HHSAA State Football Championships


The Hawaii High School Athletic Association (HHSAA) State Football Championship consists of the two games that are played annually to crown the Division 1 and Division 2 state football champions in Hawaii. Before 1999, when the State Football Championship game was instituted, Hawaii did not crown an official state champion in football and instead held the Oahu Prep Bowl, which matched up the champions of the two football leagues on Oahu to play for a mythical state football championship.

As of 2016, the Hawaii High School Athletic Association board approved for a three-tier football state championship format, which will go into effect. Currently, all Divisional tournaments are now consisting of only four teams.

In the early years of prep football the question of "who's the best high school football team in the state" could never be answered as Hawaii never conducted a state championship. This all changed in 1973 when Bill Smithe of the Oahu Interscholastic Association (OIA) and Clay Benham of the Interscholastic League of Honolulu (ILH) struck a deal where the champions from each league met to decide who was the best team in the state. The game was initially called the Oahu Bowl, marking the first time that league champions played each other in the postseason. Though the bowl game did not include neighbor island champions, it was considered Hawaii's state championship. In 1974, the name was changed from Oahu Bowl to the Oahu Prep Bowl and the game became an annual tradition.

* Private School
** The HHSAA does not recognize a championship sport unless three or more leagues participate.