Saturday’s Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., has been canceled after organizers couldn’t find a replacement team for South Carolina, which pulled out of the game due to COVID-19 issues, leaving UAB without an opponent.
The matchup — the Gamecocks (2-8) against Conference USA champion UAB (6-3) — was announced Sunday evening. Less than 48 hours later, South Carolina pulled out.
Now, the Gasparilla Bowl is the fifth game to be called off this year because of a lack of available teams. In addition, 10 other bowl games were canceled prior to the end of the regular season.
“(Between) members of the coaching staff and student-athletes, COVID and contact tracing has taken a toll too high for us to overcome,” Gamecocks athletic director Ray Tanner said in a statement.
ESPN Events, which owns and runs the game, couldn’t find a team to replace the Gamecocks.
“The current environment has presented many challenges,” bowl executive director Scott Glaser said. “We looked into a number of options for UAB but ultimately could not identify any opportunities for them to play at this time. We are appreciative of the many supporters in the community, including our new title sponsor — Union Home Mortgage, and look forward to staging the game in 2021.”
The other bowl games to be canceled since the end of the regular season include the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La., the Military Bowl in Annapolis, Md., the Birmingham Bowl and the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix.
Though it has had different sponsors, the Gasparilla Bowl has been played annually since 2008. It moved from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., to Tampa in 2018.
