This morning I was scrolling through my Facebook memories when I came upon the pictures of our Hawaiian family trip in 2015. There amongst the beautiful sunsets and black sand beaches was a picture of CJ’s Deli in Lahaina, which for years was the official caterer of the Maui Classic.
I remember when we were in CJ’s for breakfast because the owners were not from Hawaii, they were from Philadelphia, and told the story of how they moved out there, opened this deli with an east coast flair, and for years were the supplier of all the food for the teams who came west during Thanksgiving. A great story of grit and entrepreneurship. Alas CJ’s eventually stopped being the official caterer when the Classic grew to have more corporate partners, and the deli itself actually closed because of The Pandemic. But I never forgot the story or the picture of the hoop, and how those guys probably brought great joy to many young athletes and coaches and families who loved the trip but rarely left their hotel rooms or gyms. A simple Hawaiian cheesesteak went a long way.
Fast forward to today and the tragedy that still is playing out in Maui. It’s hard to see how this year’s Classic will be played out, despite the obvious attention and economic impact the event has had for the area. For context, “Each year more than 4,000 out-of-state visitors—boosters, players, officials, team and game personnel, media representatives, sponsors, production crews and basketball fans—attend. The 2007 Maui Invitational Tournament ranked among Hawaii’s top revenue-generating events, bolstering the local economy by more than $8 million according to financial data released by the Maui Visitors Bureau. The tournament has brought more than $110 million to Maui’s economy since the tournament’s debut in 1984.”
It’s also not unprecedented for the event to be played elsewhere. Due to COVID-19 issues, the 2020 and 2021 tournaments were both moved to the US mainland. The 2020 event was held at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina, while the 2021 event was held at Michelob Ultra Arena on the Las Vegas Strip.
So, what to do? The opportunity for social good and impact beyond the game really can change lives. Already we have seen Kansas and Illinois schedule a charity game to raise money, so is there a plan to keep the format as is and again move the games to a site on the Mainland or elsewhere, with all the money going to support Maui, which ahs given so many positive experiences to schools, alums and athletes and coaches over the years? We talk so much about NIL and what’s going to athletes, yet one of the biggest beneficiaries of NIL has been social causes that athletes support. Here is an opportunity for young people who are cause focused to help support and grow a vital area that needs the help, and also even, maybe draw attention to a cause like climate change as well.
Now this is not a simple solution for sure. You would need schools to move the tournament, change all their plans and see the value with a unique host. Maybe some schools will do it, maybe some will not. However, it has happened before, and this time the cause is even bigger than basketball and could help save the event for years to come.
The Classic website and the news outlets have been silent on what will happen, and rightfully so. The issues the people of Maui are dealing with are much bigger than sports. But here is an opportunity for sports to be bigger than a game…find a way to use the power of hoops to raise large funds for these people who have done so much for the elite school who make it to Maui every year. Will it work?
We shall see, I’m sure the guys who used to own CJ’s would love to see the giveback, even with games played thousands of miles away, at least again for this year.
