Self returning to Champaign for Kansas-Illinois charity game for Maui aid - ESPN

For the first time in 20 years, Bill Self will return to Champaign, Illinois, to help raise money for the victims of the Maui fires.

Self, who has not coached a game in Champaign since he left Illinois for Kansas in 2003, will lead the Jayhawks, No. 1 in ESPN's Way Too Early Top 25 rankings, against the Fighting Illini, the schools announced on Friday.

The exhibition — the NCAA allows teams to play exhibitions for charity with a waiver — will be held at the State Farm Center on Oct. 29 and air on the Big Ten Network. The proceeds will go toward the Maui Strong Fund.

The two schools had originally planned to hold a closed scrimmage before the season but decided to turn the event into a public exhibition to raise money for Maui, where wildfires tore through Lahaina last week. Officials have confirmed at least 111 deaths with hundreds still missing as communication services have been disrupted across the island, per ABC News.

Both Self and Illinois head coach Brad Underwood have participated in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational, one of the premier holiday tournaments in college basketball, in recent years.

Kansas is set to play in the event this year, although tournament officials have said their plans for the event are uncertain as a result of the fires on the island.

«For decades, the Maui Invitational and the city of Lahaina have been very important to college basketball and our thoughts and prayers go to that entire community as they recover from such a tragic event,» Self said in a statement. "[Underwood] and I discussed how our private scrimmage could become an exhibition game to raise money to benefit the so many affected by the recent catastrophic fires in Maui. We both felt this would be a great way for our programs