The Christmas Eve football schedule in 2025 features only one contest this year, and it’s a post-season college football bowl game.
The Hawai’i Bowl is in its traditional Christmas Eve slot again in 2025, with the game set for Wednesday, December 24. The game will feature the California Golden Bears of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) taking on the Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors of the Mountain West Conference at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa campus. The game will kickoff at 8:00pm ET (3:00pm HT) and will be televised on ESPN and broadcast on ESPN Radio.
The California-Hawai’i game will also be presented in Spanish on ESPN Deportes.
“We are honored to welcome both of our 2025 SHERATON HAWAI‘I BOWL teams to Honolulu, where elite college football takes center stage alongside world-class hospitality,” said Daryl Garvin, Executive Director of the SHERATON HAWAI‘I BOWL. “Our bowl week showcases the aloha spirit that makes competing in Hawai‘i a truly memorable postseason experience.”
The California Golden Bears head into the game with a 7-5 overall record and a 4-4 mark in ACC action. Hawai’i finished its regular-season with an 8-4 record and a 5-3 mark in Mountain West play.
Cal and Hawai’i met most recently in 2016 in a contest that was played in Sydney, Australia. The Golden Bears defeated the Rainbow Warriors in that contest, 51-31, to take a 3-2 lead in the overall series.
In last season’s Hawai’i Bowl, San Jose State fell to South Florida, 24-14, before an announced crowd of 6,720.
Although there is only one football game on Christmas Eve, fans will get a full day of gridiron action on Christmas Day this year thanks to a trio of NFL contests that will only be available via streaming services. Dallas at Washington (1:00pm ET) and Detroit at Minnesota (4:30pm ET) will stream exclusively via Netflix, while the nightcap features Kansas City hosting Denver at 8:15pm ET via Amazon’s Prime Video service.
Christmas Eve football: 2025 schedule
Wednesday, Dec 24, 2025
Sheraton Hawai’i Bowl
California vs. Hawaii
8:00pm ET | ESPN | ESPN app
Ching Complex – Honolulu, HI
