| Fenway Bowl | |
| Full Name: | Wasabi Fenway Bowl |
| Stadium: | Fenway Park |
| Location: | Boston, Massachusetts |
| Years: | 2022–present |
| Conference Tie-Ins: | The American, ACC |
| Sponsors: | Wasabi Technologies (2022–present) |
| Prev Matchup Year: | 2022 |
| Prev Matchup Season: | 2022 |
| Prev Matchup Score: | Louisville 24–7 |
| Next Matchup Year: | 2023 |
| Next Matchup Season: | 2023 |
| Next Matchup Teams: | Boston College vs. SMU |
| Next Matchup Date: | Boston College 23–14 |
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 Guaranteed Rate Bowl (Chase Field).[2] [3] [4]
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]
Rankings are based on the AP poll prior to the game being played.
| Date | Winning Team | Losing Team | Attendance | Notes / Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 17, 2022 | Louisville | 24 | 7 | 15,000 | notes[13] | |
| December 28, 2023 | Boston College | 23 | 14 | 16,238 | notes | |
| Year | Offensive MVP | Defensive MVP | Ref. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Pos. | Player | Team | Pos. | |||
| 2022 | Jawhar Jordan | Louisville | RB | Monty Montgomery | Louisville | LB | [14] | |
| 2023 | Boston College | QB | Kam Arnold | Boston College | LB | [15] [16] |
Updated through the December 2023 edition (2 games, 4 total appearances).
Updated through the December 2023 edition (2 games, 4 total appearances).
| Conference | Record | Appearances by season | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | W | L | Win pct. | Won | Lost |
| 2 | 2022, 2023 | ||||
| 2 | 2022, 2023 |
| Team | Performance vs. Opponent | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Most points scored (one team) | 24, Louisville vs. Cincinnati | 2022 | |
| Most points scored (losing team) | 14, SMU vs. Boston College | 2023 | |
| Most points scored (both teams) | 37, Boston College vs. SMU | 2023 | |
| 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 | 132, Louisville vs. Cincinnati | 2022 | |
| 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 | |
| Individual | Performance, Team | 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 | 132, Brock Domann (Louisville) | 2022 | |
| Passing touchdowns | 1, shared by: Evan Prater (Cincinnati) Brock Domann (Louisville) Kevin Jennings (SMU) | 2022 2022 2023 | |
| Receiving yards | 54, Jake Bailey (SMU) | 2023 | |
| Receiving touchdowns | 1, shared by: Wyatt Fischer (Cincinnati) Marshon Ford (Louisville) Jaylan Knighton (SMU) | 2022 2022 2023 | |
| 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) | 2022 2022 2023 | |
| Long Plays | Performance, Team | Year | |
| Touchdown run | 49 yds., Jawhar Jordan (Louisville) | 2022 | |
| Touchdown pass | 20 yds., Evan Prater to Wyatt Fischer (Cincinnati) | 2022 | |
| Kickoff return | 38 yds., Key'Shawn Smith (SMU) | 2022 | |
| 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 |
The bowl has been televised by ESPN since its inception.