SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - The College Football Playoff added additional chaos to one of the most popular sports in America a few years ago, but it's always been a race to kickoff at Fiesta Bowl headquarters in Scottsdale.
2017 is not a year the Fiesta Bowl is hosting a playoff game, which makes it even less predictable when it comes to the teams that will be heading to the Valley.
"It's been crazy for us, the wait is over we have our teams," Mike Nealy, Fiesta Bowl executive director, said.
The College Football Playoff committee chooses which teams play each other in the "New Year's Six," bowl games which includes the Fiesta. Once bowl officials are informed of which teams will be playing, they can begin taking ticket orders, creating logos, and even contacting schools and coaches for planning purposes. Phones began ringing off the hook within minutes of the announcement.
"Within the first ten minutes of the teams being announced we had over 100 orders in," Riley McDonald, a ticket operations representative, said.
Graphic designers were working overtime to make sure all social media logos were ready for multiple scenarios because the announcement wasn't going to be made until Sunday afternoon.
"It came down the pipeline pretty late that Washington could be a possibility so we had to scramble there in the last half hour to make sure they were part of the graphics," Adam Hawkins said after finishing his Fiesta Bowl graphics.
The Fiesta Bowl is unique because it hosts two games during bowl season. The same people will also have to do the same things for the Cactus Bowl between UCLA and Kansas State on December 26 at Chase Field.