The game was played between Hawaii of the Mountain West Conference, and BYU, an FBS independent.
[8] Both teams were previously members of the Western Athletic Conference; BYU from 1962 to 1998, and Hawaii from 1979 to 2011.
Hawaii accepted their bowl invitation following their loss to Boise State in the Mountain West Conference Football Championship Game.
This was their third Hawaii Bowl appearance under head coach Nick Rolovich, having won in 2016 and lost in 2018.
Led by head coach Kalani Sitake, the Cougars accepted an invitation to the Hawaii Bowl on November 16.