Fenway Bowl, Military Bowl latest to be canceled due to COVID-19
The Military Bowl and Fenway Bowl have become the latest college football postseason games to be canceled due to COVID-19.
Boston College had to pull out of the Military Bowl against East Carolina University, citing missing 40 available players. The school told ESPN that its lack of players was due to coronavirus issues, injuries, opt-outs and transfers.
The sports news outlet noted that Boston College had been able to get through last season with only one COVID-19 case and was able to enter this season with an entirely vaccinated team and staff. However, the school was hit with a rise in cases as the nation deals with an uptick in breakthrough infections due to the highly-transmissible omicron variant.
Boston College coach Jeff Hafley said in a statement that "this is not the way we wanted to see this season come to an end," but conceded that there were not enough players to safely play.
The University of Virginia said in a statement on Sunday that it be unable to travel to play against Southern Methodist University in the Wasabi Fenway Bowl due to a number players testing positive for the coronavirus.
"The University of Virginia is no longer able to participate in Wednesday's Wasabi Fenway Bowl game due to the number of COVID cases impacting its roster, preventing safe participation," the team said. Players began displaying symptoms leading up to the Dec. 25 departure date, leading to some getting tested and receiving positive COVID-19 results.
These cancellations come just days after the Hawaii Bowl was canceled due to the University of Hawaii pulling out over COVID-19 cases in its team. The University of Memphis had already traveled to Hawaii to participate before the game was cancelled.
