HONOLULU – San José State of the Mountain West and the Sun Belt Conference’s Coastal Carolina will meet in the 2023 EASYPOST HAWAI‘I BOWL. The 20th edition of the bowl game will be played Saturday, Dec. 23 at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa campus.
The game will kick off at 10:30 p.m. ET (5:30 p.m. HT) and air on ESPN and ESPN Radio. For just the fifth time in the bowl’s history, the game will be played outside its traditional Christmas Eve slot.
“Congratulations to both San José State University and Coastal Carolina University on successful seasons and welcome to the EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl,” Executive Director Daryl Garvin said. “As first-time participants in the EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl, we can’t wait to showcase our state and everything bowl week has to offer. We look forward to welcoming the players, coaches, and fans of both universities to experience the beauty of Hawai‘i.”
The Spartans (7-5), winners of their last six games, are one of the nation’s hottest teams and finished the regular season tied atop the Mountain West standings at 6-2. After starting the season 2-3, the Chanticleers (7-5) rode a five-game win streak enroute to a tie for third in the Sun Belt’s East Division.
Tickets are currently on sale both online at etickethawaii.com and at the UH Ticket Office (Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. HST, closed holidays). Prices range from $30-65.
Both teams will be appearing in their first-ever EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl. The Spartans will be making their 13th all-time bowl appearance and third under seventh-year head coach Brent Brennan. The Chanticleers, coached by first-year head coach Tim Beck, are bowl bound for the fourth consecutive season.
SJSU quarterback Chevan Cordeiro, a first-team all-Mountain West quarterback, will lead the Spartans in his return to the 50th state. Cordeiro, a Honolulu native, played at Hawai‘i for three seasons before transferring to San José State in 2022. Four other Spartans prepped at Hawai‘i high schools.
“I’m so excited for our team to play in the EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl,” Brennan said. “I’m so excited for Chevan. This is a really special opportunity for us and we’re going to play a big-time opponent. The coolest thing about this is that we get to bring Chevan Cordeiro home for his final college football game. I can’t think of a better ending for a tremendous player and a great human being.”
The Chanticleers are one of 12 bowl eligible teams from the Sun Belt, which leads all FBS conferences. Coastal is one of the nation’s winningest programs since the start of the 2020 season with a 38-12 mark. Wide receiver Sam Pinckney holds the Sun Belt record for career receiving yards and the NCAA record for consecutive games with a reception.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity for our seniors to play one more game and we couldn’t be more excited to go to Hawai‘i and play in the EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl against a really good San José State football team,” Beck said.
Mountain West teams have appeared in every EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl since 2012 and have won four times. The Sun Belt will be making its EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl debut.
The EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl is known for its high scoring, thrilling offenses and close games with two overtime contests and seven games decided by one touchdown or less. In addition to promoting the island way of life by sponsoring events intrinsic to Hawai‘i, the bowl supports many non-profit organizations through the Hawai‘i Bowl Foundation. More than $1.7 million has been awarded to local charities since the inception of the Hawai‘i Bowl Foundation. Additionally, through the Extra Yard for Teachers program, the EasyPost Hawai‘i Bowl has partnered with Teach for America Hawai’i to support teachers, schools and students.
