An appearance in the Dec. 24 Hawaii Bowl would amount to a second Christmas for the University of Hawaii football team.

Between player gifts, bonuses for coaches and additional practice time it would be a merry occasion, indeed.

If the Rainbow Warriors, who have not appeared in a bowl since 2010, defeat Massachusetts in Saturday’s regular-season finale at Aloha Stadium to finish 6-7, they would be eligible for prime consideration to fill a bowl vacancy.

Last year three teams that initially finished ineligible for bowls at 5-7 — San Jose State, Minnesota and Nebraska — nevertheless received bowl bids because there were only 77 bowl-eligible team for the 80 slots.

This year with 41 bowls, the numbers are forecast to be similar. Under the NCAA list of priorities, UH would leap over most 5-7 teams.

UH coach Nick Rolovich qualifies for a $20,000 bonus if his team plays in a bowl, according to terms of his contract. The payout increases to $40,000 if the Warriors win the game.

His nine-man coaching staff would also be due bonuses, perhaps about $8,000 each, under Board of Regents policy.

The monthly salary of all the assistants is added up and divided by nine to determine the amount. UH declined to say what the pool total would be, but annual salary total for the nine is believed to be in the neighborhood of $900,000.

Bowl game appearances are a factor in determining bonuses for UH athletic director David Matlin as well.

His contract does not list a specific amount for bowls, but they are a component of the “athletic performance,” one of three categories on which he is rated by the Manoa Chancellor. His overall bonus ceiling for this, the second year of his contract, is $40,000.

Meanwhile, the NCAA permits bowl games to spend up to $550 per player on gifts. Schools and their conferences may add an additional $400.

In the past, the Hawaii Bowl has treated players to a so-called “gift suite” from which they may select electronics, clothing and other items to meet their allowance.

UH and Mountain West officials say the school would receive about $425,000 for the bowl appearance, most of which traditionally has gone for expenses.

Matlin estimated the school “would about break even.”

Although the per-team payout for the Hawaii Bowl is listed at $650,000, the figure has little to do with how much the participating teams actually receive if they are members of a conference. Typically, bowls pay the conferences directly and how much a participating school realizes depends on the league’s formula and ticket requirements.

In the Mountain West, a spokesman said the conference, “… has a bowl expense reimbursement formula that factors in distance traveled or local reimbursement amounts (for instance Hawaii in the Hawaii Bowl, New Mexico in the New Mexico Bowl, etc.)” in determining payouts.

“The goal is to make sure every institution comes out of the bowl game whole,” said Javan Hedlund, MWC associate commissioner.

Bowl appearances also permit participating teams additional practices to groom younger players, amounting to almost a second set of spring practices, officials said.