Southern California, St. Mary's, Nevada-Las Vegas, College of Charleston, Southern Methodist and Western Michigan will join host Hawai'i in the inaugural Diamond Head Classic basketball tournament, it was announced today.

Georgia has been offered a spot to round out the eight-team field for the Dec. 22, 23 and 25 tournament at UH's Stan Sheriff Center, but has not yet committed.

The Bulldogs recently underwent a coaching change and new coach Mark Fox, formerly of Nevada, has yet to confirm Georgia's participation.

"We look forward to a very festive holiday season sports week with the Diamond Head Classic joining the Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl," said David Matlin, executive director of the Diamond Head Classic and Sheraton Hawai'i Bowl. "The approximate 25 hours of national network exposure from Hawaii will provide great benefit to our state."

UH athletic director Jim Donovan said, "The Diamond Head Classic will be a terrific boost to the University of Hawai'i, our men's basketball program and the entire state. Certainly, having nationally televised events has helped attract fantastic participants as well as fans who will be watching great basketball."

The tournament is owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television, which has four other eight-team, 12-game tournaments: The 76 Classic in Anaheim, Calif., the Charleston (S.C.) Classic, the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., and the O'Reilly Auto Parts Puerto Rico Tip-Off in San Juan.

The Diamond Head Classic, which fills the slot held by the Rainbow Classic for 44 years on UH's December schedule, will sandwich the Dec. 24 Sheraton Hawaii Bowl football game, also an ERT property.

The Rainbow Classic, recast as a four-team tournament, will likely be held in November.

Matchups for the Diamond Head Classic are expected to be announced next month.