We’ve got a few more college football bowl cancellations this morning, abruptly ending the seasons for four teams.
According to Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, the Fenway Bowl between SMU and Virginia has been canceled. Earlier this morning, the Military Bowl between East Carolina and Boston College was canceled too.
The Military Bowl was set to be played tomorrow while the inaugural Fenway Bowl at Fenway Park was slated for December 29. Those two games make three college football bowl cancellations, joining the Hawai’i Bowl.
Fans of Virginia and SMU are particularly upset over the news. The Fenway Bowl was set to be Virginia head coach Bronco Mendendall’s final game with the team. He’s set to retire after this season. As for SMU, it was going to be just their seventh bowl appearance in the last 35 years.
Bronco Mendenhall will not get to coach what was to be his final game at Virginia. https://t.co/QYMr1V9VOy
— Greg Wrubell (@gregwrubell) December 26, 2021
Well that’s a bummer.
I was excited to go to this one.
In my four years at SMU, we went 30-16 in the regular season. We went to one bowl game. https://t.co/J4nxBrIp9j
— FQ SMU✌️ (@FQ_SMU) December 26, 2021
Awful news for the Hoos, as Bronco Mendenhall’s tenure comes to an end https://t.co/OgrpgUcpoc
— Anthony Romano (@ARomanoWDBJ) December 26, 2021
Pour one out for the Fenway Bowl. We hardly knew ya. https://t.co/EcXdWwBHqG
— Jacob Bigelow (@JacobABigelow) December 26, 2021
Unfortunately, it’s starting to look like the Military Bowl and Fenway Bowl won’t be the last ones canceled either.
COVID-19 infections are going up across the entire sports world as leagues and teams struggle to handle the virus and its variants.
Some bowl games, such as the Gator Bowl, managed to find a replacement team for their game when one backed out. But other games will not be as easy to mend.
The bigger question might be: What will happen if one of the four teams in the College Football Playoff has to drop out? The rules say that it will count as a forfeit, but the NCAA has the power to change its mind…