BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The inaugural Wasabi Fenway Bowl has been canceled after a COVID-19 outbreak on University of Virginia's football team. The team was set to play SMU on Wednesday at Fenway Park, but withdrew from the game on Sunday.
University of Virginia said some of its players had started showing symptoms last week before the team was set to leave for Boston on Christmas Day. The whole team was tested on Christmas, and enough positive tests came back Sunday morning to force the team to stay home.
Virginia Athletics Director Carla Williams said the team was "extremely disappointed" to not be playing in the game. She also said the school "regret[s] how this also impacts our fans who were planning on attending the game."
SMU Athletic Director Rick Hart said he was "disappointed for our fans, and even more disappointed for our players," but that he was sympathetic to UVA's situation.
It would have been the first college football bowl game held at Fenway Park.