Sun Bowl Association addresses Duke’s missed trip to Providence Children’s Hospital

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- Before winning the 2025 Sun Bowl game on New Year's Eve, players for Duke missed their planned visit to Providence Children's Hospital. Now the Sun Bowl Association is speaking out on the situation.

It is common for teams to visit sick children at El Paso hospitals before the big game. ASU players visited several hospitals, and Duke visited Las Palmas Medical Center. Duke was also slated to visit Providence, but, according to the Sun Bowl Association, missed their appointment due to miscommunication.

The association said that the student-athletes stayed at Las Palmas past the time allotted for both hospital visits, resulting in the team cancelling its Providence visit.

A popular social media post addressing the situation garnered thousands of reactions and hundreds of comments from El Paso residents. Several commenters expressed their frustration with the situation, while others explained that a scheduling mishap had caused the plans to be canceled.

The Hospitals of Providence responded by stating that its staff "stepped in to make sure smiles filled the halls." The hospital posted on social media that "when plans change, our littlest patients deserve moments of joy, encouragement and a little extra magic."

Read the Sun Bowl Association's complete statement below:

"The Sun Bowl Association is aware of the situation. Duke Football had every intention of visiting both the Las Palmas Medical Center and Providence Children’s Hospital. Unfortunately, there was miscommunication during the process, and as a result, the student-athletes remained at Las Palmas Medical Center past the time allotted for both visits. We regret this miscommunication occurred.”

Richie Davis

Media Relations Director

Sun Bowl Association | Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl