2020 Independence Bowl Cancelled
Late yesterday afternoon, we got the news that 2020 has claimed another victim. This time, it's Shreveport's own Independence Bowl, and though COVID can't be directly held responsible, it was certainly the root of the demise of this year's game.
We received the following statement from the Independence Bowl where they laid it all out for us:
It is with deep regret we announce that the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl will not be played this year. The Independence Bowl Foundation was very excited to host the Army West Point Black Knights and a representative of the Pac-12 Conference in Shreveport on Saturday, December 26, however, after 44 consecutive years of exciting football, the opting-out of possible teams created a lack of teams available to play in bowl games and the 2020 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.
We would like to thank our great partners at Army West Point, Radiance Technologies, the City of Shreveport and ESPN for their diligent work in attempting to host this year’s game. We thank our wonderful fans and sponsors for their continued support over the past 45 years. We look forward to continuing the tradition that we have worked tirelessly to uphold since 1976 and hosting two great teams for the 2021 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl.
As you see, even though COVID is never directly mentioned, you know that's the reason no team would accept the Indy Bowl's offer and decided to opt out for the year.
Hopefully they'll be able to get things figured out in plenty of time for next year's game.