HONOLULU — The 2023 Maui Invitational field announced Tuesday will feature the return of the event host Chaminade Silverswords to the Lahaina Civic Center following a protracted absence.

And, oh yeah, seven powerhouse programs are coming along for the ride.

What You Need To Know

  • Kansas, Gonzaga, UCLA, Tennessee, Purdue, Marquette, Syracuse, and host Chaminade comprise the 2023 Maui Invitational eight-team college basketball field set to appear at Lahaina Civic Center

  • Kansas won the NCAA championship over North Carolina on Monday, its fourth in school history and second under coach Bill Self

  • The 2022 Maui tournament is to be played Nov. 21-23 and is expected to be the first played on Maui since 2019 because of COVID restrictions in the state of Hawaii over the last two years

  • Host Chaminade will make its first appearance back at Lahaina Civic Center in 2023 as it is not in the 2022 field

Newly crowned national champion Kansas is returning for the first time since winning Maui in 2019 — the last time the prestigious early season tournament was actually held on the Valley Isle. The Jayhawks will be joined by Gonzaga, UCLA, Tennessee, Purdue, Marquette, Syracuse, and Chaminade in one of the Silverswords’ alternating years of participation.

Each team will play three games over three days, likely in Maui’s usual nationally televised slot during Thanksgiving week.

“This has to be, on paper, the best,” Chaminade coach Eric Bovaird told Spectrum News of the field’s strength compared to past years. “You don’t know where exactly these teams are going to be two years from now. … (But it is) an absolutely loaded field. Super excited to have an opportunity to play against three very, very marquee names.”

Kansas, Gonzaga, UCLA and Syracuse are past Maui champions. Syracuse is 3-for-3 in Maui appearances and titles.

Of the seven Division I teams slated to appear in 2023, only Syracuse did not make the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Kansas, a No. 1 seed, defeated No. 8 seed North Carolina 72-69 in New Orleans on Monday for the Jayhawks’ fourth all-time national championship, and second under coach Bill Self.

The 2022 Maui Invitational was previously announced as making its return to Maui on Nov. 21-23, after the event was held in Las Vegas last year and in North Carolina in 2020 due to COVID-related restrictions in Hawaii.

The 2022 field includes: Arizona, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Creighton, Louisville, Ohio State, San Diego State and Texas Tech.

Chaminade is in discussion with Ohio State, Cincinnati and Louisville for playing mainland games at those schools' campuses in the 2022-23 preseason, Bovaird said, as part of the Division II school's arrangement with event runner KemperLesnik to be rotated out of the Maui field in even-numbered years.

By the time Chaminade takes the court at Lahaina Civic Center in fall 2023, it will have been four years since its 2019 appearance in the storied Lahaina Civic Center.

“That’s unbelievable to think of,” Bovaird said of that gap. “Vegas last year was really good, as good as we could make it. But nothing replaces Maui. Maui’s a special entity in itself. Even though it’s not our home court, it’s our home state advantage. (It’s) everything that goes along with Maui. Really excited to be a part of that 2023 tournament, that’s for sure.”

Chaminade last won a game on Maui against California in 2017.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii.