Hula Bowl

Hula Bowl (defunct)
Logo for proposed 2018 game
Location	Raleigh, North Carolina (2018)
Previous stadiums	Honolulu Stadium (1960–1974) Aloha Stadium (1975–1997) War Memorial Stadium (1998–2005) Aloha Stadium (2006–2008)
Previous locations	Honolulu, Hawaii (1960–1997) Wailuku, Hawaii (1998–2005) Honolulu, Hawaii (2006–2008)
Operated	1946–2008
Sponsors
Hooters (1995–1999) Rivals.com (2000–2002) Credit Union National Association (2005) Cornerstone Bancard (2006–2008)
2008 matchup
Aina vs. Kai (Aina 38-6)
2018 matchup

The Hula Bowl was an independently administered post-season invitational college football game held annually in Hawaii from 1947 to 2008, usually in January. The game was last played at Aloha Stadium in the Halawa district of Honolulu. At one point the longest-running sporting event in Hawaii, it had been considered a premier venue to launch professional careers in the National Football League (NFL). In November 2016, organizers announced their intent to restart the game in North Carolina in January 2018.

The Hula Bowl was established in 1946 by Paul Stupin and Mackay Yanagisawa as the Hula Bowl All-Star Football Classic. When the inaugural game 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, Hawaii. 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. From 1960 onward, the game featured only collegiate players, and game results are listed in NCAA records. In its last format, the Hula Bowl pitted an all-star team of players who attended college in the eastern United States against a team of players from the western United States. The teams were split into the Aina and Kai teams, the Hawaiian words for land and water (designating "East" and "West", respectively).

The game was originally played in Honolulu Stadium in Honolulu before the bowl was moved to Aloha Stadium in neighboring Halawa. In 1998, the then-mayor of Maui County, Linda Lingle, convinced organizers to move the game to the War Memorial Stadium in the town of Kahului on the island of Maui. However, due to poor attendance and reduced revenue, the Hula Bowl returned to Oahu for its 2006 game and stayed at Aloha Stadium until the last game in 2008.