Posted on 12/24/2021 3:24:01 AM PST by Libloather
Less than 24 hours before Friday's Hawaii Bowl, Hawaii announced on Thursday that it will not be able to participate in the game vs. Memphis due to a rise in COVID-19 cases and player availability.
"We are disappointed our season has to end this way," coach Todd Graham said. "As competitive as we are and as much as we want to play the game, we cannot put the health and safety of our student-athletes at risk."
Shortly after UH's made its decision public, Hawaii Bowl officials announced this year's game was off.
The two teams were set to square off at 8 p.m. ET at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex -- the temporary home of the Rainbow Warriors. It would have been Hawaii's 10th appearance in the Hawaii Bowl.
"The health and safety of our student-athletes is the most important part of this decision," said UH athletics director David Matlin. "The recent surge in COVID-19 cases has forced us to not participate in the game. We are disappointed for our players, coaches, and fans. ESPN and the EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl staff did everything they could for us and we appreciate their valiant effort throughout the week. We want to thank the Memphis Tigers for making the long trip to Hawai'i. We are disappointed we can't compete on the football field."
It's the second bowl game to be impacted by the uptick in COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant and other personnel problems. Texas A&M bowed out of the Gator Bowl due to quarantines, injuries and transfers. The Gator Bowl announced Thursday that Rutgers will take the place of the Aggies since it has the highest Academic Progress Rate of the FBS teams with 5-7 records.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbssports.com ...
Texas A&M withdrew from the Taxslayer Gator Bowl. I guess they didn’t have enough 12th men.
They should take a lesson from their fans and supporters who sit shoulder-to-shoulder in 100,000-seat stadiums to watch these "sissies".
Well, enjoy the bus ride.
Gators? Did they play somewhere? /s
We had a bowl game?
At least they had a big crowd. Most bowl games up to New Year's Eve are played in pretty empty stadiums.
Maybe the Hawaii team can put on some grass skirts and compete in some cheerleading contests.
That’s probably the best possible outcome for the Memphis players. A free trip to Hawaii, don’t have to play the game.
Back in the 80s, I was on a military softball team. We won a UK tournament to qualify for the European tournament in Italy.
We got there the day before it started. The whole team went out on the town; half the team went back out at midnight.
We had a game at 8 a.m,, which we lost 2-0 (a tough thing to do in slow-pitch). We lost the next game to get knocked out of the tournament. That left us with 2-1/2 days to see the region. (No way to change the tickets; the football team probably has a charter, but hopefully they get to do something other than turn around and go home.)
We took a day trip to Venice, spent the next day climbing a small mountain/large hill. I like softball, but that was MUCH more memorable.
They say, “The health and safety of our student-athletes is the most important part of this decision”
Really so how many jabbed athletes their age have died?
I thought the jabs worked?
This is proof the jabs do not work.
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