Hawaii Bowl officially names UH and BYU as opponents
As expected, the University of Hawaii football team will stay home for the holidays and face Brigham Young University in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl on Dec. 24 at Aloha Stadium.
The official announcement came earlier today.
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.
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“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 at 3 p.m.