Host Chaminade set to play in Southwest Maui Invitational in Lahaina for first time since 2019
The last time the Chaminade University of Honolulu basketball team played in the Southwest Maui Invitation that it hosts in Lahaina, a University of Georgia freshman named Anthony Edwards ruined the Silverswords’ upset bid.
Edwards, who would become the No. 1 pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves and a star in the NBA, sank a long 3-pointer with just 0.6 seconds remaining to beat Chaminade, 80-77.
“That’s something I will never forget,” Chaminade head coach Eric Bovaird said about his NCAA Division II team losing on a last second shot in 2019 by “one of the greatest players in the world right now.“
Eric Bovaird, head coach for the Chaminade University of Honolulu basketball team, is shown on Nov. 25, 2019 at the Lahaina Civic Center in a 93-63 loss to No. 4-ranked Kansas. Chaminade University Athletics photo
HJI Weekly Newsletter
Get more stories like these delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for the Hawai‘i Journalism Initiative’s weekly newsletter:
ADDING YOU TO THE LIST…
Now, Bovaird said he is ecstatic for his team to finally be playing on Maui again. The three-day tournament with eight teams begins Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center, which just underwent a $3.7 million renovation to install a new basketball floor and air conditioning system.
Although the Silverswords are the tournament’s host team, since 2017 they play in it only every other year in a move that was made to boost the opportunity for more top teams in the nation to play in the prestigious event.
Chaminade University of Honolulu basketball player Tyler Cartaino (right) is shown on Nov. 26, 2019 at the Lahaina Civic Center in a 74-48 loss to UCLA. Chaminade University Athletics photo
In 2021, Chaminade played in the Maui Invitational, but it was held in Las Vegas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the Silverswords played in the event in Honolulu, after the catastrophic Lahaina wildfire forced it to move again. (The tournament also was relocated to Asheville, N.C., in 2020 due to the pandemic.)
“We’ve had a lot of great games over the years,” Bovaird said of the tournament that has been held primarily on Maui since 1985. “Chaminade, in general, has had eight wins in the Maui invitational. … One of the things that pains me a little bit is all the times that we came so close (to wins). I can think of about seven or eight times where it was anybody’s game with a couple minutes to go.”
The Chaminade University of Honolulu basketball team celebrates its 96-72 win over California on Nov. 22, 2017. Chaminade University Athletics photo
Bovaird, now in his 15th season at the Chaminade helm, has guided the Silverswords to two of the wins in their history here — a victory over California, 96-72, in the seventh-place game in 2017, and an 86-73 upset win over Texas in the first round in 2012.
Chaminade is 8-101 all-time in the tournament, including 2-28 under Bovaird. The Division II Silverswords play in the PacWest Conference with Hawai‘i Pacific University, the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo and 10 small schools in California.
All of the other teams that play in the Maui Invitational are NCAA Division I teams. The tournament’s policy is to select one team from each of the NCAA power five conferences — Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 Conference, Big Ten Conference, Southeastern Conference and the Big East Conference. Any win by the Silverswords in the Maui Invitational can be considered an upset.
In Monday’s opening round, the ‘Swords will take on Washington State at 4 p.m. in a game televised on ESPNU.
The other first-round games on Monday are Seton Hall vs. No. 25 North Carolina State at 9:30 a.m.; Southern California vs. Boise State at noon; and Arizona State vs. Texas at 6:30 p.m.
Chaminade University of Honolulu basketball player Kendall Small (25) is shown on Nov. 25, 2019 at the Lahaina Civic Center in a 93-63 loss to No. 4-ranked Kansas. Chaminade University Athletics photo
As of Friday afternoon, tickets are still available for the tournament operated by Kemper Sports Live, with the exception of Wednesday morning’s championship game.
On Friday afternoon, Kemper Sports Live announced that parking for Hawai’i residents will be free in the lot behind the Lahaina Civic Center, due to a sponsorship from Yaamava Resort & Casino. Hawai’i residents will need to show their driver’s license or state identification card when they enter the parking lot.
“It’s a great partnership with Chaminade University,” said Nelson Taylor, who became the tournament director in 2019. “The thing that we try to embrace out here is the feeling and sense of ‘ohana. And Chaminade and their entire team really embraces that and approaches us as if we’re part of their extended team and their ‘ohana.”
The Chaminade University of Honolulu basketball team celebrates its 86-73 upset win over Texas on Nov. 19, 2012. Chaminade University Athletics photo
Dr. Tom Buning, the Chaminade director of athletics, will see his basketball team play on Maui for the first time since he was hired in 2020. He said the school annually makes approximately $500,000 or more from the Maui Invitational to help support its $3 million-per-year athletic budget for 12 sports.
“It’s a significant portion of our budget to the point that it puts us as a Division II school in a rarefied space,” Buning said during a phone interview. “And that is the significant income that we have that actually means instead of 100% of our budget being funded by the university, it’s more like 80%.”
The tournament was born after the legendary Chaminade upset of No. 1-ranked Virginia, led by 7-foot-4 Ralph Sampson, on Christmas Eve in 1982 in Honolulu. It was such a shocking upset that several editors manning overnight sports desks on the Mainland asked for confirmation that the score was accurate.
“They’re the reason the tournament is here,” Taylor said of Chaminade.
Bovaird will bring the ‘Swords to Maui with a 2-1 record. They beat Alaska on Saturday and lost to Alaska-Anchorage on Sunday, both in the 49th state. They also posted a victory over Western Washington on Wednesday at McCabe Gym on O‘ahu.
“The Maui Invitational is, in my opinion, the premier early-season event,” Bovaird said. “It’s something I’ve watched as a kid growing up and it’s a big part of the reason why I wanted to move to Hawai‘i and why I wanted to take the job at Chaminade.”
The first tournament hosted by Chaminade was a four-team event held in 1984 at Konawa‘ena High School on Hawai‘i Island, but it moved to War Memorial Gym in Wailuku on Maui for the 1985 and 1986 tournaments before moving to the 2,400-seat Lahaina Civic Center owned by Maui County.
“The Maui Invitational is more than a premier basketball tournament — it’s a tremendous gift to our island,” Mayor Richard Bissen said in a statement emailed to the Hawai‘i Journalism Initiative. “Each year, it brings thousands of visitors who support our hotels, restaurants, shops and small businesses, providing an important boost to our local economy.”
Bissen added, “It also inspires our young people by giving them a front-row seat to collegiate athletics and helping them envision what’s possible for their future. We are grateful for the return of this tournament and the positive energy it brings to our residents as we continue moving forward together.”
Buning said the Maui Invitational also gives Chaminade an identity that helps fundraising in many other ways.
“It drives a lot of other opportunities for fundraising and philanthropy and community building and outreach that allows us to engage a larger community,” Buning said. “One of the things I was immediately struck by was the fact that some of our most loyal and significant donors to the program do not have a Chaminade family relationship other than the one that was started at the Maui Invitational.”
The Lahaina Civic Centerʻs recent renovation included fixing the roof, replacing the gym floor and putting in a new air conditioning system. The previous floor was installed in 1999 with a re-finish in 2013. The previous air conditioning system was installed 22 years ago.
The project was finished in August, three months earlier than the estimated 11-month timeline.
“As someone who has spent a lot of time on gym floors, I like seeing them when they’re in good shape,” Maui County Parks and Recreation Director Pat McCall said Wednesday. “We’re excited about the new floor at the Civic and the new AC, which should make the experience much more pleasing for the fans.”
Erika Hughston, capital improvements project coordinator for the Maui County Parks and Recreation Department, oversaw the floor and air conditioning projects at the Lahaina Civic Center.
“When you see that brand new floor go in, it’s like sitting in a new car,” Hughston said Wednesday.
McCall added that the old floor “had been taken to the extent of its life.”
“We couldn’t really sand it again,” he said. “We could keep seal coats on it, but that was about it.”
The Lahaina Civic Center, shown here in February, underwent a $3.7 million renovation that finished in August, three months ahead of schedule. HJI / ROB COLLIAS photo
Since the tournament moved to the Lahaina Civic Center, it has had multiple teams ranked in The Associated Press top-25 poll nearly every year, with the exceptions being 2012 when No. 9 North Carolina was the only ranked team, 2021 when No. 12 Houston was the only ranked team, and 2003 when no team in the field was ranked.
This week, the only team currently ranked in the field is No. 25 North Carolina State, which will likely be ranked again on Monday with a 4-0 record when the tournament begins. Over the past three tournaments, 14 teams have been ranked during the tournament, including last season when No. 2 Connecticut, No. 4 Auburn, No. 5 Iowa State and No. 12 North Carolina were in the field.
Auburn won the 2024 tournament and then played in the 2025 NCAA Final Four, where it lost to eventual champion Florida in the semifinals. Auburn’s Johni Broome was the Most Valuable Player in the Maui Invitational last year before being the 35th draft pick in the 2025 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Since the tournament moved to the Lahaina Civic Center in 1987, a total of 90 teams ranked in The Associated Press top-25 poll have played in the Maui Invitational.
Maui also gets economic exposure on the ESPN networks — eight of the 12 games will be on ESPN2, one on ESPNU, and the semifinals and final will be on ESPN — with images of sunny beaches shown to potential visitors on the cold, wintry Mainland.
The Hawai’i Tourism Authority estimated that last year’s event generated $24 million in economic impact for Maui and brought 7,000 visitors to the island. Taylor said similar numbers are expected this year.
Bovaird also said the event is a major recruiting tool for his program.
“Just that excitement of knowing that you’re going to be playing three games on ESPN versus top Division I talent and making memories that you’ll remember for the rest of your life, that’s something that other Division II programs can’t offer like we can,” he said. “I was able to go to last year’s tournament and watch and obviously wish we were playing in it. It just reminds me, even last year, it reminded me of just how special the event is, to be in such an incredible location.”
Bovaird will never take the opportunity to play here for granted.
“Maui is one of my favorite places on earth and with all they’ve been through over the years between the wildfires and COVID, we’re glad that we can bring some enjoyment to that island,” he said. “It’s just something that we cherish so much at Chaminade.”
