The Virginia football team qualified for bowl eligibility for the fifth straight season, but will not appear in a bowl for the second consecutive year in the end. The Cavaliers withdrew from the Fenway Bowl scheduled for Wednesday due to COVID impacts on the roster. Last season, the program opted out of postseason play during the ongoing global pandemic.
The Hoos had hoped for one final ride with coach Bronco Mendenhall this week in Boston, but will not have that opportunity. Mendenhall resigned from his position early in December after six years guiding the program. UVA subsequently hired Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott as its head coach and he began working on the transition between coaches during the build-up to the bowl.
“We are extremely disappointed the team will not be able to participate in the inaugural Fenway Bowl,” Virginia athletics director Carla Williams said in a news release. “Playing this game was something our team very much looked forward to and it is unfortunate Coach Mendenhall will not have one last opportunity to coach this group.”
The Cavaliers completed the regular season with a 6-6 record. That included what is now a season-ending loss to Virginia Tech at Scott Stadium. Along the way, they snared last-second wins at Miami and Louisville, but also ended the season on a four-game skid. The final two seasons of the Mendenhall era ended with 5-5 and 6-6 records plus bowl eligibility without a bowl.
For the Wahoos, the 2021 campaign featured one of the best offensive seasons in school history. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong set new program records for single season passing yards (4,449), single season passing touchdowns (31), single season completions (326), single season total yards (4,700), and single game passing yards (554). He tied the record for most touchdowns responsible for in a single game (6) and tied for second for touchdown passes in a single game (5). Dontayvion Wicks, one of Armstrong’s top targets, set the program’s single season record with 1,203 receiving yards.
“We want to thank the Fenway Bowl and its staff for their preparation to host the game and for their communication with us over the past few days,” Williams also said. “We appreciate all of the hard work by our team and coaching staff. They earned this bowl invitation, and it is unfortunate they will not be able to compete in the game to complete the season. We regret how this also impacts our fans who were planning on attending the game as well as the SMU program and its fans.”
Virginia’s Fenway Bowl opponent Southern Methodist University will also miss a bowl for the second straight season. SMU qualified for the Frisco Bowl in 2020, but had to withdraw due to COVID concerns within its program. The Fenway Bowl has never actually been held – the initial inaugural game in 2020 was canceled by bowl organizers in October citing COVID concerns.
The 2021 Military Bowl between Boston College and East Carolina has also been canceled. Hawaii withdrew from the Hawaii Bowl and Texas A&M withdrew from the Gator Bowl as well. Rutgers has replaced the Aggies in the latter.
“I’m disappointed for our fans, and even more disappointed for our players, that we will be unable to play in a bowl game for the second straight season,” SMU Director of Athletics Rick Hart said as part of a news release. “We are, however, sympathetic to Virginia’s situation, having had to withdraw from our bowl last season due to COVID. We hope those impacted get well soon.”
Pffft, get serious about football and you may be able to get Scott to 80% capacity. Opting out is another example that this university does not take football serious. Frustrating to say the least
Apparently, cdm does not take Covid serious. UVA does. That’s more important than this particular bowl game or just about any other football game.
Gonna be a lot of teams opting out. One problem is determining which strain a person has. If everyone is becoming infected with Omicron, it expanded with a Big Bang. Worth noting is that we can assume all of our guys were up to date on their shots as are the NBA and NFL yet they are getting hammered by positive tests also.
What a moronic comment by cdm, even by message board standards. If the team has numerous COVID cases, where those who test positive need to quarantine and, duh, not play regardless of severity of symptoms, what exactly is UVa supposed to do? The quarantine rules are the quarantine rules. You can’t send a bunch of kids on a plane knowing they have COVID. Given all the interviews leading up to today, it’s clear the players and coaches wanted to play the Wasabi Bowl.