Back in March, word spread that the Fiesta Bowl committee was allegedly rife with corruption. Bowl officials, which run the so-called nonprofit, were accused of buying favor with power brokers and politicians by taking them off on luxurious junkets, including potentially illegal trips to football games. It turns out politicians involved in the shenanigans won’t face charges, because an Arizona county attorney doesn’t feel confident he can prove the fact that elected officials knowingly violated the law.

The AP reports the Maricopa County Attorney says a tangled web of lax reporting requirements and jumbled state laws prevented him from proceeding with a potential case against more than two dozen politicians. Instead of bringing charges, the attorney advised the state legislature to toughen its rules on accepting and reporting gifts, perhaps going so far as to ban such freebies.

If any good can come out of this muddled situation, it’s that investigators continue to expose the college bowl system for the perversion of sports and ethics that it is, ideally leading to its destruction and the introduction of a playoff system.

Fiesta Bowl ticket probe won’t result in prosecution for politicians [AP via Sports Illustrated]

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