Yahoo Finance Virginia Tech will not play in bowl game, ending 27-year streak
Virginia Tech’s bowl streak will end at 27 years.
Hokies head coach Justin Fuente told reporters Wednesday that his players decided not to pursue a bowl game this season, ending a streak of 27 consecutive seasons of playing in a postseason game for the program. The streak, which dated back to the 1993 season, was the longest in the country.
“Our players have decided not to play, and I’m going to support them 100 percent,” Fuente said per Rivals.com. “We were going to do this all together or we’re not. It became evident that this was a very difficult situation.”
Fuente said his players wanted the chance to go home for Christmas instead of continuing with the season. The Hokies have been hit hard by COVID-19 throughout the season.
During a Tuesday press conference, Virginia Tech athletic director Whit Babcock said that “well over half” of the team’s football players have had the virus since the team convened back in March. Eight of the program’s 10 full-time assistant coaches contracted the virus as well, Babcock said.
The Hokies closed out their season with a 5-6 record by beating rival Virginia last weekend. Virginia Tech has finished with a losing record in two of the past three seasons, but Babcock confirmed Tuesday that Fuente will return for his sixth season in 2021.
Virginia Tech is the fifth ACC program to announce it will not pursue a bowl game, joining Boston College, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Virginia. Stanford also said it will conclude its season without playing in a bowl game.
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