Maui Invitational

History

The tournament had its roots in a game that is considered one of the greatest upsets in college history. On December 23, 1982 the top-ranked and undefeated University of Virginia made a scheduled trip to Honolulu for a game. Originally seeking to play the University of Hawaii, Virginia agreed to play Chaminade, which at the time belonged to the NAIA, on the trip instead. In a game that was not televised and covered by only one sportswriter from outside the local media (Michael Wilbon of The Washington Post, who was in Honolulu to cover the University of Maryland's performance in the inaugural Aloha Bowl), Chaminade defeated the Ralph Sampson-led Virginia squad 77–72 in front of 3,300 spectators at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center. Shortly after the upset, Virginia head coach Terry Holland congratulated Chaminade's athletic director, Mike Vasconcellos, and suggested to him that he consider beginning a Hawaii tournament. Two years later, the Maui Classic was inaugurated with Chaminade reaching the final and losing to Providence.

Today the tournament provides schools an opportunity to compete on a neutral court with some of the top basketball programs in the country. Associated Press college basketball editor Jim O'Connell called the Maui Invitational "the best in-season tournament in the country – the standard by which all others are compared." Some 108 schools representing 26 conferences and 40 states have competed in the Invitational. Five times the winner has gone on to win the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship later that season: Michigan in 1988, North Carolina three times—in 2004, 2008, and 2016, and UConn in 2010.

Of the eight teams which play in the tournament, generally there is one from each of the five major men's basketball conferences (the ACC, Big East [both before and after its 2013 split], Big Ten, Big 12, and the SEC, with the Pac-12 also in this group before that conference's 2024 collapse), one from another conference such as the American Conference, Conference USA, the Mountain West Conference or the Atlantic 10, and Chaminade. Beginning with the 2011 tournament, the field includes four additional mainland teams that play the Maui-bound teams at home. The four mainland teams will then play each other in regional games. The winner from each game will square off in the championship contest, preceded by the consolation game between the losers.

Beginning in 2018 and continuing with every even-numbered year, Chaminade will play games on the mainland, and eight Division I schools will compete in the championship bracket on Maui. In odd-numbered years, Chaminade will compete in the championship bracket.

Due to COVID-19 issues, the 2020 and 2021 tournaments were both moved to the US mainland. The 2020 event was held at Harrah's Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina, while the 2021 event was held at Michelob Ultra Arena on the Las Vegas Strip.

Due to the city nearly being destroyed by a fire, it was announced on September 15, 2023 that the tournament games would be relocated to the island of O'ahu and be played at the Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawai‘i from Nov. 20 to 22. The tournament returned to Maui in 2024.

Effect on local economy

Each year more than 4,000 out-of-state visitors—boosters, players, officials, team and game personnel, media representatives, sponsors, production crews and basketball fans—attend. The 2007 Maui Invitational Tournament ranked among Hawaii's top revenue-generating events, bolstering the local economy by more than $8 million according to financial data released by the Maui Visitors Bureau. The tournament has brought more than $110 million to Maui's economy since the tournament's debut in 1984 (through 2005).

Yearly champions, runners-up, MVPs, & Locations

• Indicates game won in overtime

Multiple appearances and championships

Source:

Future tournament fields

2026

• Arizona
• BYU
• Clemson
• Colorado State
• Ole Miss
• Providence
• VCU
• Washington

2027

• Chaminade
• Georgetown
• Saint Mary's
• Saint Louis
• SMU
• Utah
• TBA
• TBA

References

References

1. (March 27, 2025). "Maui Invitational Announces Southwest Airlines as Title Sponsor of Historic Maui Invitational". Maui Invitational.
2. "Maui Jim is title sponsor of Maui Invitational basketball tournament". American City Business Journals.
3. "Maui Invitational Partners with Allstate for 2023 Tournament".
4. Wolff, Alexander. (December 24, 2007). "The Greatest Upset Never Seen".
5. (August 4, 2011). "Men's basketball to participate in Maui Invitational; Blue Raiders will host inaugural Maui Regional Games". BRAA and Middle Tennessee Athletic Communications.
6. (October 26, 2016). "2018 TOURNAMENT FEATURES STRONGEST FIELD IN HISTORY". Maui Invitational.
7. (October 2, 2021). "Maui Invitational to be played in Las Vegas in 2021 amid COVID-19 pandemic".
8. "2023 Maui Invitational Relocates to Honolulu".
9. (November 25, 2024). "Maui Invitational Tournament returns as a symbol of recovery". Allen Media Broadcasting, KITV.
10. "Tournament Records".
11. "Arizona, Maryland, Notre Dame, Providence, Ole Miss, BYU, VCU to headline 2026 Maui Invitational".
12. "Georgetown, SMU, Utah, Saint Mary’s, and Saint Louis all set to headline 2027 Maui Invitational".
13. "Maui Invitational". ESPN.
14. "EA SPORTS Maui Invitational". Kemper Sports.
15. Boylan, Peter. "Maui welcomes basketball fans". The Honolulu Advertiser.