3:44 PM
The Bruins were forced to pull out of the Holiday Bowl just hours before their game against NC State because of problems within the program.
The school made a decision around 3:30 p.m. On Tuesday. The Bruins and Wolfpack were going to play in San Diego. The time is later.
Martin Jarmond said in a statement that he was "deeply disappointed" for the Bruins players, but emphasized their health and safety was paramount.
The NC State Wolfpack, who were trying to win 10 games in a season for the second time in program history, had their bowl game canceled.
NC State coach Dave Doeren said nobody at the school knew that UCLA was dealing with more COVID-19 issues after the Bruins arrived in town to begin preparations for the game. The first he heard about it was when his athletic director told him the game was off.
Doeren told a small gathering of reporters in San Diego that he broke the news at a team meeting in which his players expressed anger, confusion and sadness.
Doeren said that he felt lied to. We didn't know what was going on and we felt like UCLA knew. We had no idea they were up against that. I don't think it was handled well by the university. It would have been great to have had a heads-up so we could have found a Plan B.
Jarmond responded to Doeren in a statement.
Jarmond wrote that the medical staff decided it was unsafe for them to compete. We were still in a position to compete until today.
Everyone who was involved with the game, I am really disappointed.
The Bruins' cancelation was due to COVID-19 protocols, according to a text message from the Bowl Season's executive director.
"UCLA's statement makes it very clear that their inability to play was due to the protocols in place and not the virus itself," he said. I feel bad for the teams and the people who worked so hard for the Holiday Bowl. This is a sad and frustrating situation.
NC State has been in contact with many teams about playing a game, but did not say when or where that might be.
Doeren doesn't want this to diminish what happened this year. There's not going to be a rationale that makes it feel good because this was an unfair thing. We're going to have to deal with it and prepare for what's next.
The Holiday Bowl is the fifth bowl game to be canceled because of issues with at least one of the participating teams.
The report was contributed to by Heather Dinich.
