Kym Adair

Executive Director

Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl

By Steve Rivera

When Kym Adair walked into Arizona Stadium last December for the first Snoop Dogg-sponsored Arizona Bowl and saw a record crowd of more than 40,000 fans and Snoop Dogg on the field, she stopped and thought, “All the hard work has paid off and everybody is starting to see it.”

Vision accomplished.

Adair knows she’s one of many women who have an impact in Tucson and Southern Arizona. In fact, the more the merrier.

“There are a lot of women who have an impact and what we are doing here (at the Arizona Bowl) has a huge impact in the community,” she said. “I’m just excited to play a role in it.”

Now, in her seventh year as the Arizona Bowl’s executive director, she’s prideful that she’s helped the game turn into a signature event in Southern Arizona and a significant bowl in the family of 43 bowl games.

“I’m very proud of where we are,” she said. “We had a vision for what the bowl could become and now we are starting to see the effects of our strategic decisions we’ve made along the way.”

When she first took the job as the bowl’s executive director, she was one of just two females in that role. Now, she is one of six, but clearly one of the pioneers of the position in college football. 

“Kym has established herself as one of the prominent leaders in the college bowl landscape,” said Ali Farhang, one of the founders of the event. “Her engaging and collaborative ‘we-not me’ mentality cultivates a positive culture of success. Her dedication and passion for the Arizona Bowl is only eclipsed by her love and devotion to our great community.”

“We’re definitely on our way,” Adair said of women leading bowl organizations. “We still have a long way to go. But we are seeing a lot of changes and there will be a tipping point.”

The Arizona Bowl – now called the Snoop Dogg Arizona Bowl presented by Gin & Juice by Dre and Snoop − has seen some tremendous growth from its early days of sponsorship by NOVA Home Loans and Barstool Sports. It’s all come under the watchful eye – and leadership – of Adair.

“We’ve put a national spotlight on Southern Arizona,” she said. “We are consistently discussed among all the college conferences. There’s a great economic impact (locally) and charitable impact from the game. The community is the big winner from the bowl game. That’s always been our intent from day one.”