Aug. 4, 2009
Complete 2009 Diamond Head Classic Bracket 
LAS VEGAS - The UNLV men's basketball team will play SMU in the opening round of the 2009 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic, to be held Dec. 22, 23 and 25 at the Stan Sheriff Center on the campus of the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in Honolulu, it was announced today by ESPN Regional Television, Inc. (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN.
The event will include 12 games through three days and will be telecast on ESPN2 and ESPNU. Tournament sponsors include Hawaiian Airlines and Sheraton Hotels. The Western Athletic Conference will serve as the event's sponsoring conference. The Runnin' Rebels and Mustangs are the third game of the first round, and are scheduled to tip off at 7:30 p.m. (PT) in a game that will be televised by ESPNU.
The inaugural Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic field includes eight teams: College of Charleston, Hawai'i, Northeastern, Saint Mary's (Calif.), SMU, UNLV, USC and Western Michigan. Five of the eight teams reached the postseason in 2008-09, with USC playing in the NCAA Tournament, UNLV and Saint Mary's in the National Invitation Tournament and College of Charleston and Northeastern playing in the College Basketball Invitational.
All 12 games will be played at the Stan Sheriff Center during the Christmas holiday week, with teams enjoying an off day Thursday, Dec. 24, to watch the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl (8 p.m. ET, ESPN) and visit the beaches of Oahu. The two teams that remain undefeated throughout the tournament will face off in a championship match Friday, Dec. 25, at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2. Complete matchups are listed below.
In other first round of action Tuesday, Dec. 22, Northeastern will take on Saint Mary's; Western Michigan will face USC; and College of Charleston will square off with Hawai'i. The first four games on the opening day of action will be televised live on ESPNU.
Individual tickets to the 2009 Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic will go on sale in early October at www.etickethawaii.com or by phone, at (808) 944-2697. Fans can purchase official travel packages, which include game tickets and official team hotel accommodations, by visiting www.anthonytravel.com (search Hawaiian Airlines) or by calling 1-888-632-6951.
Additional information can be found on the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic's official Web site: www.DiamondHeadClassic.com. For more information on Hawaiian Airlines, visit http://www.hawaiianair.com.
About Hawaiian Airlines
Hawaiian is the nation's highest-ranked carrier for service quality and performance in 2008 in the 19th annual Airline Quality Rating study. Hawaiian has also led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past five years (2004-2008) and has been an industry leader in fewest misplaced bags during that same period (#1 from 2005-2007, #2 in 2008) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by Condé Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Zagat have all ranked Hawaiian as the top domestic airline serving Hawaii.
Hawaiian will mark 80 years of continuous service for Hawaii on November 11, 2009. Hawaiian is the state's biggest and longest-serving airline, as well as the largest provider of passenger air service to Hawaii from the state's primary visitor markets on the U.S. mainland. Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawaii from more U.S. gateway cities (10) than any other airline, as well as service to the Philippines, Australia, American Samoa, and Tahiti. Hawaiian also provides more than 160 daily jet flights within the Hawaiian Islands.
Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: HA). Additional information is available at HawaiianAirlines.com.
ESPN Regional Television/Event Ownership
The nation's largest syndicator of collegiate sports programming, ESPN Regional Television (ERT) annually produces more than 1,000 telecasts of sporting events. Programming includes football, basketball, NCAA events, golf and NHRA events accounting for more than 2,200 live and/or original hours of programming. In addition to event ownership, ERT is the production headquarters for ESPNU, the 24-hour college sports network; syndication rights-holder and producer of national, regional and local shows for college conferences (e.g. - SEC, BIG EAST, Big 12, Mid-American, Sun Belt, WAC).
ESPN Regional Television markets and/or owns several sporting events, including collegiate football events: the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl (Fort Worth, Texas); MAACO Bowl Las Vegas; New Mexico Bowl (Albuquerque); Papajohns.com Bowl (Birmingham, Ala.); Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl (Honolulu); St. Petersburg Bowl; the MEAC/SWAC Challenge presented by Disney (Orlando, Fla.); and The Home Depot ESPNU College Football Awards; collegiate basketball events: the 76 Classic (Anaheim, Calif.); Charleston Classic (S.C.); ESPNU Road to the Championship (Women; San Antonio); Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu); Old Spice Classic (Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla.); O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off (San Juan); SEC/BIG EAST Invitational; All-College Classic (Oklahoma City) and ESPNU BracketBusters; as well as the ESPN National Golf Challenge presented by Callaway. For more information, visit ESPNPlus.com.
