2 for the 1993 Cotton Bowl vs. Texas A&M.

The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl rating mirrored Notre Dame's regular-season home game ratings on NBC Sports - which were up 44 percent from the previous year, based on a six-game 3.6 average in 2005. The 6.7 rating for the '05 Notre Dame-USC game marked Notre Dame's highest rating for a home game in more than a decade.

Meanwhile, the four 2006 BCS games combined for a 55.9 cumulative rating, up 27 percent from a year ago and the highest in the eight-year history of the BCS.

After years of relying on a stout defense, Ohio State may be changing things next season.

Monday's 34-20 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl marked the final college game for two-time All-American A.J. Hawk and his linebacking mates, Bobby Carpenter and Anthony Schlegel. Safety Nate Salley and cornerback Tyler Everett, both three-year starters, will also be gone, as will end Mike Kudla and tackle Marcus Green.

But the Buckeyes have plenty of reasons to be optimistic - beginning with quarterback Troy Smith.

"Probably for the last four or five years, we have been known as a defensive team,'' Smith said after completing 19 of 28 passes for 342 yards and two touchdowns and running for 66 yards on 13 carries. "I'm sure we will still be known as a defensive team, even though we lose key and major guys.

"Now it's going to be more of a balance, the defense and the offensive team, hopefully.''

The only losses on offense are center Nick Mangold, left guard Rob Sims and wide receiver Santonio Holmes, who announced after the bowl game that he would skip his senior year to make himself eligible for the NFL draft. Another key loss to graduation is kicker Josh Huston.

Smith, who was the Fiesta's offensive MVP, Ted Ginn and tailback Anthony Pittman lead the returnees. Smith was nothing short of spectacular in victories over Michigan and Notre Dame, leading an offense that totaled 1,035 yards.Ginn also saved his biggest performances for those two games, with 17 catches for more than 250 yards - not counting several other big returns and runs. Pittman finished the season with 1,331 yards rushing, scoring seven touchdowns in Ohio State's final five games.

Ginn said the Fiesta victory sets up another title run in 2006.

"It says a lot,'' he said. "We're going to go out all season and work hard and go back to square one and do everything right, come back and just try to make it out here again. That will be our goal.''It won't be easy. After opening the season Sept. 2 against Northern Illinois at Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes must travel to Austin to take on Texas, which beat them 25-22 in the second game this season.

Longhorns quarterback Vince Young, the star of that game and a first-team All-American, has said he plans to return next season, which would make Ohio State's task considerably more difficult.

The Buckeyes, who were 10-2 this season, play Penn State, Bowling Green, Indiana, Minnesota and Michigan at home, and hit the road to play Iowa, Michigan State, Illinois and Northwestern.

Ohio State has won three of the last four Fiesta Bowls, taking the national championship with a victory in Tempe, Ariz., over Miami after the 2002 season. In the bowl rotation, the national title game returns to the desert again next year.

Even as Ohio State fans were dancing their way out of the stadium Monday, Smith said the Buckeyes didn't mind the familiarity of a fourth trip to Arizona in five years.

"The national championship is here next year,'' he said, the roars of the crowd still ringing in his ears. "We like that.''

The University of Notre Dame's 2006 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl football appearance against Ohio State Jan. 2 on ABC Sports earned a 12.9 Nielsen television rating, up four percent from the comparable time slot a year ago (a 12.4 for Texas' 2005 Rose Bowl win over Michigan).

The 12.9 rating marked the highest non-championship game rating for the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl since the start of the Bowl Championship Series in the 1998 regular season. The Fiesta Bowl earned 17.2 figures both for its Tennessee-Florida State title game in 1999 ('98 season) and its Ohio State-Miami championship matchup in 2003 ('02 season). The previous Fiesta high for a non-title game matchup was an 11.3 for Oregon vs. Colorado in 2002. Notre Dame's other BCS appearance in 2001 in the Fiesta Bowl against Oregon State earned a 10.7 rating.

The 12.9 number represents Notre Dame's highest rating of the 2005 season (the Oct. 15 Notre Dame-USC game on NBC drew a 6.7, highest of the regular season), its largest rating for any game since a 16.0 for the 1993 Notre Dame-Florida State contest - and its highest bowl rating since a 17.5 for the 1991 Orange Bowl ('90 season) between Notre Dame and Colorado.

Other recent ratings for Irish major bowl appearances included an 18.5 for the 1990 Orange Bowl vs. Colorado, a 15.0 for the 1989 Fiesta Bowl vs. West Virginia, a 12.5 for the 1996 Orange Bowl vs. Florida State, an 11.4 for the 1992 Sugar Bowl vs. Florida, an 11.3 for the 1994 Cotton Bowl vs. Texas A&M, and a 10.2 for the 1993 Cotton Bowl vs. Texas A&M.

The Tostitos Fiesta Bowl rating mirrored Notre Dame's regular-season home game ratings on NBC Sports - which were up 44 percent from the previous year, based on a six-game 3.6 average in 2005. The 6.7 rating for the '05 Notre Dame-USC game marked Notre Dame's highest rating for a home game in more than a decade.

Meanwhile, the four 2006 BCS games combined for a 55.9 cumulative rating, up 27 percent from a year ago and the highest in the eight-year history of the BCS.