San Jose State heads to Niumatalolo’s home state for another Hawaii Bowl
San Jose State is returning to the Hawaii Bowl for a second year, but this time they have a new Hawaiian in a prominent position. Coach Ken Niumatalolo, in his first year in charge of the Spartans, will lead SJSU in the Dec. 24 game against South Florida. The Spartans (7-5, 3-4 Mountain West), then quarterbacked by Hawaii native Chevan Cordeiro, lost to Coastal Carolina in last year’s version of the bowl game. The 2024 Hawaii Bowl (5 p.m. PT, ESPN) will be the Spartans’ third straight bowl game — the first such stretch in program history. SJSU is 7-6 in its bowl history and has lost its last three postseason games, dating back to the 2020 Arizona Bowl against Ball State. Niumatalolo was born in Laie, a small town on Oahu, and played quarterback collegiately at Hawaii in the late 1980s, then was a graduate assistant there before becoming an assistant at Navy and eventually taking over as head coach of the Midshipmen. The Spartans’ passing attack and Biletnikoff Award finalist Nick Nash — the nation’s leader in receptions (104), receiving yards (1,382) and