Hawaiʻi Bowl
Sheraton Hawaiʻi Bowl
Stadium	Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex
Location	Honolulu,Hawaii
Previous locations	Aloha Stadium,Honolulu,Hawaii
Operated	2002–present
Conference tie-ins	MWC (2012–present; Hawaii if bowl-eligible and not inCFP bowl) AAC (2019–present)
Previous conference tie-ins	WAC (2002–2011) C-USA (2002–2018) Pac-10 (2005–2008)
Payout	US$1.2 million (2019)[1]
Website	thehawaiibowl.com
Preceded by	Aloha Bowl
Sponsors
ConAgra Foods (2002) Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii (2003–2013) SoFi (2018–2019) EasyPost (2021–2023) Sheraton (2025–present)
Former names
ConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl (2002) Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl (2003–2013) Hawai'i Bowl (2014–2017, 2024) SoFi Hawai'i Bowl (2018–2019) EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl (2021–2023)
2023 matchup
Coastal Carolina vs.San Jose State (Coastal Carolina 24–14)
2024 matchup
South Florida vs.San Jose State (South Florida 41–395OT)

TheHawaiʻi Bowl^[a] is acollege footballbowl game that has been played in theHonolulu, Hawaii, area since 2002. The game was originally held atAloha Stadium inHalawa,Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to theClarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex in 2022. The bowl is one of the post-season contests run byESPN Events. Typically played on or nearChristmas Eve, the bowl normally features a team from theMountain West Conference, playing a team from either theAmerican Athletic Conference orConference USA.

For practical and logistical reasons, the Mountain West Conference's tie-in is automatically allocated to theHawaii Rainbow Warriors if the team isbowl-eligible, and was not selected to play in aNew Year's Six (or previously,BCS) bowl game. This means that the Rainbow Warriors do not have to travel to themainland 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 nine.^[2]

For the 2021 through 2023 editions, the bowl was sponsored by EasyPost.^[3] Previous sponsors includeConAgra Foods (2002) andSheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii (2003–2013), andSoFi (2018–2019). The 2024 edition had no sponsor. On April 24, 2025, it was announced thatSheraton would be returning as the title sponsor of the game.^[4]

The Hawaii Bowl is not affiliated with other bowl games previously staged in Hawaii: thePoi Bowl (1936–1939),Pineapple Bowl (1940–1941, 1947–1952),Aloha Bowl (1982–2000), andOʻahu Bowl (1998–2000), or theHula Bowl all-star game (1960–2008, and resuming in 2020). While the Aloha Bowl tried to move toSan Francisco,California, and was decertified by theNCAA, the Oahu Bowl was moved toSeattle,Washington, and was held for two years as theSeattle Bowl before losing certification in 2002.

In its first year, the Hawai'i Bowl was sponsored byConAgra Foods, making it officially theConAgra Foods Hawai'i Bowl. The following year,Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii assumed sponsorship; the game's full name was changed to theSheraton Hawai'i Bowl until Sheraton declined to renew sponsorship in 2014.^[5] In 2018,SoFi signed on as title sponsor of the game which is officially known as theSoFi Hawai'i Bowl.^[6][7]

The current Mountain West tie-in was held by theWestern Athletic Conference (WAC) until 2012, when the WAC ceased sponsoring college football, and Hawaii moved to the Mountain West.^[8]

The first two editions were played on the Aloha Bowl's traditional Christmas Day date, but ESPN'sacquisition of NBA rights came with the league'sChristmas Day games, thus the game moved toChristmas Eve after 2004 in most years.

The2005 appearance of theUCF Knights at the Hawaii Bowl was the first ever bowl game in that school's history. In2006, the Pac-10 replacedConference USA (C-USA) as the WAC's opposition, with C-USA as an alternate. Since Christmas Eve fell on a Monday in2007, the game was scheduled for the night prior (December 23) to avoid a conflict withMonday Night Football (also on ESPN). In2008, the bowl organizers selectedNotre Dame as anat-large bid, marking the first time anindependent played in the contest. C-USA again became a primary tie-in starting in2009. The2011 game featured the C-USA champion for the first time, asSouthern Mississippi played instead of going to theLiberty Bowl, where the C-USA champion typically played at the time. The bowl featured the Mountain West champion for the first time in2015, asSan Diego State played instead of going to theLas 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, theAmerican Athletic Conference (The American) superseded C-USA as the primary tie-in to face a Mountain West team (or independentBYU).^[9]

On October 2, ESPN Events announced that the 2020 edition of the bowl game had been canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.^[10]

On August 10, 2021, EasyPost was announced as the new sponsor of the bowl, making it theEasyPost Hawai'i Bowl.^[11] 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.^[12]

The2024 edition of the bowl took fiveovertime periods to decide, setting a new record for the most overtime periods in aFootball Bowl Subdivision (FBS) bowl game, with the South Florida Bulls defeating the San Jose State Spartans.^[13][14] However, this record was surpassed just two days later when the2024 GameAbove Sports Bowl took six overtimes to decide.^[15]

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Hawai'i Bowl, theHonolulu 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.

Source:^[18]

The bowl named an MVP from each team from inception through the 2019 edition.

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.^[19]

Source:^[23]

Updated through the December 2024 edition (21 games, 42 total appearances).

Teams with multiple appearances

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 (5):Arizona State,BYU,Cincinnati,UAB,UCF

Updated through the December 2024 edition (21 games, 42 total appearances).

• 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)

Source:^[24]

The bowl has been televised onESPN since its inception.

• Official website

• Hawaii Bowl
• College football bowls
• American football in Hawaii
• College sports in Hawaii
• Recurring sporting events established in 2002
• 2002 establishments in Hawaii

• Articles with short description
• Short description matches Wikidata
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia