The Paniolo Trophy is notable for being associated with the Hawaii-Wyoming college football rivalry. The two teams in this rivalry are the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and the Wyoming Cowboys of the University of Wyoming. Both these teams compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) and are also members of the Mountain West Conference. These two teams have gone head-to-head 28 times, as of 2024.
The Paniolo Trophy was introduced for the rivalry between Hawaii-Wyoming teams in 1978. Since then, both these teams have continued to lock heads intending to win the trophy from the others. Notably, the two teams first competed on November 18, 1978, and their most recent competition took place on November 18, 2023. They are once again scheduled to face off in 2025.
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What is the rivalry between Hawaii and Wyoming called?
The rivalry between Hawaii and Wyoming is called the Hawaii-Wyoming Football rivalry. These teams compete for the Paniolo Trophy, as per the Wyoming Mining Association. The word "paniolo" is the Hawai'ian word for "Cowboy". This trophy was originally constructed by a group of natives from Wyoming who lived in Hawai'i led by George Fowler. The group was known as the Wyoming Paniolo Society. The trophy resembled a cowboy on horseback about to rope a calf and since Paniolo meant "Cowboy" in Hawaiian, they named it the Paniolo Trophy.
The Paniolo Trophy was presented to the winners of the Hawaii-Wyoming rivalry in 1979 despite the two teams meeting for the first time in 1978. Notably, Wyoming was the first team to win the trophy in 1979 while Hawaii won the trophy for the first time in 1981. Wyoming is the team that leads the rivalry with a record of 17-11 as of 2024.
The Paniolo Trophy Winners Year by Year
The Hawaii Rainbow Warriors and the Wyoming Cowboys have continued to exchange victories and losses along with the Paniolo Trophy over the years for 28 years as of 2024. The following table displays all the scores of the rivalry between the two teams all the way from the beginning in 1978 to 2023-
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 1 | November 18, 1978 | Honolulu, HI | Hawaii | 27–22 |
| 2 | November 17, 1979 | Honolulu, HI | Wyoming | 21–13 |
| 3 | September 27, 1980 | Laramie, WY | Wyoming | 45–20 |
| 4 | October 10, 1981 | Laramie, WY | Hawaii | 14–9 |
| 5 | October 2, 1982 | Honolulu, HI | Wyoming | 28–10 |
| 6 | November 26, 1983 | Honolulu, HI | Wyoming | 31–13 |
| 7 | November 3, 1984 | Honolulu, HI | Hawaii | 31–28 |
| 8 | October 12, 1985 | Laramie, WY | Hawaii | 26–18 |
| 9 | November 29, 1986 | Honolulu, HI | Hawaii | 35–19 |
| 10 | November 28, 1987 | Honolulu, HI | Wyoming | 24–20 |
| 11 | November 19, 1988 | Honolulu, HI | Wyoming | 28–22 |
| 12 | September 16, 1989 | Laramie, WY | Wyoming | 20–15 |
| 13 | November 17, 1990 | Honolulu, HI | Hawaii | 38–17 |
| 14 | August 31, 1991 | Laramie, WY | Hawaii | 32–17 |
| 15 | November 21, 1992 | Honolulu, HI | Hawaii | 42–18 |
| 16 | October 23, 1993 | Laramie, WY | Wyoming | 48–10 |
| 17 | November 19, 1994 | Honolulu, HI | Wyoming | 13–10 |
| 18 | September 16, 1995 | Laramie, WY | Wyoming | 52–6 |
| 19 | September 14, 1996 | Laramie, WY | Wyoming | 66–0 |
| 20 | September 13, 1997 | Honolulu, HI | Wyoming | 35–6 |
| 21 | November 23, 2013 | Laramie, WY | Wyoming | 59–56 |
| 22 | October 11, 2014 | Honolulu, HI | Hawaii | 38–28 |
| 23 | September 23, 2017 | Laramie, WY | Wyoming | 28–21 |
| 24 | October 6, 2018 | Honolulu, HI | Hawaii | 17–13 |
| 25 | October 30, 2020 | Laramie, WY | Wyoming | 31–7 |
| 26 | November 27, 2021 | Laramie, WY | Hawaii | 38–14 |
| 27 | October 29, 2022 | Honolulu, HI | Wyoming | 27–20 |
| 28 | November 18, 2023 | Laramie, WY | Wyoming | 42-9 |
FAQs on List of Paniolo Trophy Winner Year by Year
A. The Paniolo Trophy is awarded in the Hawaii-Wyoming football rivalry and features a bronze cowboy on a horse.
A. The Wyoming Paniolo Society, consisting of Hawaii residents with Wyoming ancestry, donated the trophy.
A. The Hawaii and Wyoming football rivalry started on November 18, 1978, with Hawaii winning the first game 27–22.
A. The Hawaii and Wyoming football teams have met a total of 28 times, with Wyoming leading the series 17–11 as of 2024.
A. Wyoming's largest victory was 66-0 in 1996, and they held a six-year winning streak from 1993 to 2013.
