The Hawaiʻi Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played in the Honolulu, Hawaii, area since 2002. The game was originally held at Aloha Stadium in Halawa, Hawaii, a suburb of Honolulu, before moving to the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex in 2022. The bowl is one of the post-season contests run by ESPN Events. Typically played on or near Christmas Eve, the bowl normally features a team from the Mountain West Conference, playing a team from either the American Athletic Conference or Conference USA. Since the 2021 edition of the bowl, it is sponsored by EasyPost. Previous sponsors include ConAgra Foods (2002) and Sheraton Hotels and Resorts Hawaii (2003–2013), and SoFi (2018–2019).
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team represents the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in NCAA Division I FBS college football. It was part of the Western Athletic Conference until July 2012, when the team joined the Mountain West Conference.
The Memphis Tigers football team represents the University of Memphis in college football in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision. The Tigers play in the American Athletic Conference as an all-sports member. They play home games at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. The team's head coach is Ryan Silverfield. Since their inaugural season in 1912, the Memphis Tigers have won over 500 games and appeared in seventeen bowl games.
The 2014 American Athletic Conference football season was the 24th NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season was the second since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, which lasted in its original form from its creation in 1979 until 2013.
The 2018 Hawaii Bowl was a college football bowl game being played on December 22, 2018, in Honolulu, Hawaii. It was the 17th edition of the Hawaii Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. This was the first time since 2007 that the bowl was not played on Christmas Eve. Sponsored by the SoFi personal finance company, the game was officially called the SoFi Hawaii Bowl.
The 2019 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rainbow Warriors played their home games at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu. They competed in the West Division of the Mountain West Conference and were led by fourth-year head coach Nick Rolovich, in what was his final season before his abrupt resignation in January 2020.
The 2019 Memphis Tigers football team represented the University of Memphis in the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers played their home games at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee, and competed in the West Division of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by fourth-year head coach Mike Norvell through the team's win in the American Championship Game, after which he left to fill the head coaching vacancy at Florida State. It was the first outright/unshared conference championship in 50 seasons. The team lost only two games, a regular season match-up against Temple and their bowl game against Penn State. Offensive line coach Ryan Silverfield was initially named head coach of the team for their bowl game, the Cotton Bowl; the interim tag was removed and he was named the new head coach of the Tigers.
The Cincinnati–Memphis rivalry is a college sports rivalry between the University of Cincinnati Bearcats and the University of Memphis Tigers. The rivalry between these two schools dates to their first college football game in 1966, and has continued across all sports, with the men's basketball series gaining attention as well, having started in 1968. The schools have also shared conferences historically, with the rivalry stretching over the span of five conferences from the Missouri Valley Conference, to the Metro Conference, Great Midwest Conference, Conference USA, and more recently in the American Athletic Conference.
The 2020 Cincinnati Bearcats football team represented the University of Cincinnati in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Bearcats played their home games at Nippert Stadium and competed as members of the American Athletic Conference. They were led by fourth-year head coach Luke Fickell.
The 2020 American Athletic Conference football season is the 29th NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision season of the American Athletic Conference. The season is the eighth since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference and the seventh season of the College Football Playoff in place. The American is considered a member of the Group of Five (G5) together with Conference USA (C–USA), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference.
The 2020 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rainbow Warriors played their final home games at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu as members of the Mountain West Conference. They were led by first-year head coach Todd Graham.
The 2020 Houston Cougars football team represented the University of Houston in the 2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Cougars played their home games at TDECU Stadium in Houston, Texas, and competed in the American Athletic Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Dana Holgorsen.
The 2020–21 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors basketball team represented the University of Hawaii at Manoa during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Rainbow Warriors, led by sixth-year head coach Eran Ganot, played their home games at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. Hawaii was a member of the Big West Conference, and participated in their 9th season in that league.
The 2021 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team represented the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Rainbow Warriors played their home games on the campus at the Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex as members of the West Division of the Mountain West Conference. They were led by second-year head coach Todd Graham.
The 2021–22 NCAA football bowl games were a series of college football games scheduled to complete the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The main games concluded with the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship played on January 10, 2022, while the all-star portion of the schedule concluded February 19, 2022.
The 2021 American Athletic Conference football season was the 30th NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season was the ninth since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference and the eighth season of the College Football Playoff in place. The American was considered a member of the Group of Five (G5) together with Conference USA (C–USA), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference.
The 2021 East Carolina Pirates football team represented East Carolina University in the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Pirates, led by third-year head coach Mike Houston, play their home games at Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium as members of the American Athletic Conference.
The 2021 SMU Mustangs football team represented Southern Methodist University during the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Mustangs played their home games at Gerald J. Ford Stadium in University Park, Texas, a separate city within the city limits of Dallas, competed as members of the American Athletic Conference (AAC). The Mustangs were led by fourth-year coach Sonny Dykes—on November 29, it was announced that Dykes would leave the program to become the head coach at TCU. He finished at SMU with an overall record of 30–18.
The 2021 Mountain West Conference football season, part of this year's NCAA Division I FBS football season was the 23rd season of college football for the Mountain West Conference (MW). Since 2012, 12 teams have competed in the Mountain West Conference. The season began on August 28, 2021 and ended on December 28, 2021. The entire schedule was released on March 5, 2021.
The 2022 American Athletic Conference football season is the 31st NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season is the tenth since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference and the ninth season of the College Football Playoff in place. The American is considered a member of the Group of Five (G5) together with Conference USA, the MAC, Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference. In September 2021, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF accepted invitations to join the Big 12 Conference. The three schools had been contractually required to remain with The American through 2024, but the conference and its departing members reached a buyout agreement that allowed those schools to leave in 2023.