Fenway Bowl
{{short description|Postseason college football game}}
{{Use American English|date=December 2024}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox college football bowl game
| name = Fenway Bowl
| full_name = Wasabi Fenway Bowl
| nickname =
| defunct =
| logo = WasabiFenwayBowl.png
| logo_size = 185px
| caption =
| stadium = Fenway Park
| previous_stadiums =
| location = Boston, Massachusetts
| previous_locations =
| years = 2022–present
| previous_tie-ins =
| conference_tie-ins = The American, ACC
| website = {{URL|https://fenwaybowl.com/}}
| payout =
| sponsors = Wasabi Technologies (2022–present)
| former_names =
| prev_matchup_year = 2023
| prev_matchup_season= 2023
| prev_matchup_teams = Boston College vs. SMU
| prev_matchup_score = Boston College 23–14
| next_matchup_year = 2024
| next_matchup_season= 2024
| next_matchup_teams = North Carolina vs. UConn
| next_matchup_date = 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.{{Cite web |date=September 16, 2019 |title=New bowl game at Fenway Park to match teams from ACC, AAC |url=https://apnews.com/new-bowl-game-at-fenway-park-to-match-teams-from-acc-aac-eaa7e1f6c5254b9493cd1288a2e1b4d8 |access-date=September 15, 2024 |website=AP News |language=en}} 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).{{cite news |url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/bostons-fenway-park-to-host-new-2020-college-football-bowl-game-between-acc-aac-teams/ |title=Boston's Fenway Park to host new 2020 college football bowl game between ACC, AAC teams |access-date=April 30, 2019}}{{cite news |url=https://www.boston.com/sports/college-sports/2019/04/30/fenway-park-bowl-game-2020 |title=Fenway Park will reportedly begin hosting a bowl game in 2020 |access-date=April 30, 2019}} {{cite news |url=https://www.mlb.com/redsox/news/fenway-sports-management-and-espn-events-officially-introduce-the-fenway-bowl |title=Fenway Sports Management and ESPN Events Officially Introduce "The Fenway Bowl" |access-date=September 17, 2019}} 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).
History
File:Holy Cross vs Boston College (Fenway Park 1916).jpg and Boston College playing at Fenway Park in 1916]]
American football games at Fenway Park date to 1912, the year the venue opened.{{cite web |url=https://www.mlb.com/redsox/fenway-bowl/the-game/history |title=Football at Fenway Through the Years |website=MLB.com |accessdate=December 24, 2023}} 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. Prior to the Fenway Bowl, no bowl game had been scheduled for the ballpark.
{{more|Fenway Park#American football}}
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.{{cite news |url=https://pittsburghsportsnow.com/2020/10/23/report-2020-fenway-bowl-wont-be-played-2nd-acc-tied-bowl-to-cancel/ |title=Report: 2020 Fenway Bowl Won't Be Played, 2nd ACC-Tied Bowl to Cancel |first=Alan |last=Saunders |website=pittsburghsportsnow.com |date=October 23, 2020 |access-date=October 23, 2020}} Postponement of the bowl was confirmed by organizers the following week, with the temporary Montgomery Bowl being created as a substitute.{{cite press release |url=https://espnpressroom.com/us/press-releases/2020/10/espn-events-reveals-13-game-college-football-bowl-schedule-for-2020-21/ |title=ESPN Events Reveals 13-Game College Football Bowl Schedule for 2020-21: Inaugural Launch of the Fenway Bowl Postponed |website=espnpressroom.com |date=October 30, 2020 |access-date=October 30, 2020}}{{cite web |url=https://bowlseason.com/news/2020/10/30/2020-21-bowl-season-schedule-announced.aspx |title=2020-21 Bowl Season Schedule Announced |website=bowlseason.com |date=October 30, 2020 |access-date=October 30, 2020}}
On May 27, 2021, organizers announced a game date for the 2021–22 bowl season of December 29, 2021.{{cite news |url=https://boston.cbslocal.com/2021/05/27/fenway-bowl-fenway-park-december-acc-aac-ncaa-football-red-sox/ |title=Inaugural 'Fenway Bowl' Announced For December 29 |agency=CBS |website=WBZ-TV |date=May 27, 2021 |accessdate=May 27, 2021}} On November 4, 2021, Wasabi Technologies signed on as the title sponsor of the game.{{cite news |url=https://www.mlb.com/redsox/press-release/fenway-bowl-announces-wasabi-technologies-as-title-sponsor |title=Fenway Bowl Announces Wasabi Technologies as Title Sponsor |accessdate=November 4, 2020}} 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.{{cite web |first=Andrea |last=Adelson |date=December 26, 2021 |url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32940528/military-fenway-bowls-canceled-covid-19-issues |title=Military, Fenway Bowls Canceled Because of COVID-19 Issues |work=ESPN |access-date=December 26, 2021}}
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.{{cite web |url=https://smumustangs.com/news/2023/12/3/football-no-24-smu-selected-to-wasabi-fenway-bowl-against-boston-college |title=No. 17 SMU To Face Boston College In Wasabi Fenway Bowl |website=smumustangs.com |date=December 3, 2023 |accessdate=December 24, 2023}}
Game results
Rankings are based on the AP poll prior to the game being played.
| class="wikitable"
! style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" | Date ! style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" colspan="2" | Winning Team ! style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" colspan="2" | Losing Team ! style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" | Attendance ! style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" | Notes / Ref. | ||||||
| December 17, 2022 | Louisville | 24 | Cincinnati | 7 | align=center|15,000 | notes{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/louisville-beats-cincinnati-fenway-bowl-deion-branch/ |title=Interim coach Deion Branch leads Louisville past Cincinnati at Fenway Bowl |first=Jimmy |last=Golen |website=CBS News |agency=AP |date=December 17, 2022 |accessdate=December 17, 2022}} |
|
| December 28, 2023 | Boston College | 23 | No. 17 SMU | 14 | align=center|16,238 | notes |
|
| December 28, 2024 | UConn | 27 | North Carolina | 14 | align=center|27,900 | notes |
MVPs
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).
| class="wikitable sortable"
! style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" rowspan=2|Conference ! style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" colspan=4|Record ! style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" colspan=2|Appearances by season | ||||
| style="border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" |Games
! style="border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" |W ! style="border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" |L ! style="border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" |Win pct. ! style="border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" class=unsortable|Won ! style="border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;" class=unsortable|Lost | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACC | 3 | {{WinLossPct|2|1}} | 2022, 2023 | 2024 |
| The American | 2 | {{WinLossPct|0|2}} | {{nbsp}} | 2022, 2023 |
| Independent | 1 | {{WinLossPct|1|0}} | 2024 | {{nbsp}} |
Independent appearances: UConn (2024)
Game records
| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" | ||
| style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;"|Team
! style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;"|Performance vs. Opponent ! style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;"|Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Most points scored (one team) | 27, UConn vs. North Carolina | 2024 |
| 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 Carolina | 2024 |
| Fewest Points Allowed | 7, Cincinnati vs. Louisville | 2022 |
| Largest margin of victory | 17, Louisville vs. Cincinnati | 2022 |
| Total yards | 419, Louisville vs. Cincinnati (132 pass, 287 rush) | 2022 |
| Rushing yards | 287, Louisville vs. Cincinnati | 2022 |
| Passing yards | 151, UConn vs. North Carolina | 2024 |
| First downs | 24, Louisville vs. Cincinnati | 2022 |
| Fewest yards allowed | 127, Cincinnati vs. Louisville | 2022 |
| Fewest rushing yards allowed | 44, Cincinnati vs. Louisville | 2022 |
| Fewest passing yards allowed | 83, Cincinnati vs. Louisville | 2022 |
| style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;"|Individual
!style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;"|Performance, Team !style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;"|Year | ||
| All-Purpose yards | 160, Maurice Turner (Louisville) (160 pass) | 2022 |
| Touchdowns (all-purpose) | 2, shared by: Jawhar Jordan (Louisville) Thomas Castellanos (Boston College) | 2022 2023 |
| Rushing yards | 160, Maurice Turner (Louisville) | 2022 |
| Rushing touchdowns | 2, shared by: Jawhar Jordan (Louisville) Thomas Castellanos (Boston College) | 2022 2023 |
| Passing yards | 151, Joe Fagnano (UConn) | 2024 |
| Passing touchdowns | 2, Joe Fagnano (UConn) | 2024 |
| Receiving yards | 77, Skyler Bell (UConn) | 2024 |
| Receiving touchdowns | 1, shared by: Wyatt Fischer (Cincinnati) Marshon Ford (Louisville) Jaylan Knighton (SMU) Skyler Bell (UConn) John Copenhaver (North Carolina) | 2022 2022 2023 2024 2024 |
| Tackles | 16, Ivan Pace Jr. (Cincinnati) | 2022 |
| Sacks | 1.5, shared by: Yasir Abdullah (Louisville) YaYa Diaby (Louisville) | 2022 |
| Interceptions | 1, shared by: Armorion Smith (Cincinnati) Ja'von Hicks (Cincinnati) Alex Kilgore (SMU) Tui Faumuina-Brown (UConn) | 2022 2022 2023 2024 |
| style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;"|Long Plays
!style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;"|Performance, Team !style="background:#4f7d70; color:#FFFFFF; border: 2px solid #2a2a2a;"|Year | ||
| Touchdown run | 49 yds., Jawhar Jordan (Louisville) | 2022 |
| Touchdown pass | 20 yds., Evan Prater to Wyatt Fischer (Cincinnati) | 2022 |
| Kickoff return | 95 yds., Chase Culliver (North Carolina) | 2024 |
| Punt return | 6 yds., Lewis Bond (Boston College) | 2023 |
| Interception return | 20 yds., Armorion Smith (Cincinnati) | 2022 |
| Fumble return | ||
| Punt | 56 yds., Mark Vassett (Louisville) | 2022 |
| Field goal | 48 yds., James Turner (Louisville) | 2022 |
Media coverage
The bowl has been televised by ESPN since its inception.
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://fenwaybowl.com}}
{{Fenway Bowl navbox}}
{{Bowl game navbox}}
Category:College football bowls
Category:Annual sporting events in the United States
Category:American football in Boston
Category:Sports competitions in Boston