After a pandemic-induced hiatus, the Hawaii Bowl — barring unforeseen circumstances — will celebrate its 20th anniversary this Christmas Eve at the Ching Complex.

The postseason football game was canceled in 2020 because of the pandemic and was called off last year when the University of Hawaii did not have enough available players.

But Clint Overby, vice president of ESPN Events, emphasized the continuing commitment to the Hawaii Bowl and Diamond Head Classic basketball tournament. ESPN Events, a subsidiary of ESPN, owns and operates 35 annual college sporting events.

Daryl Garvin, executive director of both events, said Hawaiian Airlines reached agreement to serve as title sponsor of the Diamond Head Classic for the next three years. This year’s eight-team tournament, which features UH as the host team, will be played on Dec. 22, 23 and 25.

Easy Post is in the second of a three-year contract as title sponsor of the Hawaii Bowl.

“We’re proud to be back after the pandemic, which we know took a great toll on scheduling in intercollegiate athletics,” Overby said.

Overby and Mountain West commissioner Craig Thompson were in Hawaii for the bowl’s fundraising event. Overby emphasized how “valuable” the bowl is to ESPN Events, and how “we want to be working with the state, with the entities here, as well as the university, to make the event here No. 1.”

Garvin repeated the mantra: “If you’re not playing for the national championship, why would you want to play anywhere else.”

The Hawaii Bowl was created in response to the Warriors’ snub from the postseason after beating previously unbeaten BYU to complete a 9-3 season in 2001. The Warriors have appeared in the Hawaii Bowl nine times, including the inaugural game in 2002.

Overby said it did not matter that the bowl was relocated to 9,300-seat Ching after 50,000-seat Aloha Stadium was self-condemned in December 2020. “We’re committed to being here, period,” Overby said.

Overby said there was an understanding the pandemic would be “disruptive.” He added: “We didn’t want anything (that happened) last year to ever be an indicator of what our future opportunities” will be with the Hawaii Bowl.