Hawaii, Bahamas bowls canceled by ESPN due to pandemic

The Hawaii and Bahamas bowls were canceled by ESPN Events on Friday because of the pandemic and related travel restrictions.

The games are typically played in December and are two of 17 owned and operated by ESPN. The cancellation brings the total number of postseason major college football games still tentatively on for this season down to 39.

"We are disappointed that we aren’t able to stage events at these premier destinations this year,” said Pete Derzis, ESPN senior vice president of college sports programming and ESPN Events. “We are committed to bringing both games back in 2021, and we thank our conference partners, sponsors and the local communities for their ongoing support and understanding.”

The California Bay Area-based RedBox Bowl has previously announced it would not be played this season.

College basketball tournaments traditionally held in Hawaii and the Bahamas have also been canceled for this season.

The Bahamas Bowl matchup this year was set to be Conference USA vs Mid-American Conference teams. The Hawaii Bowl was set to host a team from the Mountain West and a C-USA team.

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