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HONOLULU – The University of Hawai'i earned an invitation to the 2016 Hawai'i Bowl and will represent the Mountain West against Middle Tennessee of Conference USA on Christmas Eve. Kick-off is 3:00 p.m., on Hawaiian Tel FCU Field at Aloha Stadium and the game will be televised nationally on ESPN.
 
Under head coach Nick Rolovich, the Rainbow Warriors (6-7), runners-up in the MW's West Division, will make their first appearance in the Hawai'i Bowl since 2010 and their seventh trip since 2002. UH is 3-3 all-time in the Hawai'i Bowl.
 
"It is an honor for the University of Hawai'i Warriors to be participating in the 15th annual HAWAI'I BOWL," stated UH Athletics Director David A.K. Matlin. "I am especially excited for our seniors to experience the magic of bowl week. I know how much this bowl game means to the community especially when Hawai'i is in it so we hope to proudly represent our university and state during the weeks leading up to the game."
 
UH appeared in the Hawai'i Bowl in 2002-04, '06, '08, and '10, all as members of the Western Athletic Conference. Hawai'i is assured of an invite each year when bowl eligible, however, due to the lack of bowl eligible teams this season, the Warriors earned an exemption to the game with a 6-7 record. UH is one of seven Mountain West teams playing in bowl games this season.
 
"I can't tell you how proud I am of this team and especially these seniors who'll be able to say they played in a bowl game," Rolovich said. "We're thankful for this opportunity to showcase our program and our university on a national stage against a very good Middle Tennessee team who we have great respect for. I know our players are proud to represent the Mountain West and will look forward to the challenge to end the season on a winning note."
 
Middle Tennessee finished in third place of C-USA's East Division and features one of the nation's top offenses. The Blue Raiders, coached by Rick Stockstill, are eighth nationally in total offense (515.7 ypg), 12^th in passing (317 ypg), and 16^th in scoring (40.1 ppg). MT will make its third bowl appearance in the last four years and first trip to the Hawai'i Bowl.
 
UH and MT have met once in 1993 with the Rainbow Warriors winning 35-14 at Aloha Stadium.
 
Hawai'i appeared in six of the Hawai'i Bowl's first nine years of existence, meeting C-USA teams four times. UH is 2-2 in those games with wins over Houston (2003) and UAB (2004) and losses to Tulane (2002) and Tulsa (2010).

Game 14
What: Hawai'i Bowl
Who: Hawai'i (6-7, 4-4 MW-2nd West) vs. Middle Tennessee (8-4, 5-3 C-USA-3rd East)
When: Saturday, Dec. 24, 2016
Time: 3:00 p.m. HT
Where: Honolulu, O'ahu
Stadium: Hawaiian Tel FCU Field at Aloha Stadium
National Television: ESPN with Chris Cotter (play-by-play), Mark May (analyst) and Maria Taylor (sidelines). ESPN Deportes with Kenneth Garay (play-by-play) and Alex Pombo (analyst)
National Radio: ESPN Radio with Kevin Winter (play-by-play) and Mike Golic, Jr.
Local Radio: ESPN 1420AM with Bobby Curran (play-by-play), John Veneri (analyst), and Mark Veneri (sidelines). Chris Hart and Gary Dickman host the "Countdown To Kickoff" beginning at 1:00 p.m. HT, and also the halftime show. Neighbor islands can listen live on KNUI on Maui, KHLO in Hilo, KKON in Kona, KTOH on Kaua'i, and KNWJ in Pago Pago, American Samoa.
Video Streaming: www.espn.com/watchespn
Audio Streaming: www.espn.com/espnradio
Live Stats: HawaiiAthletics.com
Series Information: 2nd meeting
 
Game Storylines
UH is making its seventh Hawai'i Bowl appearance - first since 2010 - and 11th overall bowl. Hawai'i is 3-3 in the Hawai'i Bowl and is 5-5 overall in bowl games…Hawai'i appeared in six of the Hawai'i Bowl's first nine years of existence, meeting C-USA teams four times. UH is 2-2 in those games with wins over Houston (2003) and UAB (2004) and losses to Tulane (2002) and Tulsa (2010)…UH has dropped its last two Hawai'i Bowl appearances (Tulsa in 2010 and Notre Dame in 2008) and three straight bowls overall. Prior to that, UH had won three straight (2003-04, '06 Hawai'i Bowls), scoring 40 points or more each time…UH's last bowl win was against Arizona State (41-24) in the 2006 Hawai'i Bowl…MT has also lost its last three bowl appearances with its last win over Southern Miss in the 2009 New Orleans Bowl…Current UH head coach Nick Rolovich and associate head coach/offensive coordinator Brian Smith coached in two previous Hawai'i Bowls under former coach Greg McMackin. Rolovich was QB coach in 2008 and OC in '10 while Smith was OL coach in 2008 and RB coach in '10…UH and MT have met once in 1993 in Honolulu with Hawai'i prevailing 35-14 in the season-opener. The defending WAC champion Rainbow Warriors went on to finish 6-6 while the Blue Raiders finished 5-6 and missed the Division I-AA playoffs after four straight appearances…Conference USA teams have won its last six appearances in the Hawai'i Bowl dating back to 2007 and are 7-3 overall. Mountain West teams are 1-2 in the bowl.
 
UH Season Highlights
UH's six regular-season wins are the most since the Rainbow Warriors went 6-7 during the 2011 season. Nick Rolovich was the offensive coordinator on that team…UH's second-place finish in the West Division of the Mountain West is the team's highest ever finish since joining the league in 2012. It's also the team's best league finish since finishing in a three-way tie for first in the Western Athletic Conference in 2010…UH's three road wins in 2016 are the most road wins in a season since the 2010 team won four away games…UH won back-to-back road games for the first time since 2010 with consecutive road wins at San José State and Air Force…UH's double-overtime win over Air Force gave UH possession of the Kuter Trophy. UH's last win against the Falcons came in 2001 and their last win in Colorado Springs was in 1992…UH ended a string of nine straight Mountain West losses dating back to 2014 with a 38-17 rout of Nevada…With wins over UT Martin and UMass, UH has won its last six non-conference home games dating back to 2014. Although UH is listed as the away team for the Hawai'i Bowl, it is considered a home game for NCAA statistical purposes…UH scored 30 or more points, seven times, the most in a season since 2011. Four of those games occurred at home where UH averaged 33.3 points per game in six contests.
 
About Middle Tennessee
The Blue Raiders are eighth nationally in total offense (515.7 yards per game), 12th in passing (317 yards per game) and 16th in scoring offense (40.1 points per game)…In its regular season finale win over Florida Atlantic, MT tied a Conference USA single-game record by scoring 77 points; set a new league mark with 495 yards rushing and broke school records with 757 total yards and nine rushing touchdowns…The Blue Raiders have set new single-season marks with 6,188 total offensive yards, 481 points scored and 61 offensive touchdowns…Wide receiver Richie James broke his single-season receiving yards record with 1,463 yards. He also became the sixth player in NCAA Division I history to record 100 yards receiving and 200 yards rushing in the same game finishing with 207 yards rushing and 120 yards receiving against FAU…Senior running back I'Tavius Mathers, who owns the school's single-season all-purpose yards record, also broke MT's single-season rushing mark with 1,504 yards which ranks 10th nationally…Quarterback Brent Stockstill, son of head coach Rick Stockstill, passed for 2,801 yards and 27 touchdowns in nine games before suffering an injury in the team's loss to UTSA. Stockstill missed the team's final three games but could return for the Hawai'i Bowl…In his 11th season, head coach Rick Stockstill owns a 72-65 record with Middle Tennessee with five bowl appearances, one conference title, and six winning seasons.