BYU to open Maui Invitational against San Diego State

2014 EA Sports Maui Invitational Bracket

MAUI, HAWAII – The EA SPORTS™ Maui Invitational® today announced the official bracket and pairings for the 31st annual Tournament. The 2014 Championship Round of the premier early-season college basketball tournament will take place at the Lahaina Civic Center on the beautiful island of Maui from Nov. 24-26.

The Championship Round will feature Arizona, BYU, Kansas State, Missouri, Pittsburgh, Purdue, San Diego Stateand host Chaminade. The seven Division I teams have each appeared in the NCAA Tournament since 2012, with five earning berths in 2014, including Arizona’s run to the Elite Eight. Chaminade has advanced to the previous two NCAA Division II Tournaments.

BYU will take on former Mountain West Conference foe San Diego State in the first round on Monday, Nov. 24, at 9:30 p.m. MST on ESPN2. The Cougars own a 48-23 advantage in the all-time series against the Aztecs, including seven wins in the last nine meetings.

The bracketed Championship Round will begin on Monday, Nov. 24 at the Lahaina Civic Center. Monday matchups include:

ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU will offer live, high-definition television coverage of all 12 Championship Round contests. Games will also be broadcast live on the WatchESPN app and WatchESPN.com.

“The EA SPORTS Maui Invitational is one of the elite tournaments in college basketball today featuring the best teams from the best conferences in a championship environment at the Lahaina Civic Center,” said Seth Greenberg, ESPN college basketball analyst. “This year’s field features some great teams to watch such as Arizona, which may have the best starting five in all of college basketball to Kansas State with Marcus Foster, an exciting guard who’s hard to defend, to San Diego State and BYU, two teams that return top scorers. As a former coach and current broadcaster, I look forward to being in the studio each year to watch this tournament that will have an impact on national rankings in November.”

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Remaining Championship Round tickets will go on sale to the general public on Wednesday, August 20, 2014 at 3 p.m. EDT (9am HST).   For information on ticket types and how to purchase tickets, please visit www.mauiinvitational.com/tickets.

In addition to the eight Championship Round programs, four Regional Games teams will participate in this year’s Tournament – CSUN, Samford, UALR and Missouri-Kansas City. These four squads will travel to campus sites from Nov. 14 to Nov. 18 to participate in the Opening Games before the Championship Round teams head to Maui and the Regional Games teams travel to Little Rock, Ark. for the Regional Games portion of the Tournament.

About EA SPORTS

EA SPORTS is one of the leading sports entertainment brands in the world, with top-selling videogame franchises, award-winning interactive technology, fan programs and cross-platform digital experiences. EA SPORTS creates connected experiences that ignite the emotion of sports through industry-leading sports videogames, including Madden NFL football, FIFA, NHL® hockey, NBA LIVE basketball, SSX™, and EA SPORTS UFC. For more information about EA SPORTS, including news, video, blogs, forums and game apps, please visit www.easports.com.

About Tournament Sponsors

Other tournament sponsors include the Maui Visitors Bureau, County of Maui Department of Parks and Recreation, Hawaii Tourism Authority, adidas, GEICO, and Hawaiian Airlines. The Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, Sheraton Maui Resort & Spa and Westin Maui Resort & Spa, all located in the beautiful Ka’anapali Beach Resort area, serve as host hotels.

About Chaminade University

Chaminade University, the only Catholic university in Hawaii, provides a rich educational experience. Chaminade is a place where people grow: professionally, intellectually and spiritually. The Society of Mary, the Marianists, founded Chaminade University in 1955 (as St. Louis Junior College.) Chaminade University offers its students an education in a collaborative learning environment that prepares them for life, service and successful careers.

About KemperLesnik

KemperLesnik is a sports marketing, events and public relations agency. Ranked by Crain's Chicago Business among Chicago's top PR agencies, KemperLesnik produces integrated communications programs and manages major national events, including the EA SPORTS^Ô Maui Invitational^®, the CBS SPORTS Classic, theMcDonald’s All American Games, the POWERADE Jam Fest and activation forKitchenAid and its PGA of America partnership. KemperLesnik has operated the EA SPORTS Maui Invitational since 1990. For more information, visitwww.kemperlesnik.com.