Fifth bowl game canceled over COVID-19 issues

The Holiday Bowl between the North Carolina State Wolfpack and the University of California Los Angeles Bruins was canceled Tuesday due to a COVID-19 outbreak within UCLA’s program, ESPN reported. 

“We are extremely grateful to the Holiday Bowl, students, fans, sponsors and the people of San Diego for their support this week,” UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond said in a statement. “We are deeply disappointed for our young men in the football program that worked extremely hard for this opportunity. My heart goes out to them. The health and safety of our students will always be our North Star.”

UCLA and NC State had been scheduled to compete at Petco Park at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. 

NC State head football coach Dave Doeren said nobody at the school knew that UCLA was dealing with coronavirus-related issues as the team arrived in San Diego to prepare for the post-season contest.

Doeren said his athletic director, Boo Corrigan, told him the game was off minutes before media outlets reported it, ESPN reported. 

“Felt lied to, to be honest,” Doeren said. “We felt like UCLA probably knew something was going on, didn’t tell anybody on our side. We had no clue they were up against that. I don’t feel like it was very well handled from their university. It would have been great to have had a heads-up so two or three days ago we could have found a Plan B. Disappointing.”

Doeren added he doesn’t know if it will be logistically possible to try and find a new opponent for the contest. 

The Military Bowl, Hawaii Bowl, Fenway Bowl and Arizona Bowl have all been canceled due to COVID-19 outbreaks and concerns.

Texas A&M, meanwhile, was forced to drop out of the Gator Bowl against Wake Forest. The Aggies have been replaced by Rutgers in that game, scheduled for Friday.

The U.S. is currently dealing with a winter surge of COVID-19 infections as the omicron variant has taken hold across the nation.

In a statement through a text message, bowl season executive director Nick Carparelli said he feels bad the Holiday Bowl was canceled due to UCLA’s COVID-19 outbreak. 

“UCLA’s statement makes it very clear that their inability to play was due to the protocols in place and not the virus itself,” Carparelli said. “I feel bad for both teams as well as the great people at the Holiday Bowl who worked so hard all year long for today. This continues to be a very sad and frustrating situation.”