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Hula Bowl
Stadium	FBC Mortgage Stadium (2022–present)
Location	Orlando, Florida (2022–present)
Previous stadiums	Honolulu Stadium (1960–1975) War Memorial Stadium (1998–2005) Aloha Stadium (1976–1997, 2006–2008, 2020–2021)
Previous locations	Honolulu, Hawaii (1960–1975) Wailuku, Hawaii (1998–2005) Halawa, Hawaii (1976–1997, 2006–2008, 2020–2021)
Operated	1946–2008, 2020–present
Sponsors
Kodak (1989–1994) Hooters (1995–1999) Rivals.com (2000–2002) Credit Union National Association (2005) Cornerstone Bancard (2006–2008) Newsweek (2020) Tunnel to Towers Foundation (2023) Caribe Royale Orlando Resort (2024)
2023 matchup
Aina vs. Kai (Kai 16–13)
2024 matchup
Aina vs. Kai (Kai 24–17)

The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida.

The game was first staged in 1947, between mainland collegiate players and local Hawaiian players; it has been played exclusively with collegiate players since 1960. The bowl was paused following its 2008 edition, then was revived in January 2020.

The game was originally held at Honolulu Stadium in Honolulu, then moved to Aloha Stadium in Halawa starting with the January 1976 edition. The game remained at Aloha Stadium through the 2021 edition, except for eight editions played at War Memorial Stadium on the island of Maui. The University of Central Florida (UCF) agreed to host the January 2022 playing of the game, due to Aloha Stadium being closed for repairs and upgrades.

History

In late 1946, the first Hula Bowl was organized by Paul Stupin and Mackay Yanagisawa. When the inaugural game was played on January 5, 1947, the teams were composed of mainland college players (the "Southern California Rose Bowl Stars", led by UCLA quarterback Ernie Case) pitted against a local team of graduates of Leilehua (the "Leialums"), a local high school in Wahiawa, Hawaii—the mainland team won, 34–7. The teams played a two-game series every January until 1951, when the format was changed to allow National Football League (NFL) players to join the Hawaiian all-stars, in an effort to create a more competitive environment. From 1960 onward, the game featured only collegiate players, and game results are listed in NCAA records. Players were historically rostered by college location; North vs. South or East vs. West. Since 2000, team names of Aina and Kai, the Hawaiian words for land and ocean, have been used multiple times.

The game was originally played in Honolulu Stadium in Honolulu through the January 1975 playing, then moved to Aloha Stadium in neighboring Halawa. In 1997, the then-mayor of Maui County, Linda Lingle, obtained authorization to spend $1.2 million to improve War Memorial Stadium in the town of Kahului on the island of Maui, which then hosted the game for the 1998 through 2005 playings. However, due to poor attendance and reduced revenue, the Hula Bowl returned to Oahu for its 2006 game and stayed at Aloha Stadium through the 2008 playing.

The game has predominantly been played in January as one of the final games of the college football postseason, allowing players who competed in bowl games with their collegiate teams to participate. The game has been held in early February twice, in 2002 and 2003.

For many years, the Hula Bowl was distinguished from a similar event, the Senior Bowl, by playing by collegiate rules rather than professional rules, and by remaining amateur (the Senior Bowl paid players through its 1988 edition). This was very important for those wishing to remain eligible to compete in other collegiate sports (such as college baseball) or otherwise retain amateur status. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it was considered a premier venue to launch professional careers in the NFL.

Changing direction

On July 1, 2006, it was announced that the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) would end its ten-year relationship with the Hula Bowl due to "philosophical differences" over the future plans for the game, including proposed changes for the 2007 game — such as reintroducing the "Hawaiian Islands versus Mainland" matchup used from 1947 to 1959. University of Hawaii and former NFL head coach June Jones expressed a willingness to coach a potential Hawaiian Islands team, which would have a mix of Hawaiian and Polynesian players and, bowl organizers hoped, would draw more fans to the game. The Hula Bowl had also discussed the idea of allowing junior status players to participate in the game and bringing over college football players from Japan, something the game had done in the recent past. Game officials also discussed awarding a national "Hula Bowl Player of the Week" to college players during the regular season; the winning players would have been invited to play in the Hula Bowl and been able to direct a $1,000 donation to a charity in their state.

Dormancy

After the January 2008 playing, the bowl remained dormant. Organizers searched "for opportunities to reintroduce and reimagine the historic bowl game", and in November 2016, announced their intent to restart the game in North Carolina in January 2018. However, in March 2017, additional news reports indicated that a revival of the game was unlikely, as a key supporter of the proposal, North Carolina governor Pat McCrory, left office at the start of that year.

Revival

On October 29, 2019, it was announced that the Hula Bowl would be revived; the 2020 edition was played at Aloha Stadium on January 26, 2020. It featured "NCAA college football players from all divisions, along with international players". Aloha Stadium also hosted the 2021 edition, played on January 31, 2021, held without spectators after the facility was "deemed unsafe to hold crowds" in December 2020. In August 2021, with Aloha Stadium closed for repairs and upgrades, the University of Central Florida (UCF) agreed to host the 2022 playing—scheduled for January 15—at their home stadium, FBC Mortgage Stadium, in Orlando, Florida.

Game results

MVPs

1947–2008

Table

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Hula Bowl" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Year Name College 1947 John Johnson UCLA 1948 Dick Hagen Washington 1949 Jerry Williams Washington State 1950 Dick Kempthorn Michigan 1951 Sonny Grandelius Michigan State 1952 Vic Janowicz Don Coleman Ohio State Michigan State 1953 Tom Stolhandske Texas 1954 Bobby Garrett Stanford 1955 Carroll Hardy Colorado 1956 Bob Davenport UCLA 1957 Paul Hornung Notre Dame 1958 John David Crow Lou Michaels Texas A&M Kentucky 1959 Bob Ptacek Sam Williams Michigan Michigan State 1960 Richie Lucas Larry Grantham Penn State Ole Miss 1961 Fran Tarkenton Mike Ditka Georgia Pittsburgh 1962 Lance Alworth Merlin Olsen Arkansas Utah State 1963 Kermit Alexander Dave Watson UCLA Georgia Tech 1964 Peter Liske Dave Wilcox Penn State Oregon 1965 Larry Elkins Jeff Jordan Baylor Tulsa 1966 Steve Juday Carl McAdams Michigan State Oklahoma 1967 Charlie Brown Dave Williams Missouri Washington 1968 Larry Csonka Harry Gunner Syracuse Oregon State 1969 Bill Enyart Tim Buchanan Oregon State Hawaii 1970 Bobby Anderson Floyd Reese Colorado UCLA 1971 Jim Plunkett Jack Ham Stanford Penn State 1972 Jerry Tagge Walt Patulski Nebraska Notre Dame 1973 Greg Pruitt Jim Merlo Oklahoma Stanford 1974 Norris Weese Lucious Selmon Ole Miss Oklahoma 1975 Condredge Holloway Rubin Carter Tennessee Miami (FL) 1976 Cornelius Greene Lee Roy Selmon Ohio State Oklahoma 1977 Tony Dorsett Ron Crosby Pittsburgh Penn State 1978 Dave Turner Ricky Odom San Diego State USC 1979 Rick Leach Ted Brown Michigan NC State 1980 Billy Sims Steve McMichael Oklahoma Texas Year Name College 1981 Samoa Samoa Kenny Easley Blane Gaison Washington State UCLA Hawaii 1982 Walter Abercrombie Leo Wisniewski Baylor Penn State 1983 Dan Marino Paul Soares Pittsburgh Navy 1984 Jim Sandusky Freddie Gilbert San Diego State Georgia 1985 Al Toon Freddie Joe Nunn Wisconsin Ole Miss 1986 Doug Gaynor Rogers Alexander Long Beach State Penn State 1987 Chris Miller Louis Brock Oregon USC 1988 Aaron Cox Dennis Price Arizona State UCLA 1989 Anthony Dilweg Deion Sanders Duke Florida State 1990 Cary Conklin James Francis Washington Baylor 1991 John Langeloh Derrick Brownlow Michigan State Illinois 1992 Derrick Moore Steve Israel Northeastern State Pittsburgh 1993 Lamar Thomas Ron Carpenter Miami (FL) Miami (OH) 1994 Andre Coleman Chris Maumalanga Kansas State Kansas 1995 Kordell Stewart Robert Baldwin Colorado Duke 1996 Winslow Oliver Regan Upshaw New Mexico California 1997 Archie Amerson Andy Russ Northern Arizona Mississippi State 1998 Chris Howard Eric Ogbogu Michigan Maryland 1999 Kevin Daft Ricky Williams Brad Scioli UC Davis Texas Penn State 2000 Bashir Yamini Todd Husak Brian Young Iowa Stanford UTEP 2001 Jonathan Beasley Reggie Germany Kansas State Ohio State 2002 Nick Rolovich Chester Taylor Hawaii Toledo 2003 David Kircus Kassim Osgood Grand Valley State San Diego State 2004 Wes Welker Fred Russell Colby Bockwoldt Texas Tech Iowa Brigham Young 2005 Ronald Stanley Derrick Wimbush Michigan State Fort Valley State 2006 Brent Hawkins Brad Smith Illinois State Missouri 2007 Will Proctor Chad Nkang Clemson Elon 2008 Bernard Morris Angelo Craig Marshall Cincinnati

2020–present

Coaches

Coaches for the first Hula Bowl played exclusively with college players, in January 1960, were Bud Wilkinson of Oklahoma and Paul Dietzel of LSU. Dietzel's East squad defeated Wilkinson's West team, 34–8. Multiple inductees of the College Football Hall of Fame have coached in the Hula Bowl, including: Bobby Bowden, Terry Donahue, Johnny Majors, Ara Parseghian, Bo Schembechler, and Barry Switzer. Larry Price coached in eight Hula Bowls (1969–1976) while Dick Tomey coached in seven Hula Bowls (1978–1979, 1981, 1983, 1985–1986, 1991); both while they were coaching with Hawaii. For coaches from the mainland, Lou Holtz has the most appearances, with five (1979, 1989–1990, 1993, 1997). These totals include both head coach and assistant coaching appearances.

Hall of fame

In 2019, the Hula Bowl announced the creation of a hall of fame. The hall's inductees are:

Head coach appearances in the Hula Bowl are listed in parentheses in the College column.

In popular culture

In 1997, a storyline in the comic strip Funky Winkerbean had Harry Dinkle and the Scapegoats marching band preparing to perform at the Hula Bowl.

See also

• Poi Bowl (1936–1939)
• Pineapple Bowl (1940–1941, 1947–1952)
• Aloha Bowl (1982–2000)
• Oahu Bowl (1998–2000)
• Hawaii Bowl (2002–present)
• List of college bowl games

References

1. Kwon, Bill. "Hooters a natural for Hula Show". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
2. "Hula Bowl and Newsweek Announce Title Sponsorship". Newsweek.com. 10 January 2020. Archived from the original on 25 June 2020. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
3. Foundation, Stephen Siller Tunnel To Towers (16 November 2022). "Tunnel to Towers Foundation to Serve as Title Sponsor of Hula Bowl 2023". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). Retrieved 30 October 2023.
4. Sep 20, EIN Presswire (20 September 2023). "Caribe Royale Orlando Resort to Serve as Title Sponsor of the 2024 Hula Bowl". FOX21 News Colorado. Retrieved 30 October 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
5. Borsch, Ferd (January 11, 1976). "Hu-la won? All but the West". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 1. Retrieved January 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
6. ^ "Our History". hulabowl.com. 2019. Archived from the original on November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
7. ^ Murschel, Matt (August 9, 2021). "UCF to host Hula Bowl in 2022". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved August 9, 2021.
8. "Postseason Grid Games Are Pending", Honolulu Star-Bulletin, p. 6, December 23, 1946, retrieved November 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com
9. Lewis, Ferd (July 3, 2009). "60 years catering to tastes of Hawaii fans". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
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11. "Leialums Completely Outclassed by Rose Bowl Football Stars", Honolulu Star-Bulletin, p. 12, January 6, 1947, retrieved November 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com
12. ^ "BOWL/ALL STAR GAME RECORDS" (PDF). NCAA. 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
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17. ^ Masuoka, Brandon (July 29, 2006). "Hula Bowl tries to reinvent itself". The Honolulu Advertiser.
18. ^ "HISTORIC HULA BOWL SET TO CALL NORTH CAROLINA HOME IN 2018". www.hulabowlhawaii.com. November 4, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
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20. Kane, Dan (March 8, 2017). "Despite pre-election promise from McCrory, there's no Hula Bowl coming to Raleigh". The News & Observer. Raleigh, North Carolina. Retrieved June 18, 2017.
21. Peterkin, Olivia (October 31, 2019). "HULA BOWL to reboot after 12 years as part of CBS Network partnership". bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
22. Shimabuku, Christian (January 31, 2021). "Team Kai wins Hula Bowl in likely final game at Aloha Stadium". KHON-TV. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
23. Shimabuku, Christian (December 17, 2020). "Aloha Stadium to shut down operations indefinitely". KHON-TV. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
24. Turner, Jamie (January 23, 1994). "Hawaii Ponoʻi a game-saver". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. C1. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
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27. Reardon, Dave (February 3, 2002). "Rolo wows 'em on Maui". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. B5. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
28. Luis, Cindy (February 2, 2003). "Aina wins rousing Hula Bowl". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. B11. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
29. Song, Jaymes (January 18, 2004). "Aina runs past Kai for 26-7 Hula Bowl victory". usatoday.com. AP.
30. Song, Jaymes (January 23, 2005). "Stanley's two defensive scores rally East in Hula Bowl". usatoday.com. AP.
31. "Long trip to Hula Bowl benefits Marshall". usatoday.com. AP. January 22, 2006.
32. Song, Jaymes (January 15, 2007). "Clemson duo play major role in Aina's Hula Bowl victory". usatoday.com. AP.
33. "Bernard Morris' big first half leads Aina to 38-7 Hula Bowl victory". ESPN.com. AP. January 12, 2008.
34. Tsai, Stephen (January 27, 2020). "K-State's Walker leads Kai team over ʻAina". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. C3. Retrieved November 8, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
35. Tsai, Stephen (February 1, 2021). "Hula Bowl: Finish to Remember". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. p. C2. Retrieved December 22, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
36. Beede, Jason (January 16, 2022). "Ex-UCF QB Milton, Team AINA fall short". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 4 (Section 3). Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
37. Gamarra, Max (January 14, 2023). "Team Kai beats Team Aina 16-13 in 2023 Hula Bowl". nicholsonstudentmedia.com. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
38. "In memoriam: John Johnson, 96, UCLA football standout and assistant coach". ucla.edu. UCLA Athletics. October 19, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
39. @ChrisShanafelt (February 26, 2020). "Walker recorded 3.5 sacks + forced a fumble and went on to win MVP honors of the all-star game" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
40. @dartmouthsports (January 27, 2020). "Defensive Niko Lalos of @DartFootball stood out at the 2020 @Hula_Bowl Sunday night, earning MVP honors for Team Aina with 6 tackles, 3 for a loss, 2 sacks and 1 forced fumble!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
41. @NYCKING (February 1, 2021). "#HulaBowl Mekhi Sargent named offensive MVP and Carlo Kemp named defensive MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
42. @NYCKING (February 1, 2021). "#HulaBowl MVP for both teams C.J. Marable offensive MVP and Nick McCloud defensive MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
43. Beede, Jason (January 16, 2022). "Ex-UCF QB Milton, Team AINA fall short". Sun-Sentinel. Fort Lauderdale, Florida. p. 4 (Section 3). Retrieved January 9, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
44. @ToledoFB (January 14, 2023). "@CoachScott_UT helped coach offensive MVP Holton Ahlers" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
45. @PeterAriz (January 15, 2023). "Congrats @JoFerg__ on a great week of practice and heck of a Defensive MVP performance in yesterday's @Hula_Bowl!" (Tweet). Retrieved January 23, 2023 – via Twitter.
46. @TheJonahDylan (January 13, 2024). "Blake Watson wins Hula Bowl Offensive MVP. Next up: NFL Draft prep" (Tweet). Retrieved January 15, 2024 – via Twitter.
47. @UCF_Football (January 13, 2024). "UCF Football - Hula Bowl" (Tweet). Retrieved January 15, 2024 – via Twitter.
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57. "Funky Winkerbean". Dayton Daily News. Dayton, Ohio. December 14, 1997. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via newspapers.com.

External links

• Official website

• American football in Hawaii
• College sports in Hawaii
• College football all-star games
• 1947 establishments in Hawaii
• 2008 disestablishments in Hawaii
• 2020 establishments in Hawaii
• Recurring sporting events established in 1947
• Recurring sporting events disestablished in 2008
• Recurring sporting events established in 2020