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Maui Invitational

Adapted from Wikipedia · Discoverer experience

The Maui Invitational is an exciting yearly basketball tournament for college teams. It happens every year during Thanksgiving week in Lahaina, Hawaii at the Lahaina Civic Center. The tournament is hosted by Chaminade University of Honolulu, a school that competes in NCAA Division II.

Each year, seven or eight top college basketball teams from NCAA Division I join in, and Chaminade University of Honolulu plays every other year. The tournament started back in 1984 and is shown on ESPN. For the 2025–26 season, the main sponsor is Southwest. Before that, other companies like Maui Jim, EA Sports, Camping World, Allstate, and Novavax helped support the event.

History

The Maui Invitational began with an amazing game in 1982. That year, the top-ranked University of Virginia lost to Chaminade University, a smaller school, in a big surprise. After this game, the idea for a tournament in Hawaii was born, and the Maui Classic started two years later.

Today, the tournament lets schools play against top teams from around the country. Many winners of this tournament have later won big national championships. Usually, teams from major college basketball conferences join Chaminade in the competition. Sometimes the games are held in different places, like North Carolina or Las Vegas, because of special reasons such as health issues or fires. But most years, the tournament is in Maui, Hawaii.

Effect on local economy

Each year, the tournament brings over 4,000 visitors from outside the area, including players, team staff, media, sponsors, and fans. In 2007, it was one of Hawaii’s top events for bringing money into the local economy, adding more than $8 million. Since it started in 1984, the tournament has helped bring in over $110 million to Maui’s economy by 2005.

Main article: 2007 Maui Invitational Tournament

Yearly champions, runners-up, MVPs, & Locations

Indicates game won in overtime

YearWinnerScoreOpponentTournament MVPLocation
1984Providence60–58ChaminadePatrick Langlois, ChaminadeLahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, HI
1985Michigan80–58Kansas StateDell Curry, Virginia Tech
1986Vanderbilt87–71New MexicoWill Perdue, Vanderbilt
1987Iowa97–74VillanovaEntire Iowa Team
1988Michigan91–80OklahomaGlen Rice, Michigan
1989Missouri80–73North CarolinaDoug Smith, Missouri
1990Syracuse77–74IndianaBilly Owens, Syracuse
1991Michigan State86–61ArkansasGeorge Gilmore, Chaminade
1992Duke89–66BYUBobby Hurley, Duke
Penny Hardaway, Memphis State
1993Kentucky93–92ArizonaTravis Ford, Kentucky
1994Arizona State97–90MarylandMario Bennett, Arizona State
1995Villanova77–75North CarolinaKerry Kittles, Villanova
1996Kansas80–63VirginiaRaef LaFrentz, Kansas
1997Duke95–87ArizonaSteve Wojciechowski, Duke
1998Syracuse76–63IndianaJason Hart, Syracuse
1999North Carolina90–75PurdueJoseph Forte, North Carolina
2000Arizona79–76IllinoisMichael Wright, Arizona
2001Duke83–71Ball StateMike Dunleavy Jr., Duke
2002Indiana70–63VirginiaBracey Wright, Indiana
2003Dayton82–72HawaiiKeith Waleskowski, Dayton
2004North Carolina106–92IowaRaymond Felton, North Carolina
2005Connecticut65–63GonzagaAdam Morrison, Gonzaga
2006UCLA88–73Georgia TechDarren Collison, UCLA
2007Duke77–73MarquetteKyle Singler, Duke
2008North Carolina102–87Notre DameTy Lawson, North Carolina
2009Gonzaga61–59*CincinnatiMatt Bouldin and Steven Gray, Gonzaga
2010Connecticut84–67KentuckyKemba Walker, Connecticut
2011Duke68–61KansasRyan Kelly, Duke
2012Illinois78–61ButlerBrandon Paul, Illinois
2013Syracuse74–67BaylorC. J. Fair, Syracuse
2014Arizona61–59San Diego StateStanley Johnson, Arizona
2015Kansas70–63VanderbiltWayne Selden Jr. and Frank Mason III, Kansas
2016North Carolina71–56WisconsinJoel Berry II, North Carolina
2017Notre Dame67–66Wichita StateMatt Farrell, Notre Dame
2018Gonzaga89–87DukeRui Hachimura, Gonzaga
2019Kansas90–84*DaytonUdoka Azubuike and Devon Dotson, Kansas
2020Texas69–67North CarolinaMatt Coleman III, TexasHarrah's Cherokee Center, Asheville, NC
2021Wisconsin61–55Saint Mary'sJohnny Davis, WisconsinMichelob Ultra Arena, Paradise, NV
2022Arizona81–79CreightonOumar Ballo, ArizonaLahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, HI
2023Purdue78–75MarquetteZach Edey, PurdueStan Sheriff Center, Honolulu, HI
2024Auburn90–76MemphisJohni Broome, AuburnLahaina Civic Center, Lahaina, HI
2025USC88–75Arizona StateChad Baker-Mazara, USC
2026TBD–TBD

Multiple appearances and championships

TeamAppearancesChampionshipsYearsTournament Record
Chaminade38—1984–2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 20258–100 (.074)
Arizona931993, 1997, 2000, 2005, 2009, 2014, 2018, 2022, 202618–8 (.692)
North Carolina941989, 1995, 1999, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020, 202424–6 (.800)
Kansas831987, 1996, 2001, 2005, 2011, 2015, 2019, 202320–7 (.741)
Indiana711990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2008, 2015, 202013–9 (.591)
UCLA711995, 2001, 2006, 2011, 2015, 2019, 202312–11 (.522)
Duke651992, 1997, 2001, 2007, 2011, 201818–1 (.947)
Gonzaga622002, 2005, 2009, 2013, 2018, 202314–5 (.737)
Memphis6—1988, 1992, 1999, 2006, 2011, 202410–8 (.556)
Michigan621985, 1988, 1994, 1998, 2011, 201714–5 (.737)
Michigan State611991, 1995, 2005, 2010, 2019, 202412–6 (.667)
Arizona State611991, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2007, 202510–8 (.556)
UConn522000, 2005, 2010, 2016, 20249–5 (.643)
Dayton512000, 2003, 2013, 2019, 202410–5 (.667)
Illinois511987, 2000, 2007, 2012, 201811–7 (.611)
Kentucky511993, 1997, 2002, 2006, 201010–5 (.667)
San Diego State5—1989, 2003, 2014, 2018, 20229–8 (.529)
Texas611993, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2020, 202512–7 (.632)
BYU5—1992, 2004, 2014, 2019, 20268–6 (.571)
Vanderbilt511986, 1988, 1995, 2009, 201511–5 (.688)
Arkansas4—1991, 2005, 2013, 20227–6 (.538)
DePaul4—1988, 1992, 1997, 20064–8 (.333)
Louisville4—1989, 2000, 2004, 20225–7 (.417)
LSU4—1992, 1996, 2007, 20174–8 (.333)
Marquette4—2007, 2012, 2017, 202310–3 (.769)
Maryland4—1994, 2000, 2005, 20096–6 (.500)
Missouri411986, 1989, 1997, 20147–6 (.538)
Notre Dame411993, 2008, 2017, 20218–5 (.615)
Ohio State4—1988, 1993, 2003, 20228–4 (.667)
Oklahoma4—1988, 1992, 2006, 20105–7 (.417)
Providence411984, 1991, 2020, 20264–4 (.500)
Purdue411999, 2006, 2014, 202312–3 (.800)
Stanford4—1987, 1992, 2004, 20204–8 (.333)
Syracuse431990, 1998, 2013, 202310–2 (.833)
Tennessee4—2004, 2011, 2016, 20235–8 (.385)
UNLV4—1988, 2000, 2015, 20206–7 (.462)
Virginia4—1984, 1996, 2002, 20106–5 (.545)
Wisconsin411995, 2009, 2016, 20219–5 (.643)
California3—1996, 2013, 20175–6 (.455)
Georgetown3—1999, 2011, 20165-5 (.500)
Iowa311987, 1996, 20046–3 (.667)
Iowa State3—1990, 2018, 20245–4 (.556)
Kansas State3—1985, 1998, 20144–5 (.444)
Oregon3—2008, 2016, 20215–5 (.500)
Santa Clara3—1990, 1995, 20035–4 (.556)
USC311999, 2012, 20255–4 (.556)
Utah3—1994, 1998, 20024–5 (.444)
VCU3—1986, 2017, 20262–4 (.333)
Villanova311989, 1995, 20035–4 (.556)
Alabama2—2008, 20204–2 (.667)
Arkansas State2—1986, 20164–2 (.667)
Auburn212018, 20245–1 (.833)
Baylor2—1987, 20134–3 (.571)
Boston College2—1993, 19973–3 (.500)
Butler2—2012, 20213–3 (.500)
Cincinnati2—2009, 20223–3 (.500)
Colorado2—2019, 20242–4 (.333)
Davidson2—1984, 20201–4 (.200)
Houston2—2001, 20223–3 (.500)
Oklahoma State2—2007, 20163–3 (.500)
Seton Hall2—2001, 20253–3 (.500)
Texas A&M2—1994, 20213–3 (.500)
Virginia Tech2—1985, 20192–3 (.400)
Wichita State2—2010, 20174–2 (.667)
Clemson1—20260–0 (–)
Colorado State1—20260–0 (–)
Ole Miss1—20260–0 (–)
Washington1—20260–0 (–)
Xavier1—20181–2 (.333)

Future tournament fields

2026

The teams playing in the Maui Invitational in 2026 will be Arizona, BYU, Clemson, Colorado State, Ole Miss, Providence, VCU, and Washington.

2027

In 2027, the teams will include Chaminade, Georgetown, Saint Mary's, Saint Louis, SMU, Utah, Arkansas, and one team that will be announced later.

Related articles

Chaminade University of Honolulu
Lahaina, Hawaii
Lahaina Civic Center
Maui
Thanksgiving (US)
NCAA Division II

This article is a child-friendly adaptation of the Wikipedia article on Maui Invitational, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.