Arizona Wildcats coach robbed ASU of Sun Bowl chance, led to creation of Fiesta Bowl

Thanks in part to last month’s 42-35 Territorial Cup victory, the 10-3 Arizona Wildcats will head to Glendale for this year’s Fiesta Bowl — their most prestigious bowl game in 21 years — while the 9-3 Arizona State Sun Devils will go to the less-distinguished Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas.

While the Fiesta Bowl and Sun Bowl are played 443 miles apart, they’re forever intertwined because of the actions of UA’s head coach before the 1968 Territorial Cup.

The Sun Bowl was a much bigger deal in 1968 — there were just 11 bowl games up for grabs nationally that year — but Arizona coach Darrell Mudra ensured ASU would not he headed to El Paso at the end of the ’68 season, causing a chain reaction of events that led to the creation of the Fiesta Bowl.