The 2019 Hawaii Bowl was a college footballbowl game played on December 24, 2019, with kickoff at 8:00 p.m. EST (3:00 p.m. local HST) on ESPN.[7] It was the 18th edition of the Hawaii Bowl, and was one of the 2019–20 bowl games concluding the 2019 FBS football season. Sponsored by the SoFi personal finance company, the game was officially known as the SoFi Hawaii Bowl. This was also the final college football game at Aloha Stadium, as the stadium was closed to public events due to potential issues with the stadium, and the game was moved to the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex starting in 2022 after the 2020 and 2021 editions were cancelled due to COVID-19 issues.
Teams
The game was played between Hawaii of the Mountain West Conference, and BYU, an FBS independent. This was the 32nd meeting in this rivalry that dates back to 1930, and first in the postseason.[8] Both teams were previously members of the Western Athletic Conference; BYU from 1962 to 1998, and Hawaii from 1979 to 2011. BYU led the rivalry series, 23–8.[9]
Hawaii entered the bowl with a 9–5 record (5–3 in conference). The Rainbow Warriors finished atop the West Division of the Mountain West Conference, with the same conference win–loss record as San Diego State, whom they defeated during the regular season. Hawaii accepted their bowl invitation following their loss to Boise State in the Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game. This was their third Hawaii Bowl appearance under head coach Nick Rolovich, having won in 2016 and lost in 2018. Overall, this was the 13th bowl game for Hawaii (ninth Hawaii Bowl), with a prior record of 6–6 (4–4 in prior Hawaii Bowls).
BYU entered the bowl with a 7–5 record, having started the season 2–4, then winning five consecutive games, and losing to San Diego State in their regular season finale. Led by head coach Kalani Sitake, the Cougars accepted an invitation to the Hawaii Bowl on November 16.[10] This was BYU's first Hawaii Bowl appearance, and their second postseason game in Honolulu; they played in the 1992 Aloha Bowl, where they fell to Kansas by three points.[11]
