Hula Bowl

The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually in Hawaii, usually in January. It 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.[3] Since then, the game has remained at Aloha Stadium except for eight editions played at War Memorial Stadium on the island of Maui.[4]

Hula Bowl
Stadium	Aloha Stadium (1976–1997, 2006–2008, 2020–present)
Location	Halawa, Hawaii (1976–1997, 2006–2008, 2020–present)
Previous stadiums	Honolulu Stadium (1960–1975) War Memorial Stadium (1998–2005)
Previous locations	Honolulu, Hawaii (1960–1975) Wailuku, Hawaii (1998–2005)
Operated	1946–2008, 2020–present
Sponsors
Kodak (1989–1994)[1] Hooters (1995–1999) Rivals.com (2000–2002) Credit Union National Association (2005) Cornerstone Bancard (2006–2008) Newsweek (2020)[2]
2020 matchup
Aina vs. Kai (Kai 23–7)
2021 matchup
Aina vs. Kai (Kai 15–13)

History

UCLA quarterback Ernie Case played in the inaugural 1947 game.

In late 1946,[5] the first Hula Bowl was organized by Paul Stupin and Mackay Yanagisawa.[6] 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"),[7] a local high school in Wahiawa, Hawaii—the mainland team won, 34–7.[8] 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,[9] 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.[9] 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,[10] which then hosted the game for the 1998 through 2005 playings. However, due to poor attendance and reduced revenue,[11] 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).[12] 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

Kyle Eckel of Navy at the 2005 game

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,[13] including proposed changes for the 2007 game — such as reintroducing the "Hawaiian Islands versus Mainland" matchup used from 1947 to 1959. University of Hawaii 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 hope, 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.[14] 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.[14]

Dormancy

After the January 2008 playing, the bowl remained dormant. Organizers searched "for opportunities to reintroduce and reimagine the historic bowl game",[15] and in November 2016, announced their intent to restart the game in North Carolina in January 2018.[15][16] 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.[17]

Revival

On October 29, 2019, it was announced that the Hula Bowl would be revived;[18] 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".[4]

Game results

Key East win West win North win South win Aina win Kai win Tie

The Hula Bowl has used four different pairs of team designations. Before 2000, teams were rostered as either North vs. South or East vs. West, with the exception of the 1994 game, which was College Stars vs. Hawaii Ponoʻi ("Hawaii's own"). Since 2000, the matchup has been Aina vs. Kai, except for 2005 and 2006, which reverted to East vs. West. Past NCAA records have substituted North or West in place of Kai ("ocean"), and South or East in place of Aina ("land").[9]

Date Winner Loser Attendance[9] January 10, 1960 East 34 West 8 23,000 January 8, 1961 East 14 West 7 17,017 January 7, 1962 East 7, West 7 20,598 January 6, 1963 North 20 South 13 20,000 January 4, 1964 North 20 South 13 18,177 January 9, 1965 South 16 North 14 22,100 January 8, 1966 North 27 South 26 25,000 January 7, 1967 North 28 South 27 23,500 January 6, 1968 North 50 South 6 21,000 January 4, 1969 North 13 South 7 23,000 January 10, 1970 South 35 North 13 25,000 January 9, 1971 North 42 South 32 23,500 January 8, 1972 North 24 South 7 23,000 January 6, 1973 South 17 North 3 23,000 January 5, 1974 East 24 West 14 23,000 January 4, 1975 East 34 West 25 22,000 January 10, 1976 East 16 West 0 45,458 January 8, 1977 West 20 East 17 45,579 January 7, 1978 West 42 East 22 48,197 January 6, 1979 East 29 West 24 49,132 January 5, 1980 East 17 West 10 47,096 January 10, 1981 West 24 East 17 39,010 January 9, 1982 West 26 East 23 43,002 January 15, 1983 East 30 West 14 39,456 January 7, 1984 West 21 East 16 34,216 January 5, 1985 East 34 West 14 30,767 Venues Honolulu Stadium (1960–1975) Aloha Stadium (1976–1997, 2006–2008, 2020–2021) War Memorial Stadium (1998–2005)

Date Winner Loser Attendance[9] Ref. January 11, 1986 West 23 East 10 29,564 January 10, 1987 West 16 East 14 17,775 January 16, 1988 West 20 East 18 26,737 January 7, 1989 East 21 West 10 25,000 January 13, 1990 West 21 East 13 28,742 January 19, 1991 East 23 West 10 21,926 January 11, 1992 West 27 East 20 23,112 January 16, 1993 West 13 East 10 25,479 January 22, 1994 College Stars 28 Hawaii Ponoʻi 15 33,947 [19] January 22, 1995 East 20 West 9 19,074 January 21, 1996 East 17 West 10 25,112 January 19, 1997 South 26 North 13 24,725 January 18, 1998 South 20 North 19 20,079 January 24, 1999 South 34 North 14 23,719 January 22, 2000 Aina 28, Kai 28 23,719 [20] January 20, 2001 Kai 31 Aina 23 23,719 [21] February 2, 2002 Aina 45 Kai 28 24,000 [22] February 1, 2003 Aina 27 Kai 24 [23] January 17, 2004 Aina 26 Kai 7 [24] January 22, 2005 East 20 West 13 [25] January 21, 2006 East 10 West 7 [26] January 14, 2007 Aina 18 Kai 10 8,000 [27] January 12, 2008 Aina 38 Kai 7 [28] January 26, 2020 Kai 23 Aina 7 5,500 [29] January 31, 2021 Kai 15 Aina 13 0 [30] Source:[9] All-time series (updated through January 2021 game) East leads West, 15–11–1 North leads South, 8–6 Aina leads Kai, 5–3–1 College Stars lead Hawaii Ponoʻi, 1–0

MVPs

Year Name College 1947 John Johnson[31] 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 1981 Samoa Samoa Kenny Easley Blane Gaison Washington State UCLA Hawaii

Year Name College 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 Reggie Walker Niko Lalos Kansas State Dartmouth 2021 Mekhi Sargent Carlo Kemp CJ Marable Nick McCloud Iowa Michigan Coastal Carolina Notre Dame

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.[32] Dietzel's East squad defeated Wilkinson's West team, 34–8.[33] 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.[32] 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.[32] For coaches from the mainland, Lou Holtz has the most appearances, with five (1979, 1989–1990, 1993, 1997).[32] 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.[34] The hall's inductees are:

Hula Bowl Hall of Fame

Year	Name	Role	College	Career highlights
2020[35]	Junior Ah You	Player	Arizona State	CFL (1972–1981), Canadian Football Hall of Fame
	Eric Dickerson		SMU	NFL (1983–1993), 6× Pro Bowl, Pro Football Hall of Fame, College Football Hall of Fame
	Anthony Miller		Tennessee	NFL (1988–1997), 5× Pro Bowl
	Mike White	Coach	Cal (1977) Illinois (1988)	as player: Cal (1955–1957) as head coach: Cal (1972–1977), Illinois (1980–1987), Oakland Raiders (1995–1996)
	Rich Miano	Contributor	Hawaii	Hula Bowl executive director; NFL (1985–1989; 1991–1995)
2021[36]	Drew Brees	Player	Purdue	NFL (2001–present), 13× Pro Bowl
	Tim Brown		Notre Dame	NFL (1988–2004), 9× Pro Bowl, Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1987 Heisman Trophy, College Football Hall of Fame
	Jesse Sapolu		Hawaii	NFL (1983–1997), 2× Pro Bowl
	Steve Spurrier	Coach	Florida (1992)	as player: Florida (1964–1966), 1966 Heisman Trophy, College Football Hall of Fame, NFL (1967–1976) as head coach: Duke (1987–1989), Florida (1990–2001), Washington Redskins (2002–2003), South Carolina (2005–2015)
	Pat O'Farrell	Contributor	West Point	Hula Bowl ambassador to the armed forces[37]

Head coach appearances in the Hula Bowl are listed in parentheses in the College column.[38]

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.[39][40]

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. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
3. Borsch, Ferd (January 11, 1976). "Hu-la won? All but the West". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. 1. Retrieved January 24, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
4. "Our History". hulabowl.com. 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
5. "Postseason Grid Games Are Pending", Honolulu Star-Bulletin, p. 6, December 23, 1946, retrieved November 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com
6. Lewis, Ferd (July 3, 2009). "60 years catering to tastes of Hawaii fans". Honolulu Advertiser. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
7. "Southern California Rose Bowl Stars Arrive", Honolulu Star-Bulletin, p. 1, January 3, 1947, retrieved November 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com
8. "Leialums Completely Outclassed by Rose Bowl Football Stars", Honolulu Star-Bulletin, p. 12, January 6, 1947, retrieved November 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com
9. "BOWL/ALL STAR GAME RECORDS" (PDF). NCAA. 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
10. Kubota, Gary T. (September 4, 1998). "Hula Bowl revenues far short of goal". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
11. Lewis, Ferd (June 4, 2005). "Hula Bowl's hopes rest on return to Honolulu". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. 21. Retrieved November 22, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
12. "Senior Bowl to stop paying players". The Santa Fe New Mexican. January 20, 1989. p. 16. Retrieved November 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
13. "AFCA Ends Relationship with Hula Bowl". Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved Nov 3, 2019.
14. Masuoka, Brandon (July 29, 2006). "Hula Bowl tries to reinvent itself". The Honolulu Advertiser.
15. "HISTORIC HULA BOWL SET TO CALL NORTH CAROLINA HOME IN 2018". www.hulabowlhawaii.com. November 4, 2016. Retrieved January 8, 2017.
16. Smith, R. Cory (November 4, 2016). "Historic Hula Bowl coming to Raleigh in 2018". North State Journal – via nsjonline.com.
17. 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.
18. Peterkin, Olivia (October 31, 2019). "HULA BOWL to reboot after 12 years as part of CBS Network partnership". bizjournals.com. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
19. Turner, Jamie (January 23, 1994). "Hawaii Ponoʻi a game-saver". The Honolulu Advertiser. p. C1. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
20. "(box score)". The Honolulu Advertiser. January 23, 2000. p. C6. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
21. "(box score)". The Honolulu Advertiser. January 13, 2001. p. C8. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
22. Reardon, Dave (February 3, 2002). "Rolo wows 'em on Maui". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. B5. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
23. Luis, Cindy (February 2, 2003). "Aina wins rousing Hula Bowl". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. p. B11. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
24. Song, Jaymes (January 18, 2004). "Aina runs past Kai for 26-7 Hula Bowl victory". usatoday.com. AP.
25. Song, Jaymes (January 23, 2005). "Stanley's two defensive scores rally East in Hula Bowl". usatoday.com. AP.
26. "Long trip to Hula Bowl benefits Marshall". usatoday.com. AP. January 22, 2006.
27. Song, Jaymes (January 15, 2007). "Clemson duo play major role in Aina's Hula Bowl victory". usatoday.com. AP.
28. "Bernard Morris' big first half leads Aina to 38-7 Hula Bowl victory". ESPN.com. AP. January 12, 2008.
29. 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.
30. "Game Day 2021". hulabowl.com. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
31. "In memoriam: John Johnson, 96, UCLA football standout and assistant coach". ucla.edu. UCLA Athletics. October 19, 2017. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
32. "All Time Coaches". hulabowl.com. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
33. "All-Americans Lead East In Hula Bowl Win". Independent-Journal. San Rafael, California. UPI. January 11, 1960. p. 10. Retrieved November 23, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
34. Miano, Rich (2019). "Hall of Fame". hulabowl.com. Retrieved November 23, 2019.
35. "Hula Bowl Hall of Famers". hinowdaily.com. Retrieved November 22, 2020.
36. "Hula Bowl unveils 2021 Hall of Fame Class". hinowdaily.com. January 2021. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
37. "Our Staff". hulabowl.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2020. Retrieved January 31, 2021 – via Wayback Machine.
38. "All Time Coaches". hulabowl.com. Retrieved January 23, 2021.
39. "Funky Winkerbean". Standard-Speaker. Hazleton, Pennsylvania. August 30, 1997. p. 13. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
40. "Funky Winkerbean". Dayton Daily News. Dayton, Ohio. December 14, 1997. Retrieved November 22, 2020 – via newspapers.com.

External links

• Official website