Virginia will not play in this week’s Fenway Bowl due to Covid issues, season over

Posted on Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021, 10:36 am

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Photo: UVA Athletics

By Jerry Ratcliffe

Virginia will not play in this week’s Wasabi Fenway Bowl due to Covid issues within the team, sources confirmed this morning.

UVA was awaiting the results of one last round of testing in hopes of salvaging the bowl trip, but those results that just came in confirmed the team is not healthy enough to play in the game. Coaches were just informed of those results within the last few minutes.

The Cavaliers were scheduled to fly to Boston today, but that trip has been canceled. Coach Bronco Mendenhall has scheduled a team gathering this afternoon to officially address his team.

Mendenhall, who surprisingly stepped down after the season, had decided he would coach his team for the bowl game, but Covid has ended the season. It is the second consecutive year that Virginia was eligible to play in postseason but did not extend its campaign.

According to sources, several UVA players did not practice Friday, including quarterback Brennan Armstrong.

The Cavaliers finished the season 6-6 and were scheduled to play SMU (8-4) in the first-ever Fenway Bowl at historic Fenway Park, home of Major League Baseball’s Boston Red Sox.