Hawaii will stay home to play BYU in the Hawaii Bowl
As expected, the Hawaii football team will stay home for the holidays and face BYU in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl on Tuesday, Dec. 24, at Aloha Stadium.
The official announcement came earlier this morning.
Hawaii (9-5) will play a 15th game this season after losing to Boise State, 31-10, in the Mountain West Conference championship game on Saturday in Idaho.
The Cougars (7-5) accepted their invitation to the bowl game last month.
This will be the ninth appearance by the Rainbow Warriors in the Hawaii Bowl’s 18-year history. It’s the first time UH will make consecutive appearances since it played in three straight games from 2002 to ’04.
UH is 4-4 in the bowl game and coming off a 31-14 loss to Louisiana Tech last year.
“We are honored to play in the 18th annual SoFi Hawai‘i Bowl,” UH Athletics Director David Matlin said in a press release. “It is a great reward for our well deserving student-athletes, coaches and staff and a special Christmas Eve matchup against BYU for our local fans. ESPN Events and the Hawai‘i Bowl staff are incredible hosts and provide a first rate experience for our student-athletes.”
Head coach Nick Rolovich has guided UH to three bowl appearances in four years.
“BYU at Aloha Stadium on Christmas Eve, there may not be a better combination for Hawai‘i fans,” Rolovich said in a press release. “The SoFi Hawai‘i Bowl has been a tremendous experience every time we’ve been in it and we look forward to representing our state and university again on a national stage. The Cougars have had a great season and we’re looking forward to our fans coming out to Aloha Stadium to see a battle with a classic rival.”
BYU has beaten Hawaii 23 times in 31 all-time meetings. BYU beat UH 30-20 at Aloha Stadium in 2017 and 49-23 in Provo, Utah, last year.
Kickoff is 3 p.m.
Taking a step back from the usual complaining of some “fans” (don’t ever make the mistake of browsing the Warrior Sports Network discussion boards), this works out well for the Warriors.
— Go and get their 10th win of the season.
— Against BYU.
— On the only Bowl game scheduled on that day (Dec 24)
— versus six bowls when the Las Vegas Bowl is played (Dec 21)
— At home where fans can cheer the Warriors on and the families of local kids can be in attendance.
Go Warriors. #LiveAlohaPlayWarrior
This will be an awesome game, looking forward to it! We beat San Diego State and SDS beat BYU, will be fun!!
Just read Holly in transfer portal. Will he still play in the Hawaii Bowl?
rumor – is Cole going pro or transfer to another school next next year?
With the way the polls went this year, the Hawaii Bowl may be the best championship the Warriors can compete for in the foreseeable future.
However, getting to 10 wins and beating BYU (who played four Power 5 opponents this season) in a bowl game isn’t anything to wave off, though.
if cole goes pro after this season, he might have a shot at the arena football league. other than that, he’s coming back next year for sure