HONOLULU — The University of Hawaii football team is staying home for the holiday.
The Mountain West runner-ups have been selected to participate in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl on Christmas Eve.
The Rainbow Warriors will face BYU (7-5), which accepted its bowl invitation on Nov. 16. The Cougars became bowl eligible with wins over Tennessee, USC, Boise State, Utah State, Liberty and Idaho State.
The game is scheduled for Dec. 24, airing at 3 p.m. HST, on ESPN from Aloha Stadium.
UH (9-5) will be making a record ninth appearance in the SoFi Hawaii Bowl’s 18-year history. The Rainbow Warriors will appear in back-to-back games for the first time since making three consecutive appearances from 2002-05. Hawaii owns a 4-4 record in the bowl.
“We are honored to play in the 18th annual SoFi Hawaii Bowl,” UH Athletic Director David Matlin said. “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.”
Overall, this marks UH’s 13th all-time bowl appearance and third in four seasons under current head coach Nick Rolovich. UH is 1-1 in the Hawaii Bowl under Rolovich with a win over Middle Tennessee in 2016 and a loss to Louisiana Tech last season.
“BYU at Aloha Stadium on Christmas Eve, there may not be a better combination for Hawaii fans,” Rolovich said. “The SoFi Hawaii 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.”
The Rainbow Warriors and Cougars have a long and storied history when the two were members of the Western Athletic Conference. The Cougars own a 23-8 advantage in the all-time series that started in 1930. The teams played every year but once from 1978-1998. This year marks the third straight season which the teams have met with BYU prevailing 30-20 in 2017 at Aloha Stadium and 49-23 last season in Provo, Utah.
Tickets are currently on sale online at etickethawaii.com, at the Stan Sheriff Center Ticket Office and Aloha Stadium Box Office or on the phone at 808-944-2697.