Boston College football season ends as Military Bowl vs. East Carolina canceled due to COVID-19 issues

“This is not the way we wanted to see this season end,” BC coach Jeff Hafley said. “We just don’t have enough players to play the game safely. My heart is on our seniors who don’t have the last chance to wear a BC shirt, and I can’t thank them enough for all their contributions to our program.

This is the latest in Eagles ’unfortunate bowl game development series.

The First Responder Bowl in 2018 was canceled due to lightning. The 2019 Birmingham Bowl was delayed by lightning before the Eagles lost to Cincinnati. BC then decided to skip the bowl game last year because of COVID-19 concerns.

The Eagles initially decided to play in their own game this season. They arrived in the area on time and visited, among other things, the Museum of African American History. They missed Christmas with their families on Saturday and learned on Sunday that the game would be suspended.

“We’re disappointed when we can’t finish through us together as a team, but the health and safety of our program is our top priority,” said Pat Kraft, director of athletics at BC.

East Carolina shared an update on Twitter on Sunday, with ECU head coach Mike Houston calling it “sore to melt,” and sports director Jon Gilbert reiterated those thoughts.

“Boston College AD Pat Kraft and I have been in contact for the past two days, and he called me a while ago to let him know that the Eagles could not attend the military bowl because of COVID-19,” Gilbert said. “Of course we’re very disappointed when we can’t play the game.”

The Fenway Bowl scheduled for Wednesday between the Southern Methodist and Virginia was also canceled on Sunday due to COVID concerns.

Trevor Hass can be reached at [email protected].