University of Kansas players celebrate after defeating Dayton in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational championship game on Nov. 27, 2019 at Lahaina Civic Center. The premier men’s college basketball tournament will not be played on Maui for the second straight year this fall, moving to Las Vegas due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER file photos
When the Maui Jim Maui Invitational announced on Sept. 17, 2020, that it was moving to Asheville, N.C., for one year due to COVID-19 concerns, I completely understood and was not at all worried the event would be back this year.
When it was announced last Friday that the 2021 tournament — the pioneer, maverick, trendsetter, founding father of all early season men’s college basketball tournaments — was moving to Las Vegas, I again understood why the move was necessary.
But this time — despite all of the powers-that-be saying all the right things as they should and, quite honestly, have to — I must admit, I’m worried about the event’s future going forward on Maui.
Please let me be perfectly clear about all of this.
When Tom Valdiserri, Executive Vice President of KemperLesnik, the operator of the tournament, said this in a news release: “We appreciate our partnership with Mayor (Michael) Victorino and the County of Maui as we all navigate the uncertainties of this pandemic together. We anxiously await the safe return to our Maui home next year. We remain committed to our Maui roots and to operating the Tournament on the island for many years to come,” I believe he means it from the bottom of his heart.
Chaminade fans cheer during a Maui Jim Maui Invitational game on Nov. 25, 2019.
I also believe Valdiserri is being completely sincere when he said this: “Maui is our Tournament home, which is why we are disappointed that the current state COVID-19 restrictions will not allow us to host the Maui Jim Maui Invitational there this year.
“We determined that if we could not travel to Maui, the next best place to go was Las Vegas, Hawaii’s Ninth Island. While we anxiously await our return to the island in 2022, we know that we were able to relocate the event safely and successfully last year in Asheville while maintaining the spirit of Maui, and we expect the same result this year in Las Vegas.”
I know that tournament chairman Dave Odom is being completely honest when he said: “We know how important these early season opportunities are for our teams, as they often set the tone for their seasons. We look forward to bringing that signature ‘Maui Magic’ to the city of Las Vegas until we return to the island next year.”
I completely believe Mayor Victorino when he said “Yes,” when asked if he is confident the tournament will return next year.
Victorino was open and honest with me the entire way through this saga that started when the delta variant started to rear its ugly head in midsummer.
The discussions between Victorino and Valdiserri were ongoing as late as Friday morning, hours before the final decision to move was announced.
Clearly, everyone tried their best to hold the event here, but as we have learned since the beginning of this pandemic, nothing is guaranteed.
And let’s be honest with ourselves, it’s a lot easier to hold this event in a place like Vegas — with its strong connection to the 50th state and seemingly endless availability of basketball courts, inside casinos, no less — than it is to do so in Asheville, N.C., or even the Lahaina Civic Center.
The massive amount of television equipment that has to be shipped over for this event is a lot easier to get to Vegas. There’s more revenue to be made in Las Vegas, I would believe as well.
Some other tournaments that have copied the Maui Invitational blueprint offer six-figure guarantees to induce teams to participate.
This event — OUR event for 36 years before the last two — simply doesn’t do that because it doesn’t have to.
Remember, this tournament started as a four-team affair in 1984 with Chaminade, Virginia, Providence and Davidson, played at War Memorial Gym. It is the OG as far as early season tournaments go — copying is absolute flattery in this case.
With the change of having NCAA Division II Chaminade in the tournament here once every two years instead of every year means that the host Silverswords will miss playing on Maui for at least four years.
That is a significant blow to the entire Chaminade community, simply because this event is a highlight of the Silverswords’ calendar year in and year out and it basically funds the Silverswords’ athletic department.
Bluebloods including Duke, Michigan State, Kansas, North Carolina and Gonzaga — and formerly Kentucky — line up to come to this event, nearly as often as they are allowed to.
In my mind, the officials in charge — and there are a whole bunch of them, from KemperLesnik, to the county, to the state — could have made things work here, but it would have required a whole lot of compromise.
If I was in charge (I’m not), it would have been vaccinated fans entry only, no exceptions, no exemptions.
Victorino was spot on when he told me this: “You know and I know, the Lahaina Civic Center, if you go more than 500 people in there, you could never physically distance them. So, all things are against us at this time.”
Victorino was also 100 percent correct when he told me: “Also, other commitments have to be made here. And so, it’s really a challenge for them. I agreed, with the uncertainty I cannot assure them of (the) … ability to say this is the crowd and you can have 75 percent, 100 percent, 50 percent. None of those numbers could be really ascertained right now at this time and moment in Maui County.”
Indeed, this event, while always having local ticket sales, has evolved into a made-for-TV affair over the years. It just doesn’t come off the same on any of ESPN’s channels when the LCC is not jammed packed.
Chaminade and the KemperLesnik folks make sure that there are other benefits locally with youth basketball clinics, road races, golf tournaments, donations to local organizations — all of that and more — to make this event about Maui.
The full hotels and national television commercials that show Maui to the Mainland during Thanksgiving week cannot be understated. The KemperLesnik folks estimate that the annual benefits to the Maui County economy are in the $24 million range, and I believe that may be a little too conservative.
The Maui Jim Maui Classic, hosted by Oregon State women’s basketball, will take place at the LCC from Dec. 17-19 with the Beavers, Idaho and Northern Iowa taking part. Fans or no fans allowed, that’s not a factor, and that is the difference between men’s and women’s college basketball — one is dependent on TV, one is not.
I have been inquiring about all of this with the KemperLesnik folks for a couple months and they have been nothing but gracious and helpful the whole way.
I received a personal phone call from a couple of the KL folks as this news started to leak on Friday, and their sincere belief that they will be back and sorrow that the event won’t be here this year was absolutely real.
I just can’t shake the feeling that this is something we may not be able to overcome in the long run.
* Robert Collias is at rcollias@mauinews.com.
Chaminade fans cheer during a Maui Jim Maui Invitational game on Nov. 25, 2019. 
University of Kansas players celebrate after defeating Dayton in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational championship game on Nov. 27, 2019 at Lahaina Civic Center. The premier men’s college basketball tournament will not be played on Maui for the second straight year this fall, moving to Las Vegas due to COVID-19 restrictions. The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER file photosToday's breaking news and more in your inbox
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