2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Field Revealed

The ESPN Events men’s college basketball tournament will be at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu

The eight-team field for the 2024 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic will feature Charlotte, College of Charleston, Hawai’i, Loyola Chicago, Murray State, Nebraska, Oakland and Oregon State. The 15^th edition of the ESPN Events men’s college basketball tournament will be Dec. 22, 23 and 25 at the SimpliFi Arena at Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu.

Field Highlights

• Charlotte (American Athletic) finished with 19 wins and a top- three conference finish for the first time in nearly two decades while being led by Aaron Fearne, a finalist for the Joe B. Hall Coach of the Year presented to the top first-year head coach in Division I basketball.
• The College of Charleston (Coastal Athletic Association) is coming off of back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and enter the year as the defending CAA regular-season and tournament champions under the new direction of head coach Chris Mack.
• Tournament host Hawai’i (Big West) has recorded at least 20 wins in each of the last two seasons and extended its streak of consecutive winning seasons to seven, just one year shy of a program record.
• Loyola Chicago (Atlantic 10) captured a share of the 2023-24 Atlantic 10 regular season title, earned a postseason spot in the NIT, and finished with its second 20-win season under third-year head coach Drew Valentine.
• Murray State (Missouri Valley) has been one of the most consistently successful mid-major programs in the country, sporting a winning record in 34 of the last 37 seasons and finishing at the top of its conference in 11 of the last 15 years.
• Led by Big Ten Coach of the Year Fred Hoiberg, Nebraska (Big Ten) enjoyed a stellar 2023-24 campaign, making its first NCAA Tournament appearance in a decade and notching 23 wins, its most since the 1990-91 season and the second-highest total in school history.
• Postseason darling Oakland (Horizon) makes its first-ever appearance in the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic following a memorable 2023-24 campaign that was highlighted by a pair of Horizon League championships and a thrilling upset over Kentucky in the opening round of the NCAAs.
• Oregon State (West Coast), which previously appeared in the 2013 edition of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, makes the transition to the West Coast Conference this season after nearly six decades of competition in the Pac-12.

Each team will compete in one game per day, advancing through the bracket over three days for a total of 12 games. The two teams that remain undefeated throughout will face off in the championship game on the final day of the tournament.

Previous Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic tournament champions include USC (2009, 2017), Butler (2010), Kansas State (2011), Arizona (2012), Iowa State (2013), George Washington (2014), Oklahoma (2015), San Diego State (2016), TCU (2018), Houston (2019), Vanderbilt (2021), Hawai‘i (2022), and Nevada (2023).

Tickets are expected to go on sale in October. Visit the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic web site at hawaiianairlinesdiamondheadclassic.com to sign up for special email offers and to find more information about the tournament. You can also find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Support for the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic is provided by Hawai‘i Tourism Authority through the Signature Events Program.

ESPN Events 
ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a portfolio of collegiate sporting events nationwide. In 2024, the 34-event schedule includes four early-season college football kickoff games, 17 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events, the premiere regular season college softball and gymnastics events, as well as the Band of the Year National Championship. Collectively, these events account for over 400 hours of live programming on ESPN platforms, reaching 60 million viewers and attracting more than 650,000 annual attendees. Each year, the portfolio of events features more than 20 Division I conferences and hosts over 4,000 participating student-athletes. With satellite offices in more than 10 cities across the country, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans. Follow ESPN Events on Facebook, Twitter/X and YouTube.

Hawaiian Airlines

Now in its 95th year of continuous service, Hawaiian is Hawaiʻi’s largest and longest-serving airline. Hawaiian offers approximately 150 daily flights within the Hawaiian Islands, and nonstop flights between Hawaiʻi and 16 U.S. gateway cities – more than any other airline – as well as service connecting Honolulu and American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Tahiti.

Consumer surveys by Condé Nast Traveler and TripAdvisor have placed Hawaiian among the top of all domestic airlines serving Hawaiʻi. The carrier was named Hawaiʻi’s best employer by Forbes in 2022 and has topped Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best list as the No. 1 U.S. airline for the past two years. Hawaiian has also led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for 18 consecutive years (2004-2021) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The airline is committed to connecting people with aloha by offering complimentary meals for all guests on transpacific routes and the convenience of no change fees on Main Cabin and Premium Cabin seats. HawaiianMiles members also enjoy flexibility with miles that never expire. As Hawai‘i’s hometown airline, Hawaiian encourages guests to Travel Pono and experience the islands safely and respectfully.

Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com. Follow Hawaiian’s Twitter updates (@HawaiianAir), become a fan on Facebook  (Hawaiian Airlines), and follow us on Instagram (hawaiianairlines). For career postings and updates, follow Hawaiian’s LinkedIn page.

For media inquiries, please visit Hawaiian Airlines’ online newsroom.

About the Hawai‘i Tourism Authority

The Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority is the state agency responsible for representing The Hawaiian Islands around the world, and for holistically managing tourism in a sustainable manner consistent with community desires, economic goals, cultural values, preservation of natural resources, and visitor industry needs. HTA works with the community and industry to Mālama Hawaiʻi – care for our beloved home. For more information about HTA, visit hawaiitourismauthority.org or follow @HawaiiHTA on Facebook, Instagram, Threads and Twitter.

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Media Contacts:

Neal Iwamoto at [email protected]

Danny Chi at [email protected]