The Hawaiian island of Maui is synonymous with Thanksgiving week in the world of college basketball.
The Maui Invitational is an institution in the sport, having been hosted on the island since 1984 and dubbed “the best in-season tournament in the country — the standard by which all others are compared,” by Associated Press legend Jim O’Connell.
After the devastating wildfires wreaked terror on the area in recent weeks, killing at least 111 people, Kansas head coach Bill Self and Illinois head coach Brad Underwood decided to do something to help the relief efforts.
In a creative social media video posted on Friday afternoon, Underwood face-timed Self, the Hall of Famer and former Illinois head coach (2000-03). The two announced that the Jayhawks and Illini will play an exhibition contest open to the public on Sunday, Oct. 29 at State Farm Center. Proceeds from the game will be donated to the Hawai’i Community Foundation Maui Strong Fund, which is providing financial resources to help the area recover from the tragedy.
This is outstanding work done by Self and Underwood to bring their programs together, and could set a trend around college basketball ahead of the upcoming season. We have seen preseason exhibition games used in previous years to help relief efforts for other tragedies, and this is the first major announcement surrounding donations made to help the Maui community. Again, this area means something extra special to the college hoops world.
Self and the Jayhawks are set to appear in the Maui Invitational for the sixth time this upcoming season, part of a field that includes Zach Edey and Purdue, UCLA, Marquette, Gonzaga, Tennessee, Syracuse, and local university Chaminade.
“For decades, the Maui Invitational and the city of Lahaina have been very important to college basketball and our thoughts and prayers go to that entire community as they recover from such a tragic event,” Self said. “(Illinois coach Brad Underwood) and I discussed how our private scrimmage could become an exhibition game to raise money to benefit the so many affected by the recent catastrophic fires in Maui. We both felt this would be a great way for our programs to create awareness to help this cause. The people of Maui have always made our stay a lifelong highlight.”
“It is heartbreaking to see the loss of life and devastation from the fires that have ravaged Lahaina,” Underwood said. “The Maui Invitational is an integral part of college basketball, and we are thinking of everyone on the island of Maui who has felt the impact of this tragedy. Bill and I talked immediately about how we could come together to help, and turning our closed scrimmage into a charity exhibition is a way we can use our sport to make an impact. The spotlight of this game, heightened by Bill’s return to Champaign, should raise meaningful dollars that will go directly to help the community of Lahaina.”
Self coached the Illini for three seasons, taking the school to the Elite Eight in Year 1, the Sweet 16 in Year 2 and the second round in 2003. He went 78-24 in those three campaigns before taking the job in Lawrence, where he now enters his 21st season.
Having made a big transfer portal splash with the addition of All-American Hunter Dickinson, plus welcoming back Dajuan Harris, Kevin McCullar and KJ Adams, the Jayhawks could very well be the preseason No. 1 team in college basketball. That’s where I have Kansas at the moment.
Meanwhile, Illinois has the makeup of a top 25 team as well with All-Big Ten first-team selection Terrence Shannon Jr. back to lead the guards, and big man Coleman Hawkins returning to charge the frontcourt.
The return to Champaign of Dickinson, the former Michigan man, should garner some extra energy at the State Farm Center as well.
This is a slam dunk by Kansas and Illinois, and a special way for the two programs to come together to raise money for a cause that is near and dear to college basketball.
The game will tip off at 5 p.m. ET on Oct. 29 and will be televised on Big Ten Network.
John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.
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