The Maui Invitational is an annual early-season college basketball tournament that takes place Thanksgiving week, normally in Lahaina, Hawaii, at the Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui. It is hosted by Chaminade University of Honolulu, an NCAA Division II school. Seven or eight NCAA Division I men's basketball teams are invited to Maui to compete in the field, with Chaminade competing every other year. The Maui Invitational has been played since 1984 and is carried by ESPN. As of the 2025–26 season, the title sponsor of the tournament is Southwest. Previous sponsors include Maui Jim, EA Sports, Camping World, Allstate, and Novavax.
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 YearWinnerScoreOpponentTournament MVPLocation198460–58Patrick Langlois, Chaminade Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, HI1985Michigan80–58Dell Curry, Virginia Tech198687–71Will Perdue, Vanderbilt1987Iowa97–74VillanovaEntire Iowa Team1988Michigan91–80Oklahoma Glen Rice, Michigan 1989Missouri80–73North CarolinaDoug Smith, Missouri1990Syracuse77–74IndianaBilly Owens, Syracuse 1991Michigan State86–61ArkansasGeorge Gilmore, Chaminade1992Duke89–66BYUBobby Hurley, DukePenny Hardaway, Memphis State1993Kentucky93–92ArizonaTravis Ford, Kentucky1994Arizona State97–90MarylandMario Bennett, Arizona State1995Villanova77–75North CarolinaKerry Kittles, Villanova1996Kansas80–63VirginiaRaef LaFrentz, Kansas1997Duke95–87ArizonaSteve Wojciechowski, Duke1998Syracuse76–63IndianaJason Hart, Syracuse 1999North Carolina90–75PurdueJoseph Forte, North Carolina2000Arizona79–76IllinoisMichael Wright, Arizona2001Duke83–71Mike Dunleavy Jr., Duke2002Indiana70–63VirginiaBracey Wright, Indiana2003Dayton82–72HawaiiKeith Waleskowski, Dayton 2004North Carolina106–92IowaRaymond Felton, North Carolina2005Connecticut65–63GonzagaAdam Morrison, Gonzaga2006UCLA88–73Georgia TechDarren Collison, UCLA2007Duke77–73MarquetteKyle Singler, Duke2008North Carolina102–87Notre DameTy Lawson, North Carolina2009Gonzaga61–59*CincinnatiMatt Bouldin and Steven Gray, Gonzaga2010Connecticut84–67KentuckyKemba Walker, Connecticut2011Duke68–61Kansas Ryan Kelly, Duke2012Illinois78–61ButlerBrandon Paul, Illinois2013Syracuse74–67BaylorC. J. Fair, Syracuse2014Arizona61–59San Diego StateStanley Johnson, Arizona2015 Kansas 70–63 Vanderbilt Wayne Selden Jr. and Frank Mason III, Kansas2016 North Carolina 71–56 Wisconsin Joel Berry II, North Carolina2017 Notre Dame 67–66 Wichita StateMatt Farrell, Notre Dame2018 Gonzaga 89–87 Duke Rui Hachimura, Gonzaga2019 Kansas 90–84* Dayton Udoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson, Kansas 2020 Texas 69–67 North Carolina Matt Coleman III, Texas Harrah's Cherokee Center, Asheville, NC2021 Wisconsin 61–55 Saint Mary's Johnny Davis, Wisconsin Michelob Ultra Arena, Paradise, NV2022 Arizona 81–79 Creighton Oumar Ballo, Arizona Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, HI2023 Purdue 78–75 Marquette Zach Edey, Purdue Stan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, HI2024 Auburn 90–76 Memphis Johni Broome, Auburn Lahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, HI 2025 USC 88–75Arizona StateChad Baker-Mazara, USC 2026 TBD – TBD * Indicates game won in overtime
Multiple appearances and championships Source:
TeamAppearancesChampionshipsYearsTournament Record Chaminade38— 1984–2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025 Arizona93 1993, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 North Carolina94 1989, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 2024 Kansas83 1987, 1996, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023 Indiana71 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2008, 2015, 2020 UCLA71 1995, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023 Duke65 1992, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2011, 2018 Gonzaga62 2002, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2018, 2023 Memphis6— 1988, 1992, 1999, 2006, 2011, 2024 Michigan62 1985, 1988, 1994, 1998, 2011, 2017 Michigan State61 1991, 1995, 2005, 2010, 2019, 2024 Arizona State61 1991, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2007, 2025 UConn52 2000, 2005, 2010, 2016, 2024 Dayton51 2000, 2003, 2013, 2019, 2024 Illinois51 1987, 2000, 2007, 2012, 2018 Kentucky51 1993, 1997, 2002, 2006, 2010 San Diego State5— 1989, 2003, 2014, 2018, 2022 Texas61 1993, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2020, 2025 BYU5— 1992, 2004, 2014, 2019, 2026 Vanderbilt51 1986, 1988, 1995, 2009, 2015 Arkansas4— 1991, 2005, 2013, 2022 DePaul4— 1988, 1992, 1997, 2006 Louisville4— 1989, 2000, 2004, 2022 LSU4— 1992, 1996, 2007, 2017 Marquette4— 2007, 2012, 2017, 2023 Maryland4— 1994, 2000, 2005, 2009 Missouri41 1986, 1989, 1997, 2014 Notre Dame41 1993, 2008, 2017, 2021 Ohio State4— 1988, 1993, 2003, 2022 Oklahoma4— 1988, 1992, 2006, 2010 Providence41 1984, 1991, 2020, 2026 Purdue41 1999, 2006, 2014, 2023 Stanford4— 1987, 1992, 2004, 2020 Syracuse43 1990, 1998, 2013, 2023 Tennessee4— 2004, 2011, 2016, 2023 UNLV4— 1988, 2000, 2015, 2020 Virginia4— 1984, 1996, 2002, 2010 Wisconsin41 1995, 2009, 2016, 2021 California3— 1996, 2013, 2017 Georgetown3—1999, 2011, 20165-5 (.500) Iowa31 1987, 1996, 2004 Iowa State3—1990, 2018, 2024 Kansas State3— 1985, 1998, 2014 Oregon3— 2008, 2016, 2021 Santa Clara3— 1990, 1995, 2003 USC 3 1 1999, 2012, 2025 Utah3— 1994, 1998, 2002 VCU 3 — 1986, 2017, 2026 Villanova31 1989, 1995, 2003 Alabama2— 2008, 2020 Arkansas State2— 1986, 2016 Auburn212018, 2024 Baylor2— 1987, 2013 Boston College2— 1993, 1997 Butler2—2012, 2021 Cincinnati2—2009, 2022 Colorado2—2019, 2024 Davidson2—1984, 2020 Houston 2 — 2001, 2022 Oklahoma State 2 — 2007, 2016 Seton Hall 2 — 2001, 2025 Texas A&M 2 — 1994, 2021 Virginia Tech 2 — 1985, 2019 Wichita State 2 — 2010, 2017 Clemson 1 — 2026 Colorado State 1 — 2026 Ole Miss 1 — 2026 Washington 1 — 2026 Xavier 1 — 2018
Future tournament fields 2026
Arizona BYU Clemson Colorado State Ole Miss Providence VCU Washington
2027
Chaminade Georgetown Saint Mary's Saint Louis SMU Utah Arkansas TBA
References
External links