Sugar Bowl

For Over 30 Years, the Sugar Bowl Game Program Has Been Wayne Pierce’s Passion

by Trey Iles for the Allstate Sugar Bowl

[This story originally appeared in the Official Game Program for the 2022 Allstate Sugar Bowl.]

All-Time Sugar Bowl Game Program Covers

Years before Bill Hancock became the overseer of college football’s postseason, first with the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) and now the College Football Playoff (CFP), he was on the staff at the University of Oklahoma.

Hancock has fond memories of working in the press box as his powerhouse Sooners became the answer to a unique trivia question – which school won two Sugar Bowls in the same year? Oklahoma ran all over Auburn in a 40-22 victory on January 1, 1972 and then, 364 days later, its defense shut down Penn State in a 14-0 win on December 31, 1972.

The sights, sounds and memories of those games and New Orleans left an indelible mark on Hancock, who is also an Oklahoma graduate.

Fast forward to several years ago at the Bon Ton Café in New Orleans. Hancock and members of the Allstate Sugar Bowl staff and committee were gathered to discuss the upcoming game and enjoy some great New Orleans food.

Another memorable Sugar Bowl involving Oklahoma was referenced – the 1951 game when Bud Wilkinson’s Sooners were shocked by Bear Bryant’s Kentucky squad on January 1, 1951. A moment or two later, Bon Ton owner Wayne Pierce, a member of the Sugar Bowl Committee, disappeared for a short time. When he returned, he presented Hancock a like-new copy of the 1951 Sugar Bowl program from that contest.

“The word ‘cherished treasure’ comes to mind,’’ Hancock said. “About that game program…and about Wayne, too.

“Nobody doesn’t like Wayne. He is one of the true gentlemen of college football. He is one of the most respected people in the CFP family. (Wife) Debbie, too.  And they both care greatly about other people.’’

New Orleans embraces tradition and history perhaps like no other city in the nation. It’s part of what makes it unique. Equally, the Allstate Sugar Bowl embraces its history. It’s an important component of the game program, which has been printed for each contest since the Sugar Bowl’s birth in 1935.

Since 1986, Pierce has been the guardian of the program. To say it’s a labor of love for him would greatly undersell his commitment and dedication to this vital part of telling the Sugar Bowl’s story.

“Wayne has been fantastic as the caretaker of our program,’’ said Sugar Bowl Chief Executive Officer Jeff Hundley. “We have 34 different working committees at the Sugar Bowl. He’s the only that hasn’t changed for at least three decades.

“Wayne is one of the most easygoing, sincere, friendly guys you could ever work with. He’s detail-oriented. He pours over the program every year, page by page. Even photographs, he’s very invested in it.’’

Pierce was the perfect person at the perfect time to guide and direct the program. For many years, the program was produced by Franklin Printing Company in New Orleans, owned by the David family, themselves members of the Sugar Bowl Committee.

But college football, and the bowl games by extension, were changing. There was more interest in the game, and it became incumbent upon the bowl games to invest more resources into their products. The Sugar Bowl Committee recognized then that if it was to remain as one of nation’s top games it would have to make adjustments.

One of those was to go to a national publication company to produce the program.

“Instead of costing the Sugar Bowl money to publish and print then worry about selling it to get back our investment, the national company guaranteed you a certain amount of money for publishing the program,’’ Pierce said. “The Sugar Bowl Board of Directors decided that would be the best thing to do. It made more sense to go to this publication company.’’

And it fell to Pierce to coordinate.

“The program history dates back to the David family, who are also members of the Sugar Bowl,’’ Hundley said. “Wayne was very careful to keep alive the David family’s traditions and history.’’

Even with the publication company printing the program, content production fell largely to the Pierce and Sugar Bowl staff. Pierce was the perfect person for it.

He had a great understanding of the history of the Sugar Bowl game and the idiosyncrasies of New Orleans. But he also was forward thinking and understood the program could use a makeover. His attention to detail helped bring the program up to speed without sacrificing its nod to the past.

“From then on, we’ve been working on creating a book that would make sense,’’ Pierce said. “The order of content flows better and it gives us the opportunity to introduce our committee, our game and the satellite events, in which we take so much pride, early on. A lot of the other (bowl) games followed our content that we came up with.’’

Pierce is hands-on in developing the program though he deflects much of the credit to the Sugar Bowl staff. His determination and skill have been tested through the years. The Sugar Bowl was still able to produce a program when Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005, moving the game to Atlanta.

Then last year during COVID-19 pandemic, when many bowls went digital only with their programs, the Sugar Bowl produced a full book.

Hundley said Pierce is one of the main reasons for the success and duration of the Sugar Bowl program.

“He’s very humble and doesn’t like to take credit for anything,’’ Hundley said. “He would prefer to stand in the background. But the program is something that we’ve held up as a point of pride and Wayne is, in large part, responsible.’’

It’s even more than that, Hundley said. He’s a perfect representative of the game and program. That’s because he’s also the chief archivist of the program’s past.

When Franklin Printing went out of business some years ago, it had copies of the program stored in boxes from through the years. No one wanted them and it appeared as though they would be tossed. But Pierce had a storage area near his restaurant and decided to keep those magazines.

It has paid big dividends for the Bowl as Pierce has presented old game books to many people affiliated with college football through the years, like Hancock.

“It’s amazing the number of people that have collections of the program going back decades,’’ Hundley said. “Typically, there’s a story that goes with them. ‘I went to my first Sugar Bowl game with my grandfather when it was in old Tulane Stadium and I’ve collected every program ever since.’ It’s really neat.

“Wayne kept multiple copies in his warehouse there. Time and again he would go upstairs, and next thing you know, we have someone who is a North Carolina fan and Wayne is handing him a North Carolina program from way back. It such a nice touch.’’

“The program is a fantastic way to tell our story and I’m glad I was able to hang on to them,’’ Pierce said. “All these programs haven’t been opened and still look brand new. It makes me feel good that I’m able to give one to someone who remembers being at a certain game. Makes me glad I hung on to them.’’

As the digital age continues unabated, the printed product grows less prevalent. It’s certainly foreseeable when game programs disappear and the same information will be available with a swipe of your finger on a phone.

Hundley said he hopes that doesn’t happen for a long time to the Sugar Bowl program.

“We worry about that from time to time with the way the world has gone digital,’’ Hundley said. “But as long as we can hold out and continue to produce a program we intend to do that. It’s such a special part of our organization. And we have Wayne to thank for that.’’