
The Hype is RealĀ
Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl Generates Millions for Nonprofits
By Steve Rivera
Could there be a better hype man for the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl than Ali Farhang?
Heās the founder, the Chairman of the Board and all-out cheerleader for the bowl game that is now in its ninth year surpassing its humble predecessors the Copper Bowl and Insight.com Bowl combined.
The Arizona Bowl is back with plans of being bigger and better than ever.
āThe three most often asked questions in Tucson are: Is it gonna rain? What do you think about that rain? And what are you doing on New Yearās Eve?ā said Farhang, also a prominent local attorney. āWell, weāve answered the third question.ā
Well, kind of. This yearās Arizona Bowl will be on Dec. 30 at 2:30 p.m. at Arizona Stadium. There will be parties the next day affiliated with the Arizona Bowl, but point taken.
āThe three pillars of why this game even started was to highlight the best of Tucson and Southern Arizona, to create immense economic impact for everybody here, and to create an organization that gives all net proceeds to nonprofits,ā Farhang said. āI think that weāve done a really good job of meeting our obligations to those three pillars. The best is yet to come.ā
Farhang says itās more than a game between two of the best teams from the Mountain West and Mid-American Conferences, but also a celebration of the city and all that it offers, a festival of sorts that highlights all the great things in Tucson.
āItās going to be a great game and weāre going to have a great New Yearās Eve Party,ā he said, āand Iām hoping weāre building it to be at that (high) level. We have a lot of good people working it. Itās a testament to their intellect and power.ā
He said more than 100 volunteers have joined in to make the bowl game its best ever. And the local businesses have long contributed.
āItās like anything, if youāre doing things the right way,ā Farhang said, āthen youāre building an organization that can endure and succeed without you. We wanted to make it Tucsonās game and now weāve got a bunch of southern Arizonans who feel like they have an ownership in the game.ā
Clearly, Tucson nonprofits have benefitted the most. Through the years, the Arizona Bowl has given $5 million to charities throughout Southern Arizona. In 2022, more than $1.4 million was given out to local charities by the Arizona Bowl giving back 100 percent of the net proceeds and by Barstool Sports.
In late August, 10 local nonprofits were presented checks. They ranged from food providers to those granting wishes, helping the homeless and local hospitals. Arizona Bowl officials havenāt met a nonprofit it hasnāt liked.
āWe are thankful for the generous donation from the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl,ā said Sarah Frost, CEO of Banner ā University Medical Center Tucson and Banner ā University Medical Center South. āTheir donation will be used to help us reach our goal to build the Diamond Childrenās Play Zone to benefit children receiving treatment at Diamond Childrenās.ā
Bowl officials want to help those who inspire and have an impact on people. According to Bowl officials, the game has generated an economic impact of $140 million through the years.
āThis is why we do what we do,ā Kym Adair, Arizona Bowlās executive director said at a recent check presentation to nonprofits. āWe want to build up the visibility of our community, give back to the amazing charities in our community and support the businesses of this community.ā
Once again, the 2023 game will be streamed live on Barstool.TV to watch on your computer or phone. Or you can download the Barstool Sports app on your TV, Roku, Fire Stick or Apple TV. Farhang continues to say itās the wave of the TV-viewing future.
āWe may have been a little bit ahead of the game,ā Farhang said of the streaming concept. āYou see whatās happening with both college and pro football. They have a bunch of games that are streamed this year.
āMy kids and all their friends, people under the age 45 donāt even have cable. All they do is stream. And having the partnership with Barstool is great because they help drive a lot of people to watch our game and the things that have to do with our game.ā
BARSTOOL SPORTSĀ ARIZONA BOWL
Saturday, Dec. 30, 2:30 p.m. Arizona Stadium