Hawaii Bowl

The Hawaiʻi Bowl is a post-season National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision college football bowl game that has been played annually at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, Hawaii since 2002. Typically played on either Christmas Day or Christmas Eve, the game matches teams from either Conference USA or the Pac-12 and a team from the Mountain West Conference. As part of the bowl charter, a "Hawaiʻi guarantee" allows the University of Hawaiʻi an automatic bid to the bowl provided it is bowl eligible and does not receive a bid to a bowl in the College Football Playoff, which goes to the highest ranking school among the members of the Mountain West, Sun Belt, Mid-American, and American Athletic Conferences and Conference USA. If Hawaiʻi is not eligible then another Mountain West team receives the bid.^[1] This continues a tradition started when Hawaiʻi was a member of the Western Athletic Conference.

The bowl is one of 11 post-season contests run by ESPN Regional Television ("ESPN Plus"), a subsidiary of ESPN, which has carried the game since its outset.

Bowl games in Hawaii

The Hawaii Bowl succeeds the Poi Bowl (1936–1939), Pineapple Bowl (1940–1941, 1947–1952), Aloha Bowl (1982–2000), and the Oahu Bowl (1998–2000) as bowl games played in Hawaiʻi. This bowl is a new event not affiliated with the previous games, while the Aloha Bowl tried to move to San Francisco, California and was decertified by the NCAA, the Oʻahu Bowl was moved to Seattle, Washington and was held for two years as the Seattle Bowl before losing certification in 2002.

Game history

In its first year, the Hawaiʻi Bowl was sponsored by ConAgra Foods. The following year, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii assumed sponsorship; the game's full name was changed to the Sheraton Hawaiʻi Bowl until Sheraton declined to renew sponsorship in 2014.^[2]

The 2005 appearance of the UCF Knights at the Hawaiʻi Bowl was the first ever bowl game in that school's history.

In 2006, the Pac-10 replaced C-USA as the WAC's opposition. If the Pac-10 was not able to provide a bowl-eligible team, C-USA would have supplied the team (assuming it had a sixth team that was bowl eligible). If neither conference had a bowl-eligible team, the spot would have been filled by an at-large team. In 2007, C-USA had a guaranteed spot in the Hawaiʻi Bowl, which was filled by the East Carolina Pirates.^[3]

Since Christmas Eve fell on a Monday in 2007, the game was scheduled for the night prior (December 23) to avoid a conflict with Monday Night Football (also on ESPN).

In 2008, the bowl organizers selected Notre Dame as an at large, marking the first time an independent played in the contest.

The 2011 Hawai'i Bowl featured the Conference USA champion for the first time, as Southern Mississippi played in the bowl instead of going to the Liberty Bowl, where the C-USA champion typically plays.

The 2015 Hawai'i Bowl featured the Mountain West Conference champion for the first time as San Diego State played in the bowl instead of going to the Las Vegas Bowl, where the Mountain West champion typically plays.

Tenth Anniversary Team (2011)

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Hawai'i Bowl, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, in conjunction with the bowl game, allowed fans to vote on a tenth anniversary team. Nine players were voted to the Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl Ten Year Anniversary Team by fan voting. An additional seven players were picked by a panel of sportswriters and Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl Staff. The team was announced on December 16, 2011.

Game results

MVPs

Most appearances

Wins by conference

See also

• Poi Bowl (1936–1939)
• Pineapple Bowl (1940–1952)
• Aloha Bowl (1982–2000)
• Oʻahu Bowl (1998–2000)
• Hula Bowl (1947–2008)
• Hawai'i Bowl broadcasters
• List of college bowl games

References

External links

• Official site