Virginia Tech has opted out of a bowl game, ending the nation’s longest bowl streak at 27 straight years.
Coach Justin Fuente said Wednesday he met with the team, and the players decided they wanted to bypass any postseason opportunity.
Virginia Tech finishes the season 5-6 and joins Boston College, Pitt, Virginia and Georgia Tech in the ACC in opting out of a bowl during the coronavirus pandemic.
“We had a team meeting and our players have decided to not play, and I’m going to support them 100 percent,” Fuente said. “It speaks to the difficulty of the season they’ve been through. There were players who wanted to play, but we were going to do this all together or not, and it became evident that it was a very difficult situation.
“There’s kids that would like to go home for Christmas. This is ultimately about our kids. I think they’ve sacrificed enough. They’ve been at this for some time and given up freedoms and plenty of opportunities, so we’re going to turn the page and get ready to go.”
Virginia Tech was hit particularly hard by coronavirus issues throughout the season. Athletic director Whit Babcock estimated about three-quarters of the team contracted the virus since March, along with eight of 10 full-time assistants.