Fenway Bowl

Last updated

Fenway Bowl
Wasabi Fenway Bowl
WasabiFenwayBowl.png
Stadium Fenway Park
Location Boston, Massachusetts
Operated2022–present
Conference tie-ins The American, ACC
Website fenwaybowl.com
Sponsors
Wasabi Technologies (2022–present)
2023 matchup
Boston College vs. SMU (Boston College 23–14)
2024 matchup
North Carolina vs. UConn (UConn 27–14)

The Fenway Bowl is an NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game played at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. Organized by ESPN Events and Fenway Sports Management, it features teams from the American Athletic Conference and the Atlantic Coast Conference. [1] The bowl is one of three active bowl games staged in a baseball stadium, along with the Pinstripe Bowl (Yankee Stadium) and Rate Bowl (Chase Field). [2] [3] [4] The Fenway Bowl is one of three bowl games that have never released payout totals for the teams involved in the game (Myrtle Beach Bowl and the LA Bowl are the others).

Contents

History

Holy Cross and Boston College playing at Fenway Park in 1916 Holy Cross vs Boston College (Fenway Park 1916).jpg
Holy Cross and Boston College playing at Fenway Park in 1916

American football games at Fenway Park date to 1912, the year the venue opened. [5] Various high school, college, and professional football teams have played at Fenway, including the Boston Patriots during the American Football League (AFL) era, and the Boston College Eagles. [5] Prior to the Fenway Bowl, no bowl game had been scheduled for the ballpark.

Organizers had planned for the inaugural playing of the Fenway Bowl to be during the 2020–21 bowl season. On October 23, 2020, it was reported that the bowl would not debut as planned, citing COVID-19 pandemic concerns. [6] Postponement of the bowl was confirmed by organizers the following week, with the temporary Montgomery Bowl being created as a substitute. [7] [8]

On May 27, 2021, organizers announced a game date for the 2021–22 bowl season of December 29, 2021. [9] On November 4, 2021, Wasabi Technologies signed on as the title sponsor of the game. [10] However, the game was canceled three days prior to kickoff due to COVID issues within the Virginia team; they had been set to face SMU. [11]

On December 17, 2022, as part of the 2022–23 bowl season, the Fenway Bowl was played for the first time, featuring Cincinnati and Louisville. The following year, the first ranked team was invited to the bowl, as SMU (17th in the AP poll and 24th in the College Football Playoff rankings) faced Boston College. [12]

Game results

Rankings are based on the AP poll prior to the game being played.

DateWinning TeamLosing TeamAttendanceNotes / Ref.
December 17, 2022 Louisville 24 Cincinnati 715,000 notes [13]
December 28, 2023 Boston College 23No. 17 SMU 1416,238 notes
December 28, 2024 UConn 27 North Carolina 1427,900 notes

MVPs

YearOffensive MVPDefensive MVPRef.
PlayerTeamPos.PlayerTeamPos.
2022 Jawhar Jordan LouisvilleRBMonty MontgomeryLouisvilleLB [14]
2023 Thomas Castellanos Boston CollegeQBKam ArnoldBoston CollegeLB [15] [16]
2024 Joe Fagnano UConnQB Pryce Yates UConnDL [17] [18]

Appearances by team

Updated through the December 2024 edition (3 games, 6 total appearances).

Teams with a single appearance

Won (3): Boston College, Louisville, UConn
Lost (3): Cincinnati, North Carolina, SMU

Appearances by conference

Updated through the December 2024 edition (3 games, 6 total appearances).

ConferenceRecordAppearances by season
GamesWLWin pct.WonLost
ACC 321.6672022, 20232024
The American 202.000 2022, 2023
Independent 1101.0002024 

Independent appearances: UConn (2024)

Game records

TeamPerformance vs. OpponentYear
Most points scored (one team)27, UConn vs. North Carolina2024
Most points scored (losing team)14, shared by: SMU vs. Boston College
North Carolina vs. UConn
2023
2024
Most points scored (both teams)41, UConn vs. North Carolina2024
Fewest Points Allowed7, Cincinnati vs. Louisville2022
Largest margin of victory17, Louisville vs. Cincinnati2022
Total yards419, Louisville vs. Cincinnati (132 pass, 287 rush)2022
Rushing yards287, Louisville vs. Cincinnati2022
Passing yards151, UConn vs. North Carolina2024
First downs24, Louisville vs. Cincinnati2022
Fewest yards allowed127, Cincinnati vs. Louisville2022
Fewest rushing yards allowed44, Cincinnati vs. Louisville2022
Fewest passing yards allowed83, Cincinnati vs. Louisville2022
IndividualPerformance, TeamYear
All-Purpose yards160, Maurice Turner (Louisville) (160 pass)2022
Touchdowns (all-purpose)2, shared by:
Jawhar Jordan (Louisville)
Thomas Castellanos (Boston College)
2022
2023
Rushing yards160, Maurice Turner (Louisville)2022
Rushing touchdowns2, shared by:
Jawhar Jordan (Louisville)
Thomas Castellanos (Boston College)
2022
2023
Passing yards151, Joe Fagnano (UConn)2024
Passing touchdowns2, Joe Fagnano (UConn)2024
Receiving yards77, Skyler Bell (UConn)2024
Receiving touchdowns1, shared by:
Wyatt Fischer (Cincinnati)
Marshon Ford (Louisville)
Jaylan Knighton (SMU)
Skyler Bell (UConn)
John Copenhaver (North Carolina)
2022
2022
2023
2024
2024
Tackles16, Ivan Pace Jr. (Cincinnati)2022
Sacks1.5, shared by:
Yasir Abdullah (Louisville)
YaYa Diaby (Louisville)
2022
Interceptions1, shared by:
Armorion Smith (Cincinnati)
Ja'von Hicks (Cincinnati)
Alex Kilgore (SMU)
Tui Faumuina-Brown (UConn)
2022
2022
2023
2024
Long PlaysPerformance, TeamYear
Touchdown run49 yds., Jawhar Jordan (Louisville)2022
Touchdown pass20 yds., Evan Prater to Wyatt Fischer (Cincinnati)2022
Kickoff return95 yds., Chase Culliver (North Carolina)2024
Punt return6 yds., Lewis Bond (Boston College)2023
Interception return20 yds., Armorion Smith (Cincinnati)2022
Fumble return  
Punt56 yds., Mark Vassett (Louisville)2022
Field goal48 yds., James Turner (Louisville)2022

Source: [19]

Media coverage

The bowl has been televised by ESPN since its inception.

References

  1. ↑ "New bowl game at Fenway Park to match teams from ACC, AAC". AP News. September 16, 2019. Retrieved September 15, 2024.
  2. ↑ "Boston's Fenway Park to host new 2020 college football bowl game between ACC, AAC teams" . Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  3. ↑ "Fenway Park will reportedly begin hosting a bowl game in 2020" . Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Fenway Sports Management and ESPN Events Officially Introduce "The Fenway Bowl"" . Retrieved September 17, 2019.
  5. 1 2 "Football at Fenway Through the Years". MLB.com. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  6. ↑ Saunders, Alan (October 23, 2020). "Report: 2020 Fenway Bowl Won't Be Played, 2nd ACC-Tied Bowl to Cancel". pittsburghsportsnow.com. Retrieved October 23, 2020.
  7. ↑ "ESPN Events Reveals 13-Game College Football Bowl Schedule for 2020-21: Inaugural Launch of the Fenway Bowl Postponed". espnpressroom.com (Press release). October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  8. ↑ "2020-21 Bowl Season Schedule Announced". bowlseason.com. October 30, 2020. Retrieved October 30, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Inaugural 'Fenway Bowl' Announced For December 29". WBZ-TV . CBS. May 27, 2021. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  10. ↑ "Fenway Bowl Announces Wasabi Technologies as Title Sponsor" . Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  11. ↑ Adelson, Andrea (December 26, 2021). "Military, Fenway Bowls Canceled Because of COVID-19 Issues". ESPN. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
  12. ↑ "No. 17 SMU To Face Boston College In Wasabi Fenway Bowl". smumustangs.com. December 3, 2023. Retrieved December 24, 2023.
  13. ↑ Golen, Jimmy (December 17, 2022). "Interim coach Deion Branch leads Louisville past Cincinnati at Fenway Bowl". CBS News . AP . Retrieved December 17, 2022.
  14. ↑ Cubit, Alexis (December 17, 2022). "Louisville dominates Cincinnati in Fenway Bowl to retain Keg of Nails". Louisville Courier Journal . Retrieved December 17, 2022– via MSN.com.
  15. ↑ @FenwayBowl (December 28, 2023). "Your Wasabi Fenway Bowl Offensive MVP, Thomas Castellanos!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2023– via Twitter.
  16. ↑ @FenwayBowl (December 28, 2023). "Congratulations to this year's Defensive MVP, Kam Arnold!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2023– via Twitter.
  17. ↑ @FenwayBowl (December 28, 2024). "Give it up for your 2024 Wasabi Fenway Bowl Offensive MVP!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2024– via Twitter.
  18. ↑ @FenwayBowl (December 28, 2024). "Congrats to Defensive MVP, Pryce Yates!" (Tweet). Retrieved December 28, 2024– via Twitter.
  19. ↑ "Cincinnati vs. Louisville - College Football Game Summary - December 17, 2022". ESPN. Retrieved December 27, 2022.
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