KU basketball to play Illinois in charity game benefiting Maui Wildfire Relief efforts
The Kansas men’s basketball team will travel to the University of Illinois to play the Fighting Illini in a charity exhibition game set for Oct. 29 at State Farm Center, KU Athletics announced on Friday.
The proceeds from the game will be donated to the Hawai’i Community Foundation Maui Strong Fund, which provides financial resources to the relief efforts from the deadly Maui wildfires.
The game will start at 5 p.m and will be televised on Big Ten Network.
“For decades, the Maui Invitational and the city of Lahaina have been very important to college basketball and our thoughts and prayers go to that entire community as they recover from such a tragic event,” Kansas coach Bill Self said in a release. “(Illinois coach Brad Underwood) and I discussed how our private scrimmage could become an exhibition game to raise money to benefit the so many affected by the recent catastrophic fires in Maui. We both felt this would be a great way for our programs to create awareness to help this cause.”
He continued.
“This upcoming season will be the sixth time my teams have participated in this event,” Self added. “The people of Maui have always made our stay a lifelong highlight. This is a small way we can help a community that has been so good to so many for so long.”
In a partnership with Illinois, KU also will have an allotment of tickets that is larger than what is typically provided to a visiting team. Ticket sales and further details about the game will be announced soon.
“It is heartbreaking to see the loss of life and devastation from the fires that have ravaged Lahaina,” Underwood said. “The Maui Invitational is an integral part of college basketball, and we are thinking of everyone on the island of Maui who have felt the impact of this tragedy. Bill and I talked immediately about how we could come together to help, and turning our closed scrimmage into a charity exhibition is a way we can use our sport to make an impact.
“The spotlight of this game, heightened by Bill’s return to Champaign, should raise meaningful dollars that will go directly to help the community of Lahaina.
Self enters his 21st season at KU. He’s led Kansas to two NCAA national titles, four Final Fours, 17 Big 12 regular-season titles and nine Big 12 Tournament crowns.
Inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, Self joined the Jayhawks in 2003. Before that, he coached the Illini for three seasons from 2000-03. During his tenure at Illinois, Self was 78-24 with two Big Ten regular-season titles (2001, 2002) and one Big Ten Tournament championship in 2003. Self led Illinois to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in 2001.
KU is ranked No. 1 in several preseason polls despite 10 newcomers to the team. Kansas brings back four players (Dajuan Harris, Kevin McCullar, KJ Adams and Zach Clemence) from last year’s team which went 28-8 overall, including 13-5 in the Big 12.
The Jayhawks also recently had a summer exhibition trip in which they went 2-1.
Illinois has one of the oldest rosters in the nation and returns three starters from last year’s 20-13 team that made the NCAA Tournament and finished fifth in the Big Ten at 11-9.
