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Report: Iconic bowl game expected to be canceled for the first time in 86 years
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
The coronavirus pandemic has caused the cancellation of yet another bowl game.
According to Stadium college football reporter Brett McMurphy, the Sun Bowl, which has been played annually in El Paso, Texas, since 1935, will not be played for the first time in his history.
The Sun Bowl has been canceled this year, sources told @Stadium. Tied as 2nd-longest running bowl game behind only the Rose Bowl, the Sun Bowl had been played 86 consecutive seasons since 1935. It is 4th Pac-12 bowl canceled this year & 3rd with an ACC tie-in
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) November 30, 2020
The Sun Bowl debuted in 1935 at Jones Stadium on the campus of El Paso High School and featured a pair of high school teams from the state. The next year was the first featuring 2 college football teams, a format it has held ever since.
In 1938, the game was moved to the campus of UTEP, initially at Kidd Field before moving to its namesake stadium next door following its completion in 1963. It has been played between an ACC team and a Pac-12 team since the 2011 edition.
The previous Sun Bowl, on Dec. 31, 2019, saw Arizona State take on Florida State. The Sun Devils won by a final score of 20-14, giving them a 4-2-1 all-time record in the event.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
