Hawaii Bowl

Hawaiʻi Bowl
Stadium	Aloha Stadium
Location	Honolulu (Halawa), Hawaii
Operated	2002–Present
Conference tie-ins	MWC (2012–present) C-USA (2005, 2007, 2009–present)
Previous conference tie-ins	WAC (2002–2011) Pac-12 (2006, 2008)
Payout	US$750,000 (each team)
Sponsors
ConAgra Foods (2002) Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii (2003–2013)
Former names
ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl (2002) Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl (2003–2013)
2014 matchup
Fresno State vs. Rice (Rice 30–6)
2015 matchup
Cincinnati vs. San Diego State (San Diego State 42–7)

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.

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.

Year	Player	College	Performance
2002	Justin Colbert	Hawaiʻi	9 catches for 158 yards and 2 TD's.
2003	Timmy Chang Jackie Battle	Hawaiʻi Houston	26 for 42, 475 yards, 5 TD's passing. 19 carries for 124 yards and 3 TD's.
2004	Chad Owens	Hawaiʻi	8 catches for 114 yards, 2 TD's. 5 punt returns for 90 yards and a TD.
2005	Caleb Spencer Brandon Marshall	Nevada UCF	11 receptions for 114 yards. 11 receptions for 210 yards and 3 TD's.
2006	Colt Brennan Jason Rivers	Hawaiʻi Hawaiʻi	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 Tate Jimmy Clausen Aaron Bain	Notre Dame Notre Dame Hawaiʻi	6 receptions for 177 yards and 3 TD's. 22 for 26, 401 yards and 5TD's 8 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 Johnson Curnelius Arnick Greg Salas	Tulsa Tulsa Hawaiʻi	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 TD 13 receptions for 214 yards and 2 TD's.

Game results

Date	Winning team		Losing team		Attendance	TV	notes
December 25, 2002	Tulane	36	Hawaiʻi	28	35,513	ESPN	notes
December 25, 2003	Hawaiʻi	54	Houston	48*	29,005	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2004	Hawaiʻi	59	UAB	40	39,754	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2005	Nevada	49	UCF	48*	16,134	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2006	Hawaiʻi	41	Arizona State	24	43,435	ESPN	notes
December 23, 2007	East Carolina	41	Boise State	38	30,467	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2008	Notre Dame	49	Hawaiʻi	21	43,487	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2009	SMU	45	Nevada	10	32,650	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2010	Tulsa	62	Hawaiʻi	35	43,673	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2011	Southern Miss	24	Nevada	17	32,630	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2012	SMU	43	Fresno State	10	30,024	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2013	Oregon State	38	Boise State	23	29,106	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2014	Rice	30	Fresno State	6	25,365	ESPN	notes
December 24, 2015	San Diego State	42	Cincinnati	7	22,793	ESPN	notes
* Overtime game

MVPs

Date	MVP(s)	School	Position
December 25, 2002	Lynaris Elpheage	Tulane	CB
	Justin Colbert	Hawaiʻi	WR
December 25, 2003	Timmy Chang	Hawaiʻi	QB
	Jackie Battle	Houston	RB
December 24, 2004	Chad Owens	Hawaiʻi	WR
	Timmy Chang	Hawaiʻi	QB
	Darrell Hackney	UAB	QB
December 24, 2005	Brandon Marshall	UCF	WR
	B.J. Mitchell	Nevada	RB
December 24, 2006	Colt Brennan	Hawaiʻi	QB
	Jason Rivers	Hawaiʻi	WR
	Ryan Torain	Arizona State	RB
December 23, 2007	Chris Johnson	East Carolina	RB
	Jeremy Avery	Boise State	RB
December 24, 2008	Jimmy Clausen	Notre Dame	QB
	Golden Tate	Notre Dame	WR
	Aaron Bain	Hawaiʻi	WR
December 24, 2009	Kyle Padron	SMU	QB
	Kevin Basped	Nevada	DE
December 24, 2010	Damaris Johnson	Tulsa	WR
	Greg Salas	Hawaii	WR
December 24, 2011	Cordarro Law	Southern Miss	DL
	Lampford Mark	Nevada	RB
December 24, 2012	Margus Hunt	SMU	DE
	Davante Adams	Fresno State	WR
December 24, 2013	Rashaad Reynolds	Oregon State	CB
	Matt Miller	Boise State	WR
December 24, 2014	Driphus Jackson	Rice	QB
	Brian Nordstrom	Rice	DE
	Carl Mickelsen	Fresno State	LB
December 24, 2015	Dakota Gordon	San Diego State	FB
	Zach Edwards	Cincinnati	S

Most appearances

Rank	Team	Appearances	Record
1	Hawaiʻi	6	3–3
2	Nevada	3	1–2
T3	SMU	2	2–0
T3	Boise State	2	0–2
T3	Fresno State	2	0–2
T6	East Carolina	1	1–0
T6	Southern Miss	1	1–0
T6	Notre Dame	1	1–0
T6	San Diego State	1	1–0
T6	Rice	1	1–0
T6	Tulane	1	1–0
T6	Tulsa	1	1–0
T6	Oregon State	1	1–0
T6	Cincinnati	1	0–1
T6	Arizona State	1	0–1
T6	Houston	1	0–1
T6	UAB	1	0–1
T6	UCF	1	0–1

Wins by conference

Conference	Appearances	Wins	Losses	Pct.
C-USA	10	7	3	.667
WAC	10	4	6	.400
Pac-12	2	1	1	.500
Independent	1	1	0	1.000
MWC	4	1	3	.000
American	1	0	1	.000

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

1. "Mountain West Conference aligns with Sheraton Hawaii Bowl starting in 2012". ESPN.com. Retrieved 23 December 2015.
2. "Sheraton Hotels & Resorts drops title sponsorship of Hawaii Bowl college football game".
3. "Conference USA Official Athletic Site - Football". Retrieved 23 December 2015.

External links

• Official site