The first Sun Bowl game was played on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 1935, as a fund-raising event for the El Paso Kiwanis Club. The club was seeking to raise money for underprivileged children and to finance improvements to the El Paso High School Stadium, the site of the first game. The game featured a team comprised of El Paso high school all-stars against the Ranger (Texas) High School Bulldogs. The All-Stars came from behind in the third quarter and held on in the fourth for an exciting 25-21 victory over the 1934 state runner-ups.

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The success of that first game resulted in the founding of the Sun Bowl Association, whose threefold purpose was to present an annual football attraction of national importance, to promote El Paso and the Southwest, and to generate tourist income for the area. The public was invited to suggest a name for the game. Dr. C. M. Hendricks, who would become the association's first president, offered the name "Sun Bowl." A weeklong schedule of events was added, and four other local service clubs (Rotary, Lions, Optimist, and 20-30) joined the Kiwanis in coordinating the entire "Sun Carnival" calendar.

The success of that first game resulted in the founding of the Sun Bowl Association, whose threefold purpose was to present an annual football attraction of national importance, to promote El Paso and the Southwest, and to generate tourist income for the area. The public was invited to suggest a name for the game. Dr. C. M. Hendricks, who would become the association's first president, offered the name "Sun Bowl." A weeklong schedule of events was added, and four other local service clubs (Rotary, Lions, Optimist, and 20-30) joined the Kiwanis in coordinating the entire "Sun Carnival" calendar.

In 1936, the first collegiate Sun Bowl game was played. New Mexico A&M (now New Mexico State) and HardinSimmons College tied 14-14. During these early years it became a tradition to match the Border Conference Champion against the best available opponent. The fourth Sun Bowl in 1938 was moved to the 15,000-seat Kidd Field on the campus of Texas School of Mines and Metallurgy (later renamed Texas Western College and known today as the University of Texas at El Paso). In 1963, the game was moved to the new 30,000-seat Sun Bowl Stadium. The 1982 game was the first Sun Bowl game in the newly-expanded Sun Bowl Stadium of over 51,000. In 2001, hundreds of seats were removed in order to soccer-size the stadium. The stadium's new capacity is 50,426.

The Sun Bowl was first played on January 1, 1935, as a fund-raising event for a local service club, to benefit underprivileged children and to finance improvements to the El Paso High School Stadium. It has grown into El Paso's number one national attraction and is second only to the Rose Bowl in longevity. On October 18, 1934, at a meeting of the El Paso Kiwanis Club, Dr. Brice Schuller suggested that the club sponsor a football game on New Year's Day, matching an El Paso High School All-Star Team against a worthy opponent. The motion was passed unanimously. It was decided to ask for public suggestions as to the name of this annual game, and the name "Sun Bowl" was submitted by Dr. C. M. Hendricks, who became the first Sun Bowl Association president. The following year, a week-long schedule of events was added to the Sun Bowl festivities, and four other local service clubs (Rotary, Lions, Optimist and Active 20-30) joined the Kiwanis in coordinating the entire "Sun Carnival" calendar. In 1936, New Mexico State and Hardin-Simmons were invited to play, and the Sun Bowl has been a college game ever since.

Over the years, many great collegiate stars who went on to illustrious football careers in both the college and professional ranks have participated in the Sun Bowl. Some of these athletes include Ara Parseghian, Merlin Olsen, Tony Dorsett, Barry Sanders, Billy Stevens, Charlie Johnson and Jesse Whittenton. Another famous Sun Bowl participant was Burt Reynolds, who was a member of the 1955 Florida State team.

Today, events held in conjunction with the Sun Bowl include the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic, the Las Palmas Del Sol Sun Bowl Parade and the Sierra Providence SunClassic Basketball Tournament. During the early years of the Sun Bowl, it was a tradition to match the Border Conference champion against the best available opponent. Today the Sun Bowl matches teams from the tradition-rich Big Ten and Pac-10 Conferences.

EL PASO, Texas (CNN/SI) -- Central Florida, Colorado State, Wyoming, Utah. These teams were all passed over by the Sun Bowl committee when choosing TCU for its bowl game against USC. The Horned Frogs, stumbling with a 6-5 record, weren't supposed to be in a bowl game. At the end of the Sun Bowl, it was USC who looked like they didn't belong. The Horned Frogs, under first-year coach Dennis Franchione, captured their first bowl victory in 41 years with a 28-19 victory over Southern Cal in the Sun Bowl. Tailback Basil Mitchell ran for 185 yards and two touchdowns and the Horned Frogs held the Trojans (8-5) to a Sun Bowl-record minus-23 yards to produce another upset in the 1998 bowl lineup. "It's a big day for us. You couldn't buy what happened for us today," said Franchione, who last December took over a TCU program that fired Pat Sullivan after a 1-10 season. TCU's option offense and its defense buried the Trojans early, producing a 28-3 lead early in the third quarter. Forced to the air, USC struck back with 17 straight points before TCU's defense killed a Trojans drive and seized momentum. "We had to get away from the running game because we got behind so quickly," USC coach Paul Hackett said. "TCU's speed and agility on defense really surprised us." TCU, 6-5 during the regular season and no better than a .500 team in the Mountain Division of the Western Athletic Conference, scored on its first three possessions. "It doesn't matter what conference you play in," said Mitchell, who ran for 1,100 yards during the season. "You have to come out here and play. I knew we could move the ball, but I didn't know we could do it that way." The Sun Bowl victory climaxed the Horned Frogs' impressive turnaround under Franchione, who last year led New Mexico to its first bowl game in 36 years. He worked the same magic in Fort Worth and led the Horned Frogs to their first bowl victory since beating Syracuse 28-27 in the 1957 Cotton Bowl. "We started the season with very little respect," Franchione said. "This has not been an unusual situation for us and we responded well. You only earn respect, it isn't given to you." USC freshman quarterback Carson Palmer conceded the Trojans didn't think much of TCU before the game. "We definitely took TCU for granted," Palmer said. "We thought we could do pretty much what we wanted, but they really shut us down. I was surprised when we couldn't run the football. I couldn't believe it when they scored their first touchdown. ... I was shocked when it was 21-0." Palmer tried to rally the Trojans. He threw a 23-yard scoring pass to Billy Miller and set up a 1-yard TD by Petros Papadakis that made it 28-16 with 1:34 left in the third quarter. Papadakis' touchdown was set up by an 18-yard Palmer-to-Larry Parker pass to the TCU 4 on fourth-and-8. The Trojans' defense, unable to solve the option in the first half, also started to dominate and on their next possession, the Trojans drove to the TCU 20. But the TCU defense regained control. Defensive ends Aaron Schobel and Loren Dunlap sacked Palmer on successive plays and the Trojans settled for a 46-yard field goal by Adam Abrams with 12:30 remaining. TCU ate up the rest of the clock.

A 16-point underdog, TCU scored early on Mitchell's runs of 3 and 61 yards and quarterback Patrick Batteaux's 8-yard run for a 21-0 lead with 9:27 left in the first half. While TCU was driving into USC territory and working down the clock -- the Horned Frogs had the ball for 20 minutes, 15 seconds in the first half -- the Trojans were living in third-and-long and failing to convert. By halftime, TCU had 200 of its 314 yards rushing and had held USC to four first downs. The Horned Frogs had scoring drives of 79, 64 and 86 yards in the first half and just one punt, that with just 5:45 remaining in the second quarter. USC's only big play of the first half, a 50-yard pass from Palmer to Parker, set up a 35-yard field goal by Abrams with 3:15 left in the second quarter. TCU's front line also stopped USC All-American linebacker Chris Claiborne. Claiborne, who led the Trojans with six interceptions and 107 tackles during the season, failed to come up with a big play, and, like the rest of the USC defenders, had trouble all day slowing the option.

SUN BOWL HISTORY The first Sun Bowl game was played on Tuesday, Jan. 1, 1935, as a fund-raising event for the El Paso Kiwanis Club. The club was seeking to raise money for underprivileged children and to finance improvements to the El Paso High School Stadium, the site of the first game. The game featured a team comprised of El Paso high school all-stars against the Ranger (Texas) High School Bulldogs. The All-Stars came from behind in the third quarter and held on in the fourth for an exciting 25-21 victory over the state runner-ups.
The success of that first game resulted in the founding of the Sun Bowl Association, whose threefold purpose was to present an annual football attraction of national importance, to promote El Paso and the Southwest, and to generate tourist income for the area. The public was invited to suggest a name for the game. Dr. C. M. Hendricks, who would become the association's first president, offered the name "Sun Bowl." A weeklong schedule of events was added, and four other local service clubs (Rotary, Lions, Optimist, and 20-30) joined the Kiwanis in coordinating the entire "Sun Carnival" calendar.
In 1936, the first collegiate Sun Bowl game was played. New Mexico A&M (now New Mexico State) and Hardin-Simmons College tied 14-14. During these early years it became a tradition to match the Border Conference Champion against the best available opponent. The fourth Sun Bowl in 1938 was moved to the 15,000-seat Kidd Field on the campus of Texas School of Mines and Metallurgy (later renamed Texas Western College and known today as the University of Texas at El Paso). In 1963, the game was moved to the new 30,000-seat Sun Bowl Stadium. The 1982 game was the first Sun Bowl game in the newly-expanded Sun Bowl Stadium of over 51,000. In 2001, hundreds of seats were removed in order to soccer-size the stadium. The stadium's new capacity is 50,426.

Vince Dooley Sun Bowl Coach, 1964, 1969 & 1985 (Georgia) College Hall of Fame football coach Vince Dooley led three teams to the Sun Bowl during his extensive coaching career at the University of Georgia. The Bulldogs and Dooley are 1-1-1 in the Sun Bowl: Dec. 26, 1964 (Georgia 7, Texas Tech 0); Dec. 20, 1969 (Nebraska 45, Georgia 6); Dec. 28, 1985 (Georgia 13, Arizona 13). In 25 seasons, Dooley led his teams to 20 bowl games, six Southeastern Conference Championships and one national championship. He compiled 201 victories, for which he ranked third in the nation among active coaches at the time of his retirement. Dooley is past president of the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, past president of the American Football Coaches Association, past chairman of Division I-A Athletic Directors and past chairman of the NCAA Football Rules Committee. Dooley has also been selected to the State of Georgia Sports Hall of Fame and the State of Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. A native of Mobile, Alabama, Dooley has served as Georgia athletic director since 1979. Georgia placed second in the 1998-99 Sears Directors Cup competition, which recognizes the top athletic programs in the nation each year. During his role as athletic director, Georgia teams have won 15 national championships, 64 SEC team championships and many individual national titles in both men's and women's sports. Dooley was a standout football and basketball player at Auburn, from which he earned his bachelor's degree in business management and master's degree in history. He became head coach of the Georgia Bulldogs in December 1963 at the age of 31 after serving in the Marines and as an assistant coach at Auburn.

Hayden Fry Sun Bowl Coach, 1963 (SMU), 1995 (Iowa) & 1997 (Iowa) One of the most successful coaches in college football history, Odessa, Texas native Hayden Fry led three teams to the Sun Bowl during his extensive coaching career-Southern Methodist in 1963 and Iowa in 1995 and 1997. At the time of his retirement following the 1998 football season, Fry was only the sixth man in history to coach football 20 years or more at a Big Ten school, and he was the fourth winningest active coach in the NCAA. He also ranked 10th in all-time Division I victories (232). He is the winningest coach in Iowa history. Fry's collegiate head coaching experience includes SMU (1962-72), North Texas State (1973-78) and Iowa (1979-98). During his 20 years at Iowa, Fry compiled a 143-89-6 record and led his teams to 14 bowl appearances. Hayden Fry is 1-2 in Sun Bowl appearances: 1963 (Oregon 21, SMU 14); 1995 (Iowa 38, Washington 18); and 1997 (Arizona State 17, Iowa 7). He led the Hawkeyes to three Big Ten titles and three Rose Bowl appearances. Fry was voted Big Ten Coach of the Year three times (1981, 1990, 1991) and was named Coach of the Year (regionally and nationally) by both the American College Football Coaches Association and the media. Some of Fry's other honors include his selection to the Holiday Bowl Hall of Fame, the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. He is the recipient of the Robert R. Neyland Memorial Trophy, the Johnny Vaught Lifetime Achievement Award and the Baylor University Distinguished Alumni Award. Under Fry, 19 Hawkeye players earned first-team All-America honors, including eight consensus selections. In 1998, 18 of Fry's former players were on NFL rosters, and eight of his players have been All-Pro NFL selections.

Jimmy Rogers, Jr. Chairman Emeritus, Sun Bowl Football Committee Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Rogers & Belding Insurance Agency, Jimmy Rogers, Jr. has been involved with the Sun Bowl Association for 37 years. He currently serves on the Sun Bowl Association Board of Directors and is the organization's CBS liaison as well as the title sponsor liaison. He is also a member of the football committee, for which he has been a member of for over 30 years. Rogers served as president of the Sun Bowl Association in 1970. One of the Sun Bowl trophies awarded after each bowl game is named in honor of Rogers -- the Jimmy Rogers, Jr. Most Valuable Lineman Trophy. He has participated in CBS Television negotiations for 32 years and in negotiations for the bowl's sponsorships with both John Hancock and Vitalis. Rogers also secured the Sierra Providence sponsorship for the SunClassic Basketball Tournament. Rogers was honored with the Bud Dudley Bowl Executive Award at the All-American Football Foundation's Banquet of Champions XVIII this past July. He was honored by the foundation as a result of his long-time achievement with the Sun Bowl and for serving as an outstanding ambassador for one of the top bowls in the country. Aside from his volunteer involvement with the Sun Bowl Association, Rogers has also served as UTEP Touchdown Club President (1968), UTEP Athletic Advisory Committee Chairman (1972), El Paso Board of Realtors President (1975) and UTEP El Dorados President (1985) to name a few. Rogers is currently chairman of the El Paso Sports Council. Some of his honors include the Conquistador Award (1962 and 1988), Humanitarian Award-LULAC District IV (1996), Spirit of El Paso Award-KDBC (1986), Torch of Liberty Award (1988), Outstanding Young Man of El Paso (1967) and Outstanding Young Men of America (1970). Rogers was named to the El Paso Sports Hall of Fame in 1989. Rogers was born and raised in El Paso where he has lived all of his life, except for four years when he attended Southern Methodist University and three years when he served in the Air Force.

Jesse Whittenton 1955 Sun Bowl Most Valuable Player (Texas Western) An El Paso native, Jesse Whittenton played with the Green Bay Packers under Vince Lombardi from 1958 to 1964. He was a three-time All-Pro Defensive Back for the Packers and played in three World Championship Games, two of which the Packers were victorious. Whittenton is a member of the Green Bay Packer Hall of Fame as well as the El Paso Athletic Hall of Fame. At Texas Western College (the present University of Texas at El Paso) he was selected to the All Border Conference team as a quarterback in 1954 and 1955. Not only did he lead his team to winning seasons as a quarterback and defensive back, Whittenton also saw playing time as the Miners' extra-point kicker. Whittenton led the Miners to back-to-back Sun Bowl victories over Southern Mississippi and Florida State in 1954 and 1955, respectively. He was named MVP of the 1955 Sun Bowl and shares the Sun Bowl record for most touchdown passes (three). Whittenton was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams 1955. He was a defensive back for two years with the Rams before he began his stint with Green Bay. Since 1965, Whittenton has been a member of the Professional Golfers' Association of America. Currently the golf professional at Santa Teresa Country Club, Whittenton owns and operates Desert Eagle Golf School and Driving Range in El Paso.

Tom Brookshier CBS broadcaster, 1973, 1977-1981 Tom Brookshier is a 1953 graduate of the University of Colorado. He was a backfield coach for nine years at the Air Force Academy while serving as a Lieutenant in the USAF and later starred for nine years (1953-1961) in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles as a defensive back. The Eagles honored him by retiring his number 40. In 1962 he began his broadcasting career at WCAU radio and television in Philadelphia and subsequently became a football analyst with CBS Sports, working NFL regular season games, Super Bowls VI and XVII, and numerous Blue-Gray, Cotton, Sun, and Pro Bowl games. In 1977 he teamed up with Pat Summerall to form the most illustrious Sun Bowl broadcast team ever. Like his celebrated broadcast partner of that era, Brookshier has received numerous athletic, broadcasting, and civic awards. He is enshrined in the University of Colorado Hall of Fame, Pennsylvania's Hall of Fame, and the Philadelphia Eagles All-Time Honor Role. His awards include the Washington Touchdown Club Outstanding Broadcaster, the Bert Bell Award, Emmy awards for outstanding live sports series and CBS commentator, and the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association.

SUNBOWL HIGHLIGHTS -- 69 YEARS OF HISTORY 1941: Hascall Henshaw of Arizona State turned in the longest run in Sun Bowl history, a 94-yard touchdown, in a losing cause, as the Sun Devils fell to Western Reserve, 26-13. Fifty years later, he was honored during pre-game ceremonies of the 1991 game between UCLA and Illinois.
1943: All profits from the game were donated to World War II charities.
1948: Miami (Ohio) capped an undefeated season with a 13-12 victory over Texas Tech. Miami's head coach Sid Gillman and players Richard "Doc" Urich, Paul Dietzel, Hugh Hindeman and Ara Parseghian later became known as the "Cradle of Coaches." Parseghian dislocated his shoulder during the second quarter and was unable to return to the game. The Sun Bowl gained national exposure when Art Linkletter originated his popular, national radio broadcast from Liberty Hall in downtown El Paso during Sun Bowl week activities.
1954: Dr. C. M. Hendricks, who named the classic, was a founding father of the Sun Bowl Association, and served as its director from 1935 to 1945, died on Dec. 9. A Most Valuable Player Award was established in his honor.
1955: The highest scoring Sun Bowl (at that time) occurred as UTEP defeated Florida State, 47-20. The Seminoles had a pair of running backs named Burt Reynolds and Lee Corso on their team.
1958: Two games were played in the same year. Louisville defeated Drake on New Year's Day, 34-20. On the last day of that year, a legendary coaching matchup occurred. Bob Devaney's Wyoming Cowboys defeated Hardin-Simmons, coached by Sammy Baugh, 14-6. For the first time ever, a lineman (Leonard Kucsewski of Wyoming) won the C. M. Hendricks Most Valuable Player Award.
1959: Charley Johnson of New Mexico State (and later the St. Louis Cardinals) won the first of his back-to-back MVP awards. The Aggies also featured the NCAA rushing champion, Pervis Atkins.
1960: New Mexico State completed a perfect season with a 20-13 victory over Utah State. Charley Johnson, who won his second MVP award, set a Sun Bowl passing accuracy record of 18 completions out of 26 attempts for a.692 percentage. A future Pro Football Hall of Fame member was a member of the Utah State team: Merlin Olsen.
1963: The first Sun Bowl game in the new 30,000-seat Sun Bowl Stadium featured Oregon's 21-14 victory over SMU.
1964: Georgia's 7-0 victory over Texas Tech was broadcast by NBC, the Sun Bowl's first appearance on network television. NBC televised the game again in 1966.
1965: UTEP quarterback Billy Stevens won the first of his two MVP awards as the Miners beat TCU 13-12.
1967: The first sellout crowd of the Sun Bowl in the new stadium saw UTEP defeat Mississippi, 14-7.
1968: CBS Television broadcast its first-ever Sun Bowl. This affiliation has continued ever since.
1974: A freak winter storm in El Paso on the night before the game left a frost on the field. The warmth of the sun created steam rising from the field during the first half. Later, the game was affectionately dubbed the "Fog Bowl." Mississippi State defeated the North Carolina Tarheels, 26-24.
1976: No game was played during this calendar year. Texas A&M defeated Florida, 37-14, on January 2, 1977.
1977. The Aggies' Tony Franklin kicked the longest field goal in Sun Bowl and NCAA post-season history, 62 yards.
1982: The first Sun Bowl football game in the newly-expanded Sun Bowl Stadium with a seating capacity of over 51,000 saw North Carolina rally to beat the Texas Longhorns, 26-10.
1984: Maryland's 28-27 win over Tennessee marked the biggest comeback in Sun Bowl history. Trailing 21-0 at halftime, the Terrapins scored 28 second-half points (22 in the third quarter, a Sun Bowl record also). The comeback was nothing really new to the Terps. They had engineered the greatest comeback in college football history. Trailing the defending national champion Miami Hurricanes 31-0 at halftime, Maryland scored 42 second-half points to win 42-40. This game also marked the third appearance of Coach Johnny Majors as a head coach representing three different universities (Iowa State in 1971, Pittsburgh with Tony Dorsett in 1975, and Tennessee).
1986: The Sun Bowl became the first post-season classic to be sponsored commercially when John Hancock Financial Services entered into a five-year agreement with the Sun Bowl Association.
1987: The highest-scoring game was played as No. 11 Oklahoma State defeated West Virginia in a shoot-out, 35-33.
1988: The Sun Bowl made its first-ever million-dollar payment to the competing teams, Alabama and Army.
1990: Michigan State became the first-ever Big Ten school to play in the Sun Bowl.
1992: Baylor's legendary Grant Teaff concluded his coaching career by leading the Bears to a 20-15 victory over the University of Arizona. Additionally, the Sun Bowl made its largest-ever team payments: $1,100,000 per team.
1996: Norwest Corporation of Minneapolis, Minn. established a corporate relationship with the Sun Bowl Association and the annual football game was renamed the Norwest Sun Bowl. Stanford quarterback Chad Hutchinson establishes a new Norwest Sun Bowl pass completion percentage record (22/28, .786).
1999: The name changes officially to Vitalis Sun Bowl in April as a result of the Norwest/Wells Fargo Bank merger.
2001: CBS Sports extends Sun Bowl contract through the 2006 game. UTEP stadium renovations result in a new field surface, AstroPlay, and a permanent big screen (Dia Vision). Hundreds of seats are removed from the lower comers of the stadium in order to accommodate soccer games, resulting in a new capacity of 50,426.

Thurman Thomas 1987 Sun Bowl Most Valuable Player (Oklahoma State) A consensus All-American at Oklahoma State, Thurman Thomas was named MVP of the 1987 Sun Bowl. Thomas, a running back for the Cowboys from 1984-1987, led OSU to a 35-33 victory over West Virginia in the 1987 Sun Bowl. He holds three Sun Bowl records: most rushing attempts (33), most points (24) and most touchdowns (4). A Houston native, Thomas carried the ball a total of 897 times for 4,595 yards, 43 touchdowns and 21 100-yard-rushing games while at OSU. He was a Heisman Trophy candidate his senior year, finishing seventh in the voting. Thomas had an impressive professional career with the Buffalo Bills from 1988-1999. During his rookie year in 1988, he helped the Bills get to the AFC Championship. In just his second year, he was selected to the Pro Bowl. He was voted the 1991 NFL MVP and selected to the Pro Bowl and All-Madden team. Thomas became the first Bills player to gain over 100 rushing and receiving yards in the same game and went on to rush for over 1,000 yards in eight straight seasons. He set the all-time Bills rushing record with 11,938 yards. He is the second all-time leading receiver in Bills history with 4,341 yards, and he is fourth overall in team scoring. After 12 years with the Bills, including four Super Bowl appearances, six AFC titles, five straight Pro-Bowls and an MVP award, Thomas and other teammates were cut from the Bills for salary cap reasons. He played one more year with rival Miami Dolphins before suffering a career-ending knee injury. In February 2001, he signed a one-day contract with the Bills so he could retire with the team he spent 12 years with. Thomas finished ninth all-time with 12,074 career rushing yards and sixth in career all-purpose yards. He is the only player in NFL history to lead the league in total yards from scrimmage for four consecutive seasons. Thomas is the Bills all-time leading rusher with 2,849 attempts for 11,938 yards and 65 touchdowns. He is second in receptions (456) and fourth in receiving yards (4,381). He is one of only three running backs (Barry Sanders and Emmitt Smith) to rush for over 1,000 yards in eight consecutive seasons and one of only three running backs (Walter Payton and Marcus Allen) to have over 400 receptions and 10,000 yards rushing. Thomas set NFL playoff records for career points (126), touchdowns (21) and consecutive games with a touchdown (9).

John H. Folmer Chairman, Sun Bowl Football Committee Chairman of the Sun Bowl Football Committee, John H. Folmer became involved with the Sun Bowl Association in 1971. He has served on the football committee for 28 consecutive years and has been chairman of the committee since 1981. The John Folmer Most Valuable Special Teams Player Trophy was established in his honor in 1994. The All-American Football Foundation honored Folmer with the Bud Dudley Bowl Executive Award at the Banquet of Champions in 1999. Folmer has been a part of the Sun Bowl Association's basketball committee, and he was one of the charter members of the Western Refining College All-America Golf Classic committee. An El Paso native and graduate of Ysleta High School, Folmer went on to serve as team captain for the Arizona State football team. He was a three-year letterman for the Sun Devils (1963-64-65). Folmer was honored in El Paso sportswriter Ray Sanchez's book, "El Paso's Greatest Sports Heroes."

Barry Switzer Sun Bowl Coach, 1981 (Oklahoma) A 2001 College Football Hall of Fame inductee, Switzer led the University of Oklahoma to a 40-14 victory over Houston in the 1981 Sun Bowl. After a 7-7 tie late in the third quarter, the Sooners scored 30 points in the fourth quarter to solidify the win. The 30-point fourth quarter is a Sun Bowl record for most points scored in a quarter. In his 16 years at OU (1973-1988), Switzer compiled a 157-29-4 record. He is ranked first in winning percentage (.837) in Oklahoma history, and the winning percentage also ranks as the fourth-best in NCAA Division I history. Switzer led Oklahoma to three national titles: 1974, 1975 and 1985. Under Switzer, the Sooners earned 12 Big-8 Conference Championships and won eight of 13 bowl appearances. Switzer was named head coach of the Dallas Cowboys in 1994. He led Dallas to the 1996 Super Bowl, in which the Cowboys defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-17. Switzer is one of only two coaches who have won championships in both the NCAA and the NFL. A native of Arkansas, Switzer graduated from the University of Arkansas in 1960. He played center and linebacker for the Razorbacks and was captain of the 1959 team, which claimed the Southwestern Conference title and Gator Bowl title. In 1966, Switzer joined the Oklahoma coaching staff as offensive line coach, and he was named head coach of the Sooners in 1973. In addition to his induction into the Oklahoma and Arkansas Sports Halls of Fame, he has been honored with many awards and special titles by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, Big 8 Conference, NCAA, Washington Pigskin Club, The Sporting News, Playboy, Associated Press and United Press International. He is the founding organizer of the Swing for Sight Golf Tournaments, which have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Society for the Prevention of Blindness. For the past 25 years, he has also contributed his time as Honorary Head Coach of the Oklahoma Special Olympics.

Derrick Thomas 1988 Sun Bowl Most Valuable Lineman (Alabama) The Sun Bowl Association has honored Derrick Thomas, posthumously, as a Legend of the Sun Bowl. Thomas was instrumental in Alabama’s 29-28 win over Army in the 1988 Sun Bowl. En route to earning the Jimmy Rogers, Jr. Most Valuable Lineman Trophy, he blocked two field goals in the second quarter, had one pass broken up and had a total of six unassisted tackles, including two for a loss. At Alabama, Thomas set a school career record with 52 quarterback sacks and 74 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. He was a unanimous first team All-American and won the 1988 Butkus Award as the best collegiate linebacker. Thomas was Kansas City’s first-round selection and the fourth overall selection of the 1989 National Football League draft. He was selected after Troy Aikman, Tony Mandarich and Barry Sanders and was the first linebacker the Chiefs ever drafted in the first round. In his first year with Kansas City, Thomas was the consensus Defensive Rookie of the Year. Thomas appeared in the Pro Bowl nine times. He established Chiefs records with 126.5 sacks, 45 forced fumbles, 19 fumble recoveries, four touchdowns and three safeties. Thomas was twice named the Kansas City Most Valuable Player. He has received the NFL’s two most prestigious humanitarian awards—NFL Man of the Year (1993) and Byron “Whizzer” White Humanitarian Award (1995). While with the Chiefs, Thomas started an inner-city reading program with his Third and Long Foundation. As part of the literacy program, he read to children at local libraries each home Saturday during the season. Thomas died Feb. 8, 2000, at the age of 33 while being treated for injuries suffered in a car accident in January.