More bowl games called off as Covid outbreaks continue to plague sport

Two college football bowl games were canceled on Sunday and the fate of another hung in the balance, as Covid-19 outbreaks continued to wreak havoc on the sport.

The University of Miami announced Sunday night that its Hurricanes would not travel to El Paso, Texas, to play in the Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against Washington State on Friday.

The Sun Bowl, played annually since 1935, is one the nation’s four oldest bowl games. The New Year’s Eve game wasn’t immediately canceled on Sunday but Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas told NBC affiliate KTSM: “As far as a backup plan, because we are where we are, we don’t have one right now.”

Hours earlier, the Military Bowl and Wasabi Fenway Bowl were both scuttled by Covid-19 issues.

Boston College was unable to field enough players to take on East Carolina in the Military Bowl, set for a Monday afternoon kickoff at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland.

An outbreak on the University of Virginia’s football team prevented the Cavaliers from traveling to Boston, where they were set to play Southern Methodist University in the Fenway Bowl. The game would have been played Wednesday in Fenway Park, the historic baseball stadium.

The Hawaii Bowl was called off on Thursday after Hawaii backed out from its game against Memphis on the eve of the contest due to Covid-19 and injuries.

Last week, the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl was threatened after Texas A&M had to pull out as injuries and players placed in Covid-19 protocol ravaged the Aggies roster.

Gator Bowl organizers filled A&M’s spot with Rutgers, which was 5-7 overall this season and had a 2-7 Big Ten record, good for next-to-last place in the Big Ten’s East Division standings.

The semifinals of the College Football Playoff are set for Friday, ahead of the title game now set for Jan. 10 in Indianapolis.

With Covid-19 cases spiking across the country due to the omicron variant, CFP officials conceded last week that teams could advance to the final, or one even declared a champion, by Covid forfeits.