April 12, 2003
APRIL 11, 2003 - CHICAGO, IL - With two-time Maui Invitational champion Syracuse knocking off 1996 Maui champion Kansas on Monday night for the 2003 NCAA crown, the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational announced its 20th anniversary field for Thanksgiving week, 2003. And with a history of remarkable upsets and nail-biting championships, this year's EA SPORTS Maui Invitational has the makings of another chapter of great basketball memories.
The eight-team field includes host Chaminade, whose upset of top-ranked Virginia led by Ralph Sampson in 1982 is still widely considered college basketball's greatest upset; Mid-America powerhouse and first-time Maui competitor Central Michigan, who knocked off sixth-seeded Creighton in this year's NCAA Tournament; NCAA Tournament perennial darling Dayton, whose upset of national champion Connecticut in the 2000 Maui Invitational was followed that same year with a defeat of the NCAA's 2002 champion Maryland for third place; first-time Maui competitor Hawaii, a perennial standout by season's end whose statewide prominence sets the stage for true fireworks on Chaminade's host tournament turf; former national champion Ohio State, who nearly knocked off the University of Illinois in this year's Big Ten Conference Championship; Santa Clara, whose 1995 team led by All-American Steve Nash knocked off defending national champion UCLA and Michigan State in Tom Izzo's first year as head coach to take third place in the 1995 Maui Invitational; 2002 NCAA Tournament competitor San Diego State, whose head coach Steve Fischer led Michigan to two Maui appearances; and 1985 national champion Villanova, who defeated North Carolina by two points to take the 1995 Maui Invitational title in one of Maui's most thrilling championship games.
The 2003 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational takes place November 24-26 at the intimate 2400-seat Lahaina Civic Center on the island paradise of Maui, less than 1,000 yards from the Pacific Ocean. And if that's not enough to whet one's appetite, consider the remarkable EA SPORTS Maui Invitational track record in setting the tone for the rest of the college basketball season. To date, Maui Invitational teams have accounted for a remarkable 193 of 260 Final Four positions, 50 of 65 national runner-up spots and 49 of 65 NCAA championships. ESPN will once again be televising the tournament.
A recent 10-year contract extension between ESPN and tournament operator KemperLesnik Sports Marketing guarantees through 2011 a minimum of nine tournament games televised annually. This translates to national television exposure for all eight participating teams, a minimum of two games televised nationally for six teams, and all three games televised nationwide for four of the eight teams in the tournament.
Future Maui fields joining Chaminade include, in 2004: BYU, Iowa, Louisville, North Carolina, Stanford, Tennessee, and Texas; and in 2005: Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, DePaul, Kansas, Maryland, and Michigan State.
The Block V Club and the Villanova Athletic Department will be selling trip packages to the tournament. Call 1-610-519-5505 to arrange that trip to paradise with a taste of college basketball's finest thrown into the mix.
In addition to EA SPORTS, tournament sponsors include the Maui Visitors Bureau, County of Maui Department of Parks and Recreation, Hawaii Tourism Authority, Get-The-Game, and the following host hotels - Westin Maui, Sheraton Maui and the Kapalua Bay Hotel. For more information, visit the official 2003 EA SPORTS Maui Invitational tournament web site at www.mauiinvitational.com or call 808.667.DUNK (3865).
