Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl Cancelled After Boise State Pulls Out With COVID-19 Issues

The days following Christmas were supposed to be filled with scores of college football bowl games, keeping us entertained until we reached New Years Eve and the College Football Playoff semifinal games. 

And while there are still quite a few bowl games on the books, the new wave of COVID-19 is having a large impact on the college football bowl season. 

On Monday, the Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl between Central Michigan and Boise State was cancelled due to a COVID-19 outbreak in the Broncos locker room. The Arizona Bowl became the fourth bowl game to be cancelled due to COVID-19 issues. 

“Due to a COVID spike within a participating athletic program, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2021 Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl,” the official twitter account of the bowl game said in a statement. “We would like to thank our sponsors for their support. We look forward to providing a world class bowl experience in 2022.” 

“We feel for the young men in our program who were very much looking forward to closing out their season, and for some, their football careers,” Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey said in the statement. 

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy made the announcement of Boise State’s withdrawal Monday afternoon, saying the bowl was actively seeking a replacement for the Broncos. 

“Breaking: [Boise State Football] has pulled out of [The Barstool Sports Arizona Bowl] due to too many players contracting covid,” Portnoy posted to Twitter.  “We are actively looking for a replacement. I suggest [Washington State Football] does a poll of players whether they want to play in Az bowl or Sun Bowl.”

Central Michigan will now play Washington State in the Sun Bowl, which was looking for an opponent for the Cougars following Sunday’s announcement that Miami had withdrawn due to COVID-19 issues. 

“We are grateful for the diligent work of the Sun Bowl Association, the Pac-12 Conference, the Mid-American Conference and Central Michigan University to ensure the 2021 Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl will be played,” Washington State athletic director Pat Chun said in a statement. “A special thank you to CMU’s director of athletics Amy Folan and head coach Jim McElwain for prioritizing the bowl experience for both teams, especially the seniors who will be playing their final college football game.”

On Sunday, the Military Bowl between East Carolina and Boston College was cancelled, scheduled to take place on Monday. 

“This is a terrible situation obviously,” Military Bowl President & Executive Director Steve Beck said in a statement. “We appreciate everyone who worked so hard to try to make the game happen. Of course, the health and safety of the players and coaches is top priority. The decision not to play is understandable, but disappointing.”

“Unfortunately, due to cases of COVID-19 rising within our program since our arrival, along with season-ending injuries, opt outs and transfers, we just do not have enough players to field a team,” Boston College Director of Athletics Pat Kraft said.

There are five bowl games scheduled for Tuesday, December 28, highlighted by former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach leading his Mississippi State Bulldogs into the Liberty Bowl against the Red Raiders at 6:45 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Joe Morgan is the Sports Reporter for The Daily Wire. Most recently, Morgan covered the Clippers, Lakers, and the NBA for Sporting News. Send your sports questions to [email protected].

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