Bowl season director blasts NCAA for canceled bowls, COVID protocols

Bowl Season executive director Nick Carparelli believes the NCAA isn’t doing enough to prevent bowls from being canceled because of COVID-19. In an interview with ESPN’s Adam Rittenburg, Carparelli said college football should be more willing to evolve its protocols for the virus.

“Health and safety will always be the most important concern,” Carparelli began. “However, I think the frustrating part is while the virus has evolved and weakened, the protocols in college athletics have not changed. There are other sports organizations, most notably the NFL, that have evolved and are functioning just fine.”

The Hawaii Bowl, originally scheduled for Christmas Eve, did not happen because of an outbreak on the Rainbow Warriors’ roster. The Fenway Bowl between Virginia and SMU was also canceled. Rutgers had to replace Texas A&M in the Gator Bowl after the Aggies had several players test positive.

Carparelli said he believes the remaining teams still want to play in the games, and will continue to work toward that goal.

“There’s a strong desire on behalf of all the teams in the organization to get these games played,” he said. “So I’m confident if they if they can be played, they will be played. I expect all the games to be played moving forward.”

The teams have reached their bowl destinations, according to Carparelli. Memphis, which was scheduled to play in the Hawaii Bowl, and SMU both have “a clear intent on playing the games,” which could mean finding another opponent. Both schools are said to be taking “extra precautions” to ensure they have enough players able to participate.

Following mass positive tests, the NFL recently changed its testing protocols so that asymptomatic players are no longer required to test weekly. Should the NCAA decide to follow suit with its COVID rules, it would likely result in less canceled bowls.

The protocols also have a major impact on the College Football Playoff. Earlier last week, teams were warned that they would forfeit a semifinal game if they are unable to play on New Year’s Eve. That would result in the intended opponent receiving an automatic big to the national title game.

For many players, this is the highlight of their season. Several bowl games were canceled in 2020 during the height of the virus, but the hope was that with another year to adjust, the situation would be more under control.

Instead, with positive tests beginning to spike because of the new Omicron variant, we are beginning to see a saddening trend of cancellations. As long as changing protocols doesn’t threaten player safety, it seems like the smart move.