Holiday Bowl canceled, UCLA pulls out due to COVID-19
SAN DIEGO - UCLA has pulled out Tuesday night's scheduled bowl game against North Carolina State "due to COVID-19 protocols within the Bruins' program," the Team announced Tuesday afternoon
The SDCCU Holiday Bowl was scheduled to kick off at Petco Park in San Diego at 5 p.m. PT. Tuesday's game was set to be the first football game to be played at Petco.
Tuesday's game is now the fifth bowl game to be canceled due to COVID-19.
"We are extremely grateful to the Holiday Bowl, students, fans, sponsors and the people of San Diego for their transport this week," UCLA Athletic Director Martin Jarmond said in a Twitter statement. "We are deeply disappointed for our young men in the football program that worked extremely hard for this opportunity. My heart goes out to them. The health and safety of our students will always be our North Star."
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The Holiday Bowl gets the third selection among Pac-12 Conference teams, with the Rose Bowl getting the conference champion and the Alamo Bowl getting the second choice. The Holiday Bowl is in a group with the Cheez-It Bowl and Gator Bowl that have the first picks among Atlantic Coast Conference teams following the New Year's Six bowls.
PASADENA, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 27: Running back Zach Charbonnet #24 of the UCLA Bruins scores a touchdown in the second half against the California Golden Bears at Rose Bowl on November 27, 2021 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty
UCLA was scheduled to play in the bowl game for the second time, losing to Baylor, 49-26, in the 2012 game.
Tuesday's game would have been UCLA's first bowl appearance since 2017, when it lost to Kansas State, 35-17, in the Cactus Bowl.
This is a breaking story and will be updated as more information becomes available
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