The Hula Bowl
is an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held each year in Hawaii, currently at Aloha Stadium in the Halawa district of Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The longest-running sporting event in Hawaiʻi, it has been considered a premier venue to launch professional careers in the National Football League. Today the Hula Bowl is a trademarked institution of the Downtown Athletic Club, of Heisman Trophy fame.
In its current format it pits an all-star team of players who attended college in the Eastern United States against a team of players from the Western United States. In the past, a North vs. South format has been used and in some years, the teams were split into the Aina and Kai teams, the Hawaiian words for land and water (designating "East" and "West", respectively). For many years it was distinguished from a similar event, the Senior Bowl, by playing by collegiate rather than professional rules and by being amateur, which at one point was very important for those wishing to remain eligible to compete in collegiate or other amateur sports in the future, but is less relevant today. The game, and especially the practice sessions leading up to it, are attended by many professional scouts, and can have an important bearing on where a player, particularly one from a lesser-known school, is drafted by the NFL.
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HULA BOWL TICKETS
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History
The Hula Bowl was established in 1946 by
Paul Stupin as the Hula Bowl All-Star Football Classic. It was originally played in the
Honolulu Stadium in Honolulu before the bowl was moved to the Aloha Stadium in neighboring Halawa. In 1998, then-
Maui County Mayor Linda Lingle convinced organizers to move the game to the
War Memorial Stadium in the town of
Kahului. However, due to poor attendance and reduced revenue, the Hula Bowl returned to Aloha Stadium for its 2006 game, the 60th Anniversary contest, and
Cornerstone Financial Services became the titlular sponsor as the game was renamed the "Cornerstone Bancard Hula Bowl".
Future direction of the Hula Bowl
On July 1, 2006, it was announced that the
AFCA would end its ten-year relationship with the Hula Bowl due to "philosophical differences" over the future plans for the game
[1], including proposed changes for the 2007 game — such as reintroducing the "Hawai
ʻian Islands versus Mainland" matchup used from 1947 to 1959. University of Hawai
ʻi head coach
June Jones expressed a willingness to coach a potential Hawai
ʻian Islands team, which would have a mix of Hawai
ʻian 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 has done in the recent past.
[2]
Game officials have also discussed awarding a national "Hula Bowl Player of the Week" to college players during the regular season; the winning players would be invited to play in the Hula Bowl and be able to direct a $1,000 donation to a charity in their state.
[3]
In 2008, the coaches were
Jeff Jagodzinski from
Boston College and
Ron Zook from
Illinois for the Aina (East) team, and
Mike Riley from
Oregon State and
Mike Sanford of
Nevada-Las Vegas for the Kai (West) team.
The 2009 edition was declared cancelled due to what was quoted as "lack of interest".
Past Hula Bowl results
Year
| Winning team
| Losing team
|
1960
| East
| 34
| West
| 8
|
1961
| East
| 14
| West
| 7
|
1962
| East 7, West 7
|
1963
| North
| 20
| South
| 13
|
1964
| North
| 20
| South
| 13
|
1965
| South
| 16
| North
| 14
|
1966
| North
| 27
| South
| 26
|
1967
| North
| 28
| South
| 27
|
1968
| North
| 50
| South
| 6
|
1969
| North
| 13
| South
| 7
|
1970
| South
| 35
| North
| 13
|
1971
| North
| 42
| South
| 32
|
1972
| North
| 24
| South
| 7
|
1973
| South
| 17
| North
| 3
|
1974
| East
| 24
| West
| 14
|
1975
| East
| 34
| West
| 25
|
1976
| East
| 16
| West
| 0
|
1977
| West
| 20
| East
| 17
|
1978
| West
| 42
| East
| 22
|
1979
| East
| 29
| West
| 24
|
1980
| East
| 17
| West
| 10
|
1981
| West
| 24
| East
| 17
|
1982
| West
| 26
| East
| 23
|
1983
| East
| 30
| West
| 14
|
1984
| West
| 21
| East
| 16
|
|
Year
| Winning team
| Losing team
|
1985
| East
| 34
| West
| 14
|
1986
| West
| 23
| East
| 10
|
1987
| West
| 16
| East
| 14
|
1988
| West
| 20
| East
| 18
|
1989
| East
| 21
| West
| 10
|
1990
| West
| 21
| East
| 13
|
1991
| East
| 23
| West
| 10
|
1992
| West
| 27
| East
| 20
|
1993
| West
| 13
| East
| 10
|
1994
| College Stars
| 28
| Hawaiʻi Stars
| 15
|
1995
| East
| 20
| West
| 9
|
1996
| East
| 17
| West
| 10
|
1997
| South
| 26
| North
| 13
|
1998
| South
| 20
| North
| 19
|
1999
| South
| 34
| North
| 14
|
2000
| North 28, South 28
|
2001
| North
| 31
| South
| 23
|
2002
| South
| 45
| North
| 28
|
2003
| Aina (East)
| 27
| Kai (West)
| 24
|
2004
| Aina (East)
| 26
| Kai (West)
| 7
|
2005
| East
| 20
| West
| 13
|
2006
| East
| 10
| West
| 7
|
2007
| Aina (East)
| 18
| Kai (West)
| 10
|
2008
| Aina (East)
| 38
| Kai (West)
| 7
|
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; All-time series:
East leads West 15–11–1
North leads South 9–7–1
College Stars leads Hawai?i Stars 1–0
Aina leads Kai 4–0'''
- The game was played at Honolulu Stadium from 1960 through 1974 prior to moving to Aloha Stadium. Aloha Stadium hosted this game from 1975-97, and started hosting the game again in 2006 after being moved back from War Memorial Stadium.
- When the inaugural Hula Bowl All-Star Football Classic was played on January 5, 1947, the teams were composed of mainland college players pitted against a local team of graduates of Leilehua, a local high school in Wahiawa, Hawai'i. The teams played a two-game series every January until 1951, when the format was changed to allow NFL players to join the Hawaiian all-stars in an effort to create a more competitive environment. In the 1960s the Hula Bowl changed formats again, limiting play to only collegiate athletes.
Past Hula Bowl MVPs
Year
| Name
| College
|
1947
| John Johnson
| UCLA
|
1948
| Dick Hagan
| 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 (OH)
|
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
|
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See also
- Poi Bowl (1936—1939)
- Pineapple Bowl (1940—1952)
- Aloha Bowl (1982—2000)
- Oahu Bowl (1998—2000)
- Hawaii Bowl (since 2002)
- List of college bowl games