The Hawaii Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii, area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex in 2022. The bowl is one of the post-season contests run by ESPN Events. Typically played on or near Christmas Eve, the bowl normally features a team from the Mountain West Conference, playing a team from either the American Conference or Conference USA.
For practical and logistical reasons, the Mountain West Conference's tie-in is automatically allocated to the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors if the team is bowl-eligible, and was not selected to play in the College Football Playoff (first round and New Year's Six bowl games; or previously, BCS). This means that the Rainbow Warriors do not have to travel to the mainland for a bowl game unless it is of significant importance. As a result of this practice, the Rainbow Warriors have made the most appearances in the game, at ten.
For the 2021 through 2023 editions, the bowl was sponsored by EasyPost. Previous sponsors include ConAgra Foods (2002) and Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii (2003–2013), and SoFi (2018–2019). The 2024 edition had no sponsor. On April 24, 2025, it was announced that Sheraton would be returning as the title sponsor of the game.
Bowl games in Hawaii The Hawaii Bowl is not affiliated with other bowl games previously staged in Hawaii: the Poi Bowl (1936–1939), Pineapple Bowl (1940–1941, 1947–1952), Aloha Bowl (1982–2000), and Oahu Bowl (1998–2000), or the Hula Bowl all-star game (1960–2008, and resuming in 2020). While the Aloha Bowl tried to move to San Francisco, California, and was decertified by the NCAA, the Oahu 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 Hawai'i Bowl was sponsored by ConAgra Foods, making it officially the ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl. The following year, Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii assumed sponsorship; the game's full name was changed to the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl until Sheraton declined to renew sponsorship in 2014. In 2018, SoFi signed on as title sponsor of the game which is officially known as the SoFi Hawai'i Bowl.
The current Mountain West tie-in was held by the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) until 2012, when the WAC ceased sponsoring college football, and Hawaii moved to the Mountain West.
The first two editions were played on the Aloha Bowl's traditional Christmas Day date, but ESPN's acquisition of NBA rights came with the league's Christmas Day games, thus the game moved to Christmas Eve after 2004 in most years.
The 2005 appearance of the UCF Knights at the Hawaii Bowl was the first ever bowl game in that school's history. In 2006, the Pac-10 replaced Conference USA (C-USA) as the WAC's opposition, with C-USA as an alternate. Since Christmas Eve fell on a Monday in 2007, the game was scheduled for Sunday night, 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 bid, marking the first time an independent played in the contest. C-USA again became a primary tie-in starting in 2009. The 2011 game featured the C-USA champion for the first time, as Southern Mississippi played instead of going to the Liberty Bowl, where the C-USA champion typically played at the time. The bowl featured the Mountain West champion for the first time in 2015, as San Diego State played instead of going to the Las Vegas Bowl, where the Mountain West champion typically plays.
Between 2002 and 2018, C-USA sent a team to the bowl 12 times, registering an 8–4 record. In 2019, the American Athletic Conference (The American) superseded C-USA as the primary tie-in to face a Mountain West team (or independent BYU).
On October 2, ESPN Events announced that the 2020 edition of the bowl game had been canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On August 10, 2021, EasyPost was announced as the new sponsor of the bowl, making it the EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl. EasyPost remained the sponsor through the 2023 edition.
On December 23, 2021, the game was cancelled for the second consecutive season, after the Rainbow Warriors withdrew due to injuries and COVID-19 issues within the team.
The 2024 edition of the bowl took five overtime periods to decide, setting a new record for the most overtime periods in a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) bowl game, with the South Florida Bulls defeating the San Jose State Spartans. However, this record was surpassed just two days later when the 2024 GameAbove Sports Bowl took six overtimes to decide.
(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 selected by a public vote, and an additional seven players were picked by a panel of sportswriters and organizers. The team was announced on December 16, 2011.
Ten Year Anniversary Team Year Player College Performance 2002 Justin Colbert Hawaii 9 catches for 158 yards and 2 TD's. 2003 Timmy Chang Jackie Battle HawaiiHouston 26 for 42, 475 yards, 5 TD's passing.19 carries for 124 yards and 3 TD's. 2004 Chad Owens Hawaii 8 catches for 114 yards, 2 TD's.5 punt returns for 90 yards and a TD. 2005 Caleb SpencerBrandon Marshall NevadaUCF 11 receptions for 114 yards.11 receptions for 210 yards and 3 TD's. 2006 Colt BrennanJason Rivers HawaiiHawaii 33 for 42, 559 yards and 5 TD's.14 receptions for 308 yards and 2 TD's. 2007 Chris Johnson East Carolina 408 all purpose yards, 2 TD's. 2008 Golden TateJimmy ClausenAaron Bain Notre DameNotre DameHawaii 6 receptions for 177 yards and 3 TD's.22 for 26, 401 yards and 5TD's8 receptions for 109 yards and 2 TD's. 2009 Kyle Padron SMU 32 of 41 passing for 460 yards and 2 TD's. 2010 Damaris JohnsonCurnelius ArnickGreg Salas TulsaTulsaHawaii 5 carries for 98 yards and 1 TD, 4 receptions for 101 yards and 1 TD, 6 returns for 127 yards.2 sacks, 8 UA Tackles, 2 Asst. Tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 Int's for 106 yards and 1 TD13 receptions for 214 yards and 2 TD's.
Game results Date Winning team Losing teamAttendancenotes December 25, 2002 Tulane 36 Hawaii 28 35,513 notes December 25, 2003 Hawaii 54 Houston 48 (3OT) 29,005 notes December 24, 2004 Hawaii 59 UAB 40 39,754 notes December 24, 2005 Nevada 49 UCF 48 (OT) 16,134 notes December 24, 2006 Hawaii 41 Arizona State 24 43,435 notes December 23, 2007 East Carolina 41 Boise State 38 30,467 notes December 24, 2008 Notre Dame 49 Hawaii 21 43,487 notes December 24, 2009 SMU 45 Nevada 10 32,650 notes December 24, 2010 Tulsa 62 Hawaii 35 43,673 notes December 24, 2011 Southern Miss24Nevada17 32,630 notes December 24, 2012 SMU43Fresno State10 30,024 notes December 24, 2013 Oregon State38Boise State23 29,106 notes December 24, 2014 Rice30Fresno State6 25,365 notes December 24, 2015 San Diego State42Cincinnati722,793 notes December 24, 2016 Hawaii52Middle Tennessee3523,175 notes December 24, 2017 Fresno State33Houston2720,546 notes December 22, 2018 Louisiana Tech 31 Hawaii 14 30,911 notes December 24, 2019 Hawaii 38 BYU 34 21,582 notes December 24, 2020 Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic December 24, 2021 Canceled December 24, 2022 Middle Tennessee 25 San Diego State 23 6,605 notes December 23, 2023 Coastal Carolina 24 San Jose State 14 7,089 notes December 24, 2024 South Florida 41 San Jose State 39 (5OT) 6,720 notes December 24, 2025 Hawaii 35 California 31 15,194 notes Source:
MVPs 2002–2019 The bowl named an MVP from each team from inception through the 2019 edition.
YearWinning team MVPLosing team MVPPlayerTeamPositionPlayerTeamPosition 2002 Lynaris Elpheage Tulane CB Justin Colbert Hawaii WR 2003 Timmy Chang Hawaii QB Jackie Battle Houston RB 2004 Timmy ChangChad Owens Hawaii QBWR Darrell Hackney UAB QB 2005 B.J. Mitchell Nevada RB Brandon Marshall UCF WR 2006 Colt BrennanJason Rivers Hawaii QBWR Ryan Torain Arizona State RB 2007 Chris Johnson East Carolina RB Jeremy Avery Boise State RB 2008 Jimmy ClausenGolden Tate Notre Dame QBWR Aaron Bain Hawaii WR 2009 Kyle Padron SMU QB Kevin Basped Nevada DE 2010 Damaris Johnson Tulsa WR Greg Salas Hawaii WR 2011 Cordarro Law Southern Miss DL Lampford Mark Nevada RB 2012 Margus Hunt SMU DE Davante Adams Fresno State WR 2013 Rashaad Reynolds Oregon State CB Matt Miller Boise State WR 2014 Driphus JacksonBrian Nordstrom Rice QBDE Carl Mickelsen Fresno State LB 2015 Dakota Gordon San Diego State FBZach Edwards Cincinnati S 2016 Dru Brown Hawaii QBRichie James Middle Tennessee WR 2017 Marcus McMaryion Fresno State QB Steven Dunbar Houston WR 2018 Jaylon Ferguson Louisiana Tech DE Kendall Hune Hawaii DE 2019 Cole McDonald Hawaii QB Zach Wilson BYU QB
2022–present Since the 2022 playing, the award—given to a single player—has been known as the Hugh Yoshida Most Valuable Player Award, honoring a former athletic director at the University of Hawai'i.
YearBowl MVPRef.PlayerTeamPosition 2022 Jordan Ferguson Middle Tennessee DE 2023 Ethan Vasko Coastal Carolina QB 2024 John Cannon South Florida K 2025 Pofele Ashlock Hawaii WR Source:
Most appearances Updated through the December 2025 edition (22 games, 44 total appearances).
Teams with multiple appearances RankTeamAppearancesWonLostWin pct. 1 Hawai'i 10 2 Nevada 3 Fresno State 3 4 SMU 2 Middle Tennessee 2 San Diego State 2 Houston 2 Boise State 2 San Jose State 2
Teams with a single appearance Won (10): Coastal Carolina, East Carolina, Louisiana Tech, Notre Dame, Oregon State, Rice, South Florida, Southern Miss, Tulane, Tulsa
Lost (6): Arizona State, BYU, California, Cincinnati, UAB, UCF
Appearances by conference Updated through the December 2025 edition (22 games, 44 total appearances).
ConferenceRecordAppearances by seasonGamesWLWin pct.WonLost C-USA 13 2002, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2018, 2022 2003, 2004, 2005, 2016 Mountain West 12 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2025 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2023, 2024WAC 10 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 2002, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 The American 3 2024 2015, 2017 Pac-12 2 2013 2006 Independents 2 2008 2019 Sun Belt 1 2023 ACC 1 2025
The record of the Pac-12 includes appearances when the conference was known as the Pac-10 (before 2011). The WAC no longer sponsors FBS football. Independent appearances: Notre Dame (2008), BYU (2019)
Game records