College football bowl games are joining professional sports and college basketball teams in pandemic-related cancellations for the second year in a row.
After Miami pulled its team from the Sun Bowl on Sunday — leaving Washington State without an opponent — Boise State announced its withdrawal from the Arizona Bowl on Monday due to a rise in the team’s COVID cases.
Boise State’s withdrawal also left Central Michigan without an opponent, clearing the path for the Cougars and Chippewas to play against each other in the Sun Bowl.
- CBS will broadcast the game, with $4.5 million set to go to each school.
- The Arizona Bowl, which was set to distribute $350,000 to each school, has been canceled altogether. Barstool Sports purchased exclusive naming and broadcasting rights to the bowl earlier this year.
More Games Impacted
The Arizona Bowl is the fourth bowl game to be canceled following the Hawai’i Bowl, Military Bowl, and Fenway Bowl. The Holiday Bowl between UCLA and NC State on Tuesday night was also canceled hours before kickoff.
On Dec. 22, the College Football Playoff management committee announced semifinal games could not be made up, and forfeits would take place if teams do not have enough players.
If three of four teams cannot play in the College Playoff Semifinals, the fourth team will be deemed the national champion. The national championship will be declared vacant if the contest cannot take place before Jan. 15.
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