| Game Name: | New Mexico Bowl |
| Subheader: | 15th New Mexico Bowl |
| Date Game Played: | December 24 |
| Year Game Played: | 2020 |
| Football Season: | 2020 |
| Stadium: | Toyota Stadium |
| City: | Frisco, Texas |
| Visitor School: | University of Hawaii |
| Visitor Name Short: | Hawaii |
| Visitor Nickname: | Rainbow Warriors |
| Visitor Record: | 4–4 |
| Visitor Conference: | Mountain West |
| Visitor Coach: | Todd Graham |
| Visitor 1Q: | 14 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home School: | University of Houston |
| Home Name Short: | Houston |
| Home Nickname: | Cougars |
| Home Record: | 3–4 |
| Home Conference: | The American |
| Home Coach: | Dana Holgorsen |
| Home 1Q: | 0 |
| Home 2Q: | 0 |
| Home 3Q: | 14 |
| Home 4Q: | 0 |
| Mvp: | Offense: Calvin Turner (WR, Hawaii)[1] Defense: Darius Muasau (LB, Hawaii)[2] |
| Odds: | Houston by 7[3] |
| Referee: | Chris Bynum (C-USA)[4] |
| Attendance: | 2,060 |
| Us Network: | ESPN & ESPN Radio |
| Us Announcers: | ESPN: John Schriffen, Rene Ingoglia and Kris Budden ESPN Radio: Kevin Winter and Craig Haubert |
| Intl Network: | ESPN Deportes |
| Intl Announcers: | Javier Trejo Garay and Jose Mondragon |
The 2020 New Mexico Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 24, 2020, at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, with kickoff at 3:30 p.m. EST (2:30 p.m. local CST) on ESPN.[5] It was the 15th edition of the New Mexico Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season.
When the schedule for 2020–21 bowl games was announced in late October, a site for the New Mexico Bowl was not specified, due to health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic; it was also reported that contingency plans could result in the bowl being played in Texas.[6] All prior editions of the bowl were played at Dreamstyle Stadium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. On November 24, ESPN Events announced that the bowl would be played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas.[7]
Based on conference tie-ins, the bowl was expected to feature teams from Conference USA (C-USA) and the Mountain West Conference.[8] The matchup was announced on December 13, with the Houston Cougars from the American Athletic Conference (AAC or "The American") facing the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors from Mountain West. This was their second meeting,[9] coming almost exactly 17 years after the 2003 Hawaii Bowl, a triple-overtime 54–48 win by Hawaii.[10] That game ended with fighting between the teams, as players got into shouting matches and punches were thrown.[11]
See main article: 2020 Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football team. Hawaii entered the bowl with a record of 4–4, having only played conference games. Hawaii's most recent bowl game appearance in the contiguous United States had been the 2008 Sugar Bowl.[12] From 2008 through 2019, the program played in five editions of the Hawaii Bowl.
See main article: 2020 Houston Cougars football team. Houston entered the bowl with an overall record of 3–4 (3–3 in conference games). They became one of a limited number of teams to enter a bowl game with a losing record.