HONOLULU — The premier in-season college basketball tournament, the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, is coming to the University of Hawaii’s Stan Sheriff Center in November.
Amid rampant speculation that the 40th edition of the storied event was headed to Oahu for the first time in the aftermath of wildfires that devastated its longtime home of Lahaina, tournament operator KemperLesnik made it official in a news release Friday morning.
The elite field that’s considered one of the tournament’s strongest on paper – Kansas, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Purdue, Marquette, UCLA, Syracuse and Chaminade – will compete at the 10,300-seat Sheriff, the largest basketball venue in the state, Nov. 20-22.
Two of the past three Mauis – in Asheville, N.C., in 2020 and Las Vegas in 2021 – were held on the mainland due to COVID-19 travel restrictions in the Islands. But the focus this time around was to keep the ESPN-televised event in Hawaii if at all possible and assist with Maui recovery, even if the games were not played on the Valley Isle.
It is a one-year arrangement. The 2024 edition of the tournament will return to the Lahaina Civic Center, NCAA basketball digital reporter Andy Katz said in a video announcement.
"While we have to move this year's tournament off of Maui, we are determined to celebrate and honor the culture and traditions that make this event so special," said Tom Valdiserri, executive vice president of KemperSports LIVE, in a statement. "Throughout this process, we've seen the spirit of ohana in action. Thank you to Gov. Josh Green, Hawaii Tourism Authority, and Mayor Richard Bissen as well as the staff at Chaminade University of Honolulu and University of Hawaii at Manoa for working tirelessly with us to keep this year's tournament in Hawaii."
Per the tournament's news release, previously purchased tickets for the Lahaina Civic Center will be honored at UH's arena – which carries the full title of SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center – in similar locations. Those who purchased travel packages to Maui will be offered comparable packages at beach hotels in Honolulu.
The 2,400-seat Lahaina Civic Center, an enduring part of the Maui mystique because of its game atmosphere, has been used as an emergency base by government entities during the ongoing recovery efforts.
"The Maui Invitational is a great event that celebrates all of Hawaii," said Green in the tournament news release. "We look forward to welcoming players, staff and fans to Oahu and using the tournament and its international TV audience as a way to bring attention to and raise funds for Maui recovery efforts."
Said Bissen, the Maui mayor: "We are disappointed that we could not make the Lahaina Civic Center available for the Maui Invitational this year, but we are thankful the tournament is staying in Hawaii. We appreciate everything the Maui Invitational is doing to help Maui and its residents."
There was no immediate word on the fate of a Nov. 21 UH men’s basketball game against Northern Arizona. There was speculation that it could be played after the four Maui games that day, potentially on a special Maui-branded court that could be imported for the tournament.
[UPDATE: Stan Sheriff Center arena manager Rich Sheriff told Spectrum News that the Maui Invitational is working on bringing in a special court, and that UH is still working on the NAU game for Nov. 21. If it remains that day, it will likely be played at 8:30 p.m.]
To kick off the 2016-17 season, UH played host to the Armed Forces Classic with elite teams Kansas, Arizona, Michigan State and Indiana. But that was only a two-game event and didn’t carry the same prestige as the Maui Invitational.
The Maui Invitational was inspired by Chaminade’s upset of top-ranked Virginia at Honolulu’s Blaisdell Arena in 1982. The tournament began two years later.
General tickets will go on sale in October.
Brian McInnis covers the state's sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.
EDITOR'S NOTE: The original story was updated to include comments from Gov. Josh Green, Maui Mayor Richard Bissen and input from Stan Sheriff Center arena manager Rich Sheriff. (Sept. 15, 2023)
