Since 2009, Hawaii has hosted the Diamond Head Classic, an eight-team college basketball tournament that takes place during the week of Christmas. However, the 2025 event will not occur, as announced in a pop-up on the ESPN Events page.
The Diamond Head Classic, a college basketball tournament which began in 2009 and is played during the week of Christmas (finishing on Christmas Day), will not be played in 2025.
This was a pop-up on the ESPN Events page. pic.twitter.com/leixAgycdS
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) February 26, 2025
ESPN issued a statement regarding the cancellation, hinting at a possible return of the Diamond Head Classic in 2026: “ESPN Events is committed to creating quality event experiences in Hawaii and we are proud of our longstanding history running the Diamond Head Classic. While we will miss hosting the Diamond Head this year, we continue to evaluate future opportunities with local stakeholders, partners and the University of Hawaii,” the statement read, as reported by H/T Jeremiah Estrada, KITV.com.
Before its cancellation, the 2025 event had already been rescheduled from Christmas week to Thanksgiving week, with BYU, featuring star recruit AJ Dybantsa, set to participate.
Source: BYU and five-star prospect AJ Dybantsa — the top ranked player in the 2025 class — will participate in the 2025 Diamond Head Classic during Thanksgiving Week.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) February 6, 2025
Except for 2020, the event was held annually from 2009 to 2024, although the final in 2021 between Stanford and Vanderbilt was canceled due to COVID-related issues with the Stanford team. In 2024, Nebraska claimed victory, defeating Oregon State 78-66 in the final. Notably, USC remains the only two-time champion, winning the inaugural event in 2009 and again in 2017.
