Louisville pulls out of '09 Maui Invitational

This is a bummer.

The EA SPORTS Maui Invitational today announced that Big East, two-time NCAA champion, Cincinnati, will replace Louisville in the 2009 tournament field. Cincinnati joins former national champions Arizona, Maryland, and Wisconsin along with Colorado, Gonzaga, Vanderbilt and host Chaminade University of Honolulu.

"Louisville requested to join the field in 2012 rather than 2009 for administrative and scheduling reasons and we granted that request," said tournament chairman Dave Gavitt. "We are delighted that we were able to secure Cincinnati for 2009, which will be a powerful contributor to the 2009 field, and look forward to having Louisville as part of a strong field in 2012."

Marking the 26th edition of the tournament, the eight-team competition will return to Maui’s ocean-front Lahaina Civic Center during Thanksgiving Week 2009. For up-to-the-minute tournament schedule, ticket and general information, as well as results of the 2008 event taking place Nov. 24-26, visit www.mauiinvitational.com.