LAHAINA, Hawaii — Fresh off of Connecticut’s fifth NCAA men’s basketball national championship, the organizers of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational announced that UConn will headline the 2024 edition of its eight-team tournament at the Lahaina Civic Center.

The rest of the field includes Auburn of the Southeastern Conference; Colorado of the Pac-12; Dayton of the Atlantic 10; Iowa State of the Big 12; Memphis of the American Athletic Conference; Michigan State of the Big Ten; and North Carolina of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

UConn, back in the Big East Conference, has appeared on Maui four times previously, winning it twice, including in 2010 behind the memorable heroics of future NBA star Kemba Walker on the way to the national championship that 2010-11 season.

"There is simply no other early-season college basketball tournament that rivals the spirit, talent and overall 'magic' of the Maui Jim Maui Invitational," said tournament chairman Dave Odom in a statement. "The 2024 field is not only going to bring top tier programs representing eight of the most dominant conferences in the sport, but also fans from all corners of the country.”

UNC is a four-time Maui champ in its eight all-time Maui appearances. Michigan State’s 1991 Maui title is its only one of five appearances. Dayton won in 2003 as its only triumph in four appearances.

Auburn, Colorado, Memphis and Iowa State will seek their first Wayne Duke Championship Trophy. Of those schools, Memphis has the most past appearances with five.

North Carolina previously announced it will make a stopover to play Hawaii at the Stan Sheriff Center on Nov. 22, 2024, prior to heading to Maui for the tournament Nov. 25-27. That game was originally scheduled to happen in 2020, but was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The previously announced 2023 field for this November is Gonzaga, Kansas, Marquette, Purdue, Syracuse, Tennessee, UCLA and host Chaminade. Division II Chaminade appears on Maui only in odd-numbered years, a change that was announced in 2016 and went into effect in 2018.

Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.