Warrior Insider

The Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic is canceled for 2020 due to ongoing concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The eight-team tournament was originally scheduled for December 22, 23 and 25 at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu. However, there were unconfirmed plans to move the tournament to a “bubble” environment in Orlando, Florida, for 2020, possibly in early- or mid-December.

The Diamond Head Classic was one of eight non-conference tournaments that ESPN was attempting to move to Orlando. Concerns about testing protocols and other COVID-related guidelines appeared to be a difficult hurdle to clear for all the teams involved.

“ESPN Events set out to create a protected environment for teams to participate in early-season events in Orlando,” an official statement from ESPN said. “Based on certain challenges surrounding testing protocols, we opted to resume these tournaments during the 2021-22 season.”

Teams on the 2020 Diamond Head schedule were: Hawai’i, Arizona State, North Texas, Oklahoma, Saint Mary’s, San Diego State, Seattle and Temple. It was not announced if those teams will receive a raincheck to return in 2021.

UH has yet to announce a non-conference schedule for the 2020-21 basketball season.