Barstool’s Arizona Bowl canceled, Central Michigan to play in Sun Bowl

Lew Nichols III and Central Michigan will play in the Sun Bowl after Arizona Bowl opponent Boise State had to pull out to to COVID issues.
AP

The Arizona Bowl was canceled on Monday night after Boise State pulled out and shut down all team activities due to COVID-19 issues within the program.

The Broncos were scheduled to play Central Michigan at Arizona Stadium on Friday but instead joined numerous college basketball programs that have been hit with coronavirus issues coming out of the Christmas break.

“We feel for the young men in our program who were very much looking forward to closing out their season, and for some, their football careers,” Boise State athletic director Jeramiah Dickey said Monday in a statement. “I would personally like to thank Kym Adair and her team at the Arizona Bowl for putting together a first-class student-athlete and fan experience that we are extremely disappointed to miss.”

Washington State will now play Central Michigan in the Sun Bowl.

AP

Barstool Sports, the sponsor of the Arizona Bowl, tweeted that it made the “difficult decision” to cancel the game, which would have been streamed on its platforms. It becomes the fourth bowl canceled this season after the Hawaii, Fenway and Military bowls.

Central Michigan will instead play Washington State in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas, replacing Miami in a game that will be broadcast on CBS. The Sun Bowl comes with a greater payout to teams ($4.55 million) than the Arizona Bowl ($350,000), according to Sports Illustrated.