Maui Invitational Tournament

Maui Invitational Tournament

Logo of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational
Sport	College Basketball
Founded	1984
Title sponsor	EA SPORTS
Host	Chaminade University
No. of teams	12
Venue(s)	Campus Sites (Opening & Regional Games) Lahaina Civic Center Maui, Hawaii (Championship Round)
Most recent champion(s)	Connecticut Huskies
Most titles	Duke Blue Devils (4)
TV partner(s)	ESPN
Official website	www.mauiinvitational.com

The EA SPORTS Maui Invitational is an annual early-season college basketball tournament that takes place Thanksgiving Week in Lahaina, Hawaii at the Lahaina Civic Center on the island of Maui. It is hosted by Chaminade University of Honolulu (which is also a yearly participant), along with a field of seven NCAA Division I men's basketball teams. EA SPORTS has served as the title sponsor since 2001. The tournament, broadcast by ESPN, began in 1984, as inspired by a 1982 upset by Chaminade over Virginia, considered by some to be the greatest upset in college basketball history.^[1]

History

The tournament began because of what is considered the greatest upset in the history of college basketball. On December 23, 1982, Chaminade, then an NAIA school (now NCAA Division II), defeated #1 Virginia which included Ralph Sampson, in Hawaii.

Shortly after the amazing upset, Virginia head coach Terry Holland congratulated Chaminade’s Athletic Director, Mike Vasconcellos, and suggested to him that he might consider beginning a Hawaii tournament at some point. Two years after that, the Maui Classic, today’s EA Sports Maui Invitational, had begun for the first time, with Chaminade reaching the finals 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 calls the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational, "the best in-season tournament in the country – the standard by which all others are compared."

Some 82 schools representing 21 conferences and 37 states have competed in the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational. The only teams to win the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational and the national championship in the same season are Michigan (won Maui Invitational in 1988 and were 1989 National Champions), North Carolina twice (EA SPORTS Maui Invitational winners in 2004 and 2008 and won national championship in 2005 and 2009), and Connecticut (won EA SPORTS Maui Invitational in 2010 and were 2011 National Champions.)

Of the eight teams which play in the Maui Invitational, generally there is one from each of the six major conferences (the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, Big East, ACC, and the SEC), one from another conference (such as Conference USA, MVC or the Atlantic 10), and Chaminade.

Starting with the 2011 tournament, the field will add four mainland teams that will 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.^[2]

Effect on the 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 in general - attend. The 2007 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Hosted by Chaminade University again ranked among Hawaii’s top revenue-generating events by bolstering the local economy by more than $8 million, according to the latest financial data released by the Maui Visitors Bureau. The nation’s premier early-season college basketball tournament has brought nearly $130 million to Maui’s economy since the tournament’s debut in 1984.

Past champions, runners-up, and MVPs

Year	Winner	Score	Opponent	Tournament MVP
1984	Providence	60-58	Chaminade	Patrick Langlois, Chaminade
1985	Michigan	80-58	Kansas State	Dell Curry, Virginia Tech
1986	Vanderbilt	87-71	New Mexico	Will Perdue, Vanderbilt
1987	Iowa	97-74	Villanova	Entire Iowa Team
1988	Michigan	91-81	Oklahoma	Glen Rice, Michigan
1989	Missouri	80-73	North Carolina	Doug Smith, Missouri
1990	Syracuse	77-74	Indiana	Billy Owens, Syracuse
1991	Michigan State	86-61	Arkansas	George Gilmore, Chaminade
1992	Duke	89-66	BYU	Bobby Hurley, Duke Anfernee "Penny" Hardaway, Memphis State
1993	Kentucky	93-92	Arizona	Travis Ford, Kentucky
1994	Arizona State	97-90	Maryland	Mario Bennett, Arizona State
1995	Villanova	77-75	North Carolina	Kerry Kittles, Villanova
1996	Kansas	80-63	Virginia	Raef LaFrentz, Kansas
1997	Duke	95-87	Arizona	Steve Wojciechowski, Duke
1998	Syracuse	76-63	Indiana	Jason Hart, Syracuse
1999	North Carolina	90-75	Purdue	Joseph Forte, North Carolina
2000	Arizona	79-76	Illinois	Michael Wright, Arizona
2001	Duke	83-71	Ball State	Mike Dunleavy, Jr., Duke
2002	Indiana	70-63	Virginia	Bracey Wright, Indiana
2003	Dayton	82-72	Hawaiʻi	Keith Waleskowski, Dayton
2004	North Carolina	106-92	Iowa	Raymond Felton, North Carolina
2005	Connecticut	65-63	Gonzaga	Adam Morrison, Gonzaga
2006	UCLA	88-73	Georgia Tech	Darren Collison, UCLA
2007	Duke	77-73	Marquette	Kyle Singler, Duke
2008	North Carolina	102-87	Notre Dame	Ty Lawson, North Carolina
2009	Gonzaga	61-59*	Cincinnati	Matt Bouldin and Steven Gray, Gonzaga
2010	Connecticut	84-67	Kentucky	Kemba Walker, Connecticut

Yearly Brackets

• 2006 Maui Invitational Tournament
• 2007 Maui Invitational Tournament
• 2008 Maui Invitational Tournament
• 2009 Maui Invitational Tournament
• 2010 Maui Invitational Tournament
• 2011 Maui Invitational Tournament

Future tournament fields

2012^[3]

• Butler Bulldogs
• Illinois Fighting Illini
• Marquette Golden Eagles
• Mississippi State Bulldogs
• North Carolina Tar Heels
• Texas Longhorns
• Southern California Trojans
• Chaminade Silverswords
• Four additional teams to be named later

See also

• Chaminade University of Honolulu

References

1. ^ "The Greatest Upset Never Seen", in Sports Illustrated, about the impetus for the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational.
2. ^ Men's basketball to participate in Maui Invitational
3. ^ [1]

External links

• Official site of the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational Tournament
• Official site of KemperLesnik, tournament managers since 1990