TUCSON, Arizona — While 30,428 fans watched Wyoming defeat Toledo at Arizona Stadium, 16-15, on a last second field goal, more than one million fans watched the 2023 Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl on the CW Network.
"The southern Arizona community really supported this and, obviously, Wyoming travels like no other," said Eric Rhodes, the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl Vice President of Communications.
Four of the eight matchups in the event's history have been decided in overtime, or on the game's final play, something Rhodes says is not luck.
"We spend a lot of time looking at our conferences and we're really intentional about our matchup."
Now, the Arizona Bowl needs to be intentional about its future sponsor, if Barstool Sports doesn't renew. It's three year contract is up, and Barstool personality Dan Katz tweeted that they wouldn't return under the same financial condition.
"That's the world of social media," said Rhodes. "People say things. Katz is a great personality. He's not the decision maker."
The decision makers are Barstool Sports President David Portnoy and CEO Erika Nardini. Sponsorships for a bowl game run seven figures, and they change all the time. Recently, celebrities have even sponsored games.
"We're always looking for innovative ideas to put something bigger on the map," said Rhodes. "If this is a celebrity person who puts their name on our Bowl Game, that will be an interesting road for us to go down."
Rhodes says he hopes to have sponsorship finalized by the summer.
