2016 Hawaiian Airlines DHC Field Released

December 22, 2015

Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic Field Announced, Joining Top Teams for 2016 ESPN Events Early-Season Men’s Basketball Tournaments

The 2016 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic field was announced in conjunction with the start of play for the 2015 event, which is owned and operated by ESPN Events, a division of ESPN. The Charlotte, N.C., based group owns and operates early-season basketball events worldwide beginning in November and running through the Christmas holiday.

There are six multi-team events consisting of the Gildan Charleston Classic, Puerto Rico Tip-Off, DIRECTV Wooden Legacy, AdvoCare Invitational, NIT Season Tip-Off and Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. The multi-day, destination events staged from Charleston, S.C., San Juan, Puerto Rico, Orange County, Calif., Orlando and Honolulu are all bracket-format tournaments featuring 12 games over three days. The teams compete once per day, advancing with a victory. The two remaining undefeated teams will face off in a championship game.

In its second year under the ESPN Events umbrella, the NIT Season Tip-Off will be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. The designated home teams will each host two campus-site teams prior to traveling to Brooklyn for the championship round.

In addition to the multi-team tournaments, ESPN Events also manages four premium events including the Armed Forces Classic, State Farm Champions Classic and Jimmy V Men’s and Women’s Classics presented by Corona. The Jimmy V Men’s and Women’s Classics fields will be announced at a later date.

The 2015-16 college basketball season is underway and several teams ranked in the latest Associated Press poll (Dec. 21) will be participating in 2016 events: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Kansas, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 6 Xavier, No. 8 Arizona, No. 11 Iowa State, No. 12 Kentucky, No. 13 Miami (Fla.), No. 15 Duke, No. 17 Villanova, No. 19 West Virginia, No. 21 Texas A&M and No. 24 Utah.

Multi-Team Events

Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic – Dec. 22, 23 & 25 The Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, held at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, will feature Hawaii, Illinois State, San Diego State, San Francisco, Southern Mississippi, Stephen F. Austin, Tulsa and Utah.

Utah is ranked No. 24 in most recent Associated Press poll (Dec. 21).
A five seed, Utah advanced to the to the Elite Eight, while No. 8 seed San Diego State played into the second round.
No. 12 seed Stephen F. Austin also earned a NCAA Championship berth.
Tulsa and Illinois State both participated in the NIT.
Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic website.

Gildan Charleston Classic – Nov. 17, 18 & 20 The Gildan Charleston Classic, held at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C., will include Boise State, College of Charleston, UCF, Mississippi State, UTEP, Villanova, Wake Forest and Western Michigan.

Villanova is ranked No. 17 in the Associated Press poll (Dec. 21).
A No. 1 seed in the NCAA Championship, Villanova played into the third round.
Boise State earned a NCAA Championship berth as a No. 11 seed.
UTEP participated in the NIT, while Western Michigan played in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Gildan Charleston Classic website.

Puerto Rico Tip-Off – Nov. 17, 18 & 20

The Puerto Rico Tip-Off, held in San Juan, will showcase Arizona State, Clemson, Davidson, Missouri, Northern Iowa, Oklahoma, Tulane and Xavier.

Oklahoma is ranked No. 3 and Xavier is No. 6 in the Associated Press poll (Dec. 21).
Four teams advanced to the NCAA Championship, including Sweet 16 participants No. 3 seed Oklahoma and No. 6 seed Xavier. Northern Iowa, as a five seed, advanced to the third round, while No. 10 seed Davidson was a second-round participant.
Arizona State earned a NIT postseason berth.
Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the Puerto Rico Tip-Off website.

DIRECTV Wooden Legacy – Nov. 24, 25 & 27 The DIRECTV Wooden Legacy will be played in Orange County, Calif. The first two days will be held on the campus of Cal-State Fullerton and the final day of competition will be at Honda Center in Anaheim. The field consists of Cal State-Northridge, Dayton, Nebraska, New Mexico, Portland, Texas A&M, UCLA and Virginia Tech.

Texas A&M is ranked No. 21 in the Associated Press poll (Dec. 21).
Both 11 seeds, UCLA made a run into the Sweet 16, while Dayton played to the third round.
Texas A&M participated in the NIT, while Portland played in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.
Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the DIRECTV Wooden Legacy website.

AdvoCare Invitational – Nov. 24, 25 & 27

The AdvoCare Invitational, held at HP Field House at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando, Fla., will feature Florida, Gonzaga, Indiana State, Iowa State, Miami (Fla.), Quinnipiac, Seton Hall and Stanford.

Iowa State stands at No. 11 in the Associated Press poll (Dec. 21), with No. 13 Miami close behind.
A two seed, Gonzaga advanced to the to the Elite Eight, in addition to No. 3 seed Iowa State, which played into the second round.
2015 NIT title game participants including winner Stanford and runner-up Miami.
Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the AdvoCare Invitational website.

NIT Season Tip-Off – Thanksgiving Week

The NIT Season Tip-Off championship round will be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. and will feature Florida State, Illinois, Temple and West Virginia.

West Virginia is ranked No. 19 in the Associated Press poll (Dec. 21).
West Virginia, a No. 5 seed, advanced to the Sweet 16.
A top-seed in the postseason NIT, Temple made a semifinal appearance, while Illinois earned a berth.
Additional information, including travel packages, can be found on the NIT Season Tip-Of website.

Additional Events

Armed Forces Classic – Friday, Nov. 11 The Armed Forces Classic – a series of Division I men’s college basketball games played on United States military bases worldwide over a five-year rotation – will originate from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu in 2016. The doubleheader will pit Indiana vs. Kansas and Arizona vs. Michigan State.

Michigan State is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll (Dec. 21), while Kansas is No. 2, and Arizona is No. 8.
The event – this year on Veteran’s Day – is just under a month from the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Known for its rich basketball history, the four programs have combined to win 11 NCAA titles and advance to 34 Men’s Final Fours.
The games will be televised on ESPN as part of the network’s America’s Heroes initiative honoring the men and women who are serving and who have served in the United States military, both at home and abroad.
Additional information can be found on the Armed Forces Classic website.

State Farm Champions Classic – Tuesday, Nov. 15 The sixth installment of the State Farm Champions Classic will be played Madison Square Garden in New York City and will showcase Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and Michigan State.

Michigan State is ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press poll (Dec. 21), along with No. 2 Kansas, No. 12 Kentucky and No. 15 Duke.
Duke won the 2015 NCAA national title, while Kentucky and Michigan State were Final Four participants and Kansas advanced to the NCAA third round.
Additional information can be found on the Champions Classic website.

ESPN Events ESPN Events, a division of ESPN, owns and operates a large portfolio of collegiate sporting events worldwide. The roster includes three Labor Day weekend college football games; 13 college bowl games, 10 college basketball events and two college award shows, which accounts for approximately 250-plus hours of programming, reaches almost 64 million viewers and attracts over 700,000 attendees each year. With satellite offices in Boca Raton, Boise, Birmingham, Dallas-Fort Worth, Albuquerque, St. Petersburg and Las Vegas, ESPN Events builds relationships with conferences, schools and local communities, as well as providing unique experiences for teams and fans.

ESPN Events also manages the Big 12 Corporate Partner Program.

Collegiate Football AdvoCare Texas Kickoff (Houston); AdvoCare V100 Texas Bowl (Houston); Birmingham Bowl (Alabama); Celebration Bowl (Atlanta); Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (Boise); Gildan New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Hawai’i Bowl (Honolulu); Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth); Marmot Boca Raton Bowl (Florida); MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); Orlando Kickoff (Florida); Popeyes Bahamas Bowl (Nassau); Raycom Media Camellia Bowl (Montgomery, Ala.); Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl (Nevada); St. Petersburg Bowl (Florida); The Home Depot College Football Awards (Atlanta) and Zaxby’s Heart of Dallas Bowl (Dallas-Fort Worth)

Collegiate Basketball

AdvoCare Invitational (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); Armed Forces Classic (Camp Foster, Okinawa, Japan); DIRECTV Wooden Legacy (Orange County, Calif.); College Basketball Awards Presented by Wendy’s (Los Angeles); Gildan Charleston Classic (South Carolina); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Jimmy V Men’s Classic Presented by Corona (New York City); Jimmy V Women’s Classic Presented by Corona (Storrs, Conn.); NIT Season Tip-Off (Brooklyn, N.Y.); Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan) and State Farm Champions Classic (Chicago)

For more information, visit the official website, Facebook, Twitter or YouTube pages.

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ESPN Media Contact: Rachel Margolis Siegal at 860-766-2798 or [email protected]