University of Hawaii Football

The University of Hawaii at Manoa is the flagship campus in the University of Hawaii System of higher education that sports fans think of when they discuss the football program known both on and off the mainland as the Hawaii Warriors. On January 1, 2008 the Warriors made college football history by coming out of the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) to become only the third non BCS (Bowl Championship Series) conference school to compete in a BCS game when they took the field against Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. While the Hawaii football team disappointingly came up short against Georgia in the 2008 New Year's Day game by a score of 41-10 this event was just a road bump in the rich history of an accomplished program that is determined to persevere for future greatness.

The University of Hawaii at Manoa has more than 20,000 students currently enrolled at the school based in the urban neighborhood of Honolulu (metro population 900,000) known as Manoa. The school that is located in the state capital was founded in 1907 and the football team had its first season in 1909. What is particularly remarkable about both the timing of the establishment of the university as well as the year of the first kickoff is that the island of Hawaii did not become an American state until August 21, 1959 and commercial air travel would not become common place for decades.

Long before the University of Hawaii played in the 50,000 seat Aloha Stadium that it now calls home the College of Hawaii took the field as the "Fighting Deans" and won the first game it ever played. The lopsided 95-5 victory was perhaps to be expected considering the roster of college athletes competed against high school students from McKinley High School in that inaugural contest. The competition would eventually ramp up with the first game against another college being a 14-0 losing effort against the University of Nevada on Christmas Day, 1920.

Over the years the University of Hawaii football program would incur its fair share of ups and downs. Among the low points in the history of the program are the cancellations of the 1912-1914 seasons as a result of World War I and the subsequent cancellations of the football seasons from 1942-1945 following the attack on Pearl Harbor and ensuing World War II involvement. A notable high point in the history of the program was the massive upset of the powerhouse Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln, NE in 1955, just one year after Hawaii suffered an embarrassing 50-0 home loss to the perennial power Cornhuskers.

Due to travel budget concerns it was not until 1966 that the University of Hawaii could afford to schedule a full season comprised entirely of collegiate competition. Up until this point sporadic competition was often found in the form of area teams located on the remote set of islands that make up Hawaii.

Throughout the years the Hawaii program would grow due in no small part to its 1979 inclusion in the mid-tier Western Athletic Conference (WAC) which guaranteed that Hawaii would become exposed to an increased national audience. Eventually the Hawaii football program would produce All-Americans, first round NFL draft picks, record breaking quarterbacks, and Super Bowl champions. The January, 2008 Sugar Bowl appearance was a true testament to just how far the University of Hawaii football program has come.