TCU
Judy Bernas, senior associate dean and chief communication and strategy officer for the Anne Burnett Marion School of Medicine at TCU, has been appointed chair of the Fiesta Bowl, a two-year term beginning in the 2024-25 season.
Bernas will direct a 29-member board overseeing the governance and providing management oversight and strategic direction of the game and the nonprofit organization that administers it.
She will preside over the first College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl in the expanded 12-team playoff, as well as millions in charitable giving.
“This is such an exciting time for the Fiesta Bowl Organization and we truly have the best board, staff and volunteers in all of college sports. I'm eager to support our returning and incredibly impressive new board members and work closely with our Yellow Jacket Committee, Ambassadors and volunteers,” Bernas said in a statement. “With college athletics in the middle of transformative changes, we are ready to implement new and innovative strategies to partner with our sponsors, conference and university leaders and importantly, all of our student-athletes.”
Joining as new board members are Franklin Mountain Capital Managing Director Jeff Beyersdorfer, University of Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne, Arizona Indian Gaming Association Executive Director Judy Ferreira, AccuSourceHR CEO Dan Filby and Colliers International Senior Vice President Ramey Peru. Starting a two-year term as Chair-Elect is Ohio State University Senior Vice President and Athletic Director Gene Smith. Randal Norton recently completed his two-year term as board chair and now serves as chair emeritus.
The full board can be found here.
Bernas, who first became involved with the Fiesta Bowl as a board member in 2013, served as board chair-elect and on the Executive Committee for the past two seasons. She has served on committees in nominating & governance, hospitality, charitable giving, strategic planning and audit and compliance.
The first Fiesta Bowl was played in 1971. It was formed by miffed supporters of the Western Athletic Conference, upset that its champions in 1968 and 1969 weren’t invited to any bowl and that 1970 champion Arizona State played in the Peach Bowl. It guaranteed an invitation to the WAC champion. The bowl's tie-in with the WAC ended in 1978, when Arizona and Arizona State — soon to join the Big 12 Conference — moved to the then-Pac-10.
The game has become a premier college postseason destination.
TCU has a history there, playing in the 2010 Fiesta Bowl, a 17-10 loss to Boise State. And then, of course, the Fiesta Bowl was the site of the biggest victory in school history, a 51-45 win over Michigan in the College Football Playoff in 2023.
Bernas has history in Arizona, too. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism from University of Arizona. Before finding her way to Fort Worth in 2016, Bernas served the University of Arizona for 24 years at the main campus in Tucson and in launching the medical school in downtown Phoenix.
A 40 Under 40 recipient from Inside Tucson Business and the Phoenix Business Journal, Bernas previously served as board chair for the Arizona Sports and Tourism Authority. Bernas was named the 2013 Woman of the Year for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Arizona.
Bernas is also completing a Master of Public Health at Arizona, according to bowl officials.
"Judy is a well-respected servant leader who understands how sports organizations are integral contributors to their communities. She will step right in and be a steady hand for our volunteers, our stakeholders and our organization," said Erik Moses, executive director and CEO of the Fiesta Bowl.
Clarification: A previous version of this story somehow left out the 2023 Fiesta Bowl as part of TCU's history with the game. That was a TCU victory over Michigan. Who could forget? Rookie mistake.
