alt=Jeff CallPROVO — In November 2017, BYU and Hawaii squared off at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu as a pair of three-win teams in their regular season finale.
The Cougars won 30-20 to finish with a 4-9 record and the Rainbow Warriors ended up with a 3-9 mark, capping abysmal campaigns for both programs.
Two years later, BYU (7-5) and Hawaii (9-5), the Mountain West Conference runner-up, will meet again under much better circumstances — in the 18th annual SoFi Hawaii Bowl to be played at Aloha Stadium on Dec. 24 at 6 p.m. MST in game broadcast nationally by ESPN.
“Hawaii is a really good team and I’m looking forward to the matchup,” BYU head coach Kalani Sitake said in a statement after the official announcement came Sunday. “I have tons of respect for (coach) Nick Rolovich and his entire coaching staff. I love the way they play the game. It will be an honor for us to take the field with them at Aloha Stadium.”
BYU has played a bowl game in the Islands once before, in 1992, when it lost to Kansas 23-20 in the Aloha Bowl, played on Christmas Day. With this year’s matchup with Hawaii on Christmas Eve, it will be another holiday season with a Mele Kalikimaka flavor for the Cougars.
Hawaii, which won the West Division of the Mountain West, fell in the league’s championship game at No. 18 Boise State Saturday, 31-10.
BYU and Hawaii have played three common opponents this season. Both teams lost to Washington (the Cougars fell 45-19 at home; the Warriors went down 52-20 in Seattle); Boise State (the Cougars won 28-25 at home; the Warriors lost 59-37 and 31-10, both in Boise); and San Diego State (the Cougars dropped their regular-season finale at SDSU, 13-3 while the Warriors beat the Aztecs at home, 14-11).
BYU owns an all-time record of 23-8 against Hawaii, including 13-8 at Aloha Stadium. This will mark the first meeting between the two programs in a bowl game. Sitake spent much of his youth growing up on the North Shore of Hawaii.
In 2012, BYU played an opponent on its home field in a bowl game when the Cougars defeated the San Diego State 23-6 in the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego.
For the Rainbow Warriors, the bowl game will be their ninth home game of the season.
BYU entered the season with agreement to play in the Hawaii Bowl as long as it became bowl-eligible. The Cougars accepted their invitation to the Hawaii Bowl on Nov. 16 when they won their sixth game.
Hawaii’s offense ranks No. 13 nationally in total offense (469.3 yards per game) and No. 6 in passing (325.9 yards per game) and No. 33 in scoring offense (33.6 points per game).
BYU ranks No. 24 in passing offense (285.6). Defensively, the Cougars rank No. 9 nationally in interceptions with 15.
BYU and Hawaii share a long and storied history. Both teams played regularly when they belonged to the Western Athletic Conference.
On Dec. 8, 2001, Rolovich, then the Rainbow Warriors’ quarterback, led Hawaii to a 72-45 victory over the No. 9 and undefeated (12-0) Cougars. Rolovich completed 29 of 53 passes for 543 yards and eight touchdowns that day.
Not only did that loss to the Rainbow Warriors’ spoil BYU’s perfect season, but it also marked the most points ever scored by Hawaii and the most ever surrendered by the Cougars.
In 1984, BYU rallied to edge Hawaii 18-13 in a dramatic and memorable game at Aloha Stadium during the only perfect season in Cougar football history. BYU ended up posting a 13-0 record and winning the national championship.
Overall, this is Hawaii’s 13th all-time bowl appearance and third in four seasons under Rolovich. BYU has 37 bowl appearances, consisting of 19 different bowls in 11 states,
“The University of Hawaii has enjoyed a tremendous season and we are thrilled the Rainbow Warriors accepted an invitation to play BYU,” SoFi Hawaii Bowl executive direct Daryl Garvin said.
Tickets are on sale for the Hawaii Bowl at BYUtickets.com. Ticket prices begin at $35.
The Hawaii Bowl has been played annually at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu since 2002. Hawai’i has previously hosted several other bowl games in its history, such as the Poi Bowl (1936-39), Pineapple Bowl (1940-41, 47-52), Aloha Bowl (1982-2000) and Oahu Bowl (1998-2000). The Hawaii Bowl is owned and operated by ESPN Events.
BYU’s bowl history
How the Cougars have fared (15-20-1 record in bowl games):
1974 — Oklahoma State 16, BYU 6 (Fiesta Bowl)
1976 — Oklahoma State 49, BYU 21 (Tangerine Bowl)
1978 — Navy 23, BYU 16 (Holiday Bowl)
1979 — Indiana 38, BYU 37 (Holiday Bowl)
1980 — BYU 46, SMU 45 (Holiday Bowl)
1981 — BYU 38, Washington State 36 (Holiday Bowl)
1982 — Ohio State 47, BYU 17 (Holiday Bowl)
1983 — BYU 21, Missouri 17 (Holiday Bowl)
1984 — BYU 24, Michigan 17 (Holiday Bowl)
1985 — Ohio State 10, BYU 7 (Florida Citrus Bowl)
1986 — UCLA 31, BYU 10 (Freedom Bowl)
1987 — Virginia 22, BYU 16 (All-American Bowl)
1988 — BYU 20, Colorado 17 (Freedom Bowl)
1989 — Penn State 50, BYU 39 (Holiday Bowl)
1990 — Texas A&M 65, BYU 14 (Holiday Bowl)
1991 — BYU 13, Iowa 13 (Holiday Bowl)
1992 — Kansas 23, BYU 20 (Aloha Bowl)
1993 — Ohio State 28, BYU 21 (Holiday Bowl)
1994 — BYU 31, Oklahoma 6 (Copper Bowl)
1997 — BYU 19, Kansas State 15 (Cotton Bowl)
1998 — Tulane 41, BYU 27 (Liberty Bowl)
1999 — Marshall 21, BYU 3 (Motor City Bowl)
2001 — Louisville 28, BYU 10 (Liberty Bowl)
2005 — California 35, BYU 28 (Las Vegas Bowl)
2006 — BYU 38, Oregon 8 (Las Vegas Bowl)
2007 — BYU 17, UCLA 16 (Las Vegas Bowl)
2008 — Arizona 31, BYU 21 (Las Vegas Bowl)
2009 — BYU 44, Oregon State 20 (Las Vegas Bowl)
2010 — BYU 52, UTEP 24 (New Mexico Bowl)
2011 — BYU 31, Tulsa 21 (Armed Forces Bowl)
2012 — BYU 23, San Diego State 6 (Poinsettia Bowl)
2013 — Washington 31, BYU 16 (Fight Hunger Bowl)
2014 — Memphis 55, BYU 48 — 2OT (Miami Beach Bowl)
2015 — Utah 35, BYU 28 (Las Vegas Bowl)
2016 — BYU 24, Wyoming 21 (Poinsettia Bowl)
2018 — BYU 49, Western Michigan 18 (Famous Idaho Potato Bowl)