Philadelphia Big Five

The Philadelphia Big 5, known simply as the "Big 5", is an association of six college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is not a conference, but rather a group of NCAA Division I basketball schools who compete for the city’s collegiate championship.

The Big 5 originally consisted of Penn, La Salle, Saint Joseph's, Temple, and Villanova. At the start of the 2023–24 season, the Big 5 expanded to include Drexel. Drexel, La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, and Temple are located in the city of Philadelphia, while Villanova is located in a nearby Main Line suburb of the same name. Three of the six schools (La Salle, Saint Joseph's and Villanova) are affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, while Temple is the only public university in the group.

From its founding in 1955 until 2023, the five teams teams played each other once in a round-robin format to determine the Big 5 champion. The team(s) with the best record was then determined as the Big 5 champion. After the addition of Drexel, the format was changed, and the six teams were split into two pods, with all of the teams participating in a same-day, triple-header showcase event on the first Saturday in December known as the Big 5 Classic. The winner of the first-place game during the showcase, which features the winners of each pod, determines the Big 5 champion for the season.

The women's teams competed in the same round-robin format from 1979 until 2024, when the women's counterpart of the Big 5 Classic was created. Following the same scheduling structure as the men's, the women's Big 5 Classic is played on the first Friday in December, one day before the men's showcase.

Big 5 schools represent some of the oldest and most successful men's basketball programs in the nation. Three of the six teams—Temple (7th), Villanova (19th), and Penn (22nd)—are in the top-50 for all-time Division I basketball victories. From 1977 to 2022, at least one team from the Big 5 appeared in the men's NCAA Tournament.

Both Villanova's men's and women's basketball teams hold the most Big 5 titles, with 29 and 21 titles, respectively.

Each year the Herb Good Basketball Club selects All-Big 5 teams, as well as a coach of the year. The most outstanding player in Big 5 competition receives the Robert V. Geasey Trophy.

The Big 5 creed reads: "They say there's no trophy for winning the Big Five. They must not be from Philadelphia."

History

Original format (1955–2023)

The Big 5 was formed in 1955, a year after La Salle won the 1954 NCAA basketball tournament. The group showcased Philadelphia's basketball talent and helped pay for the upkeep on the Palestra, located on the University of Pennsylvania's campus, where the games historically took place. Games were typically scheduled as double or triple-headers. All schools agreed to split ticket and concessions revenues equally once Penn was paid for upkeep costs on the Palestra. The arrangement promoted already intense intra-city collegiate basketball rivalries dating back three decades or more.

In 1979, a women's version of the competition began play, following the same round-robin format as the men's.

During the heyday of the Big 5, many major college programs, especially in the northeastern United States, were independents. However, in the 1980s, as the Big East and Atlantic 10 conferences expanded to cover most of the Northeast (Villanova joined the Big East, while Temple, Saint Joseph's, and La Salle joined the Atlantic 10; Penn is a member of the Ivy League), and as college basketball became increasingly driven by television and its need to appeal to a broad national audience, the local character of the Big 5 became a liability. Starting with the 1986–87 season, Temple and Villanova began to move their home Big 5 games from the Palestra to their home arenas, and eventually, Temple head coach John Chaney and Villanova head coach Rollie Massimino sought to abandon the round-robin format to schedule more premier non-conference opponents. The men's round-robin series ended after the 1990–91 season.

From 1991–92 to 1998–99, teams only played two other opponents in Big 5 play as opposed to the normal four. In the 1999–00 season, the men's round-robin series was revived and continued until the 2022–23 season. However, the revival resulted in some changes, as the schools would no longer evenly split the proceeds from the games, and the Palestra was no longer used for every game in the series.

The Big 5 formed intense rivalries among some of the schools. The most notable is the rivalry between Saint Joseph's and Villanova, also known as the Holy War. The rivalry is influenced by the two schools' Catholic affiliations, with Saint Joseph's being a Jesuit university, and Villanova being Augustinian.

The rivalry between Saint Joseph's and Temple saw increased tension in the 2000s after an incident known as "Goon Gate". In a 2005 matchup between the two schools, Temple head coach John Chaney, who was frustrated with the officiating in the game, ordered his players to intentionally foul Saint Joseph's forward John Bryant, a move that Chaney described as sending in "the goons". Bryant fractured his arm as a result of the fouling, drawing anger from many Saint Joseph's fans, and Chaney's actions were seen as highly unsportsmanlike. Chaney would serve a suspension for the remainder of the season as a result of the incident.

Following Villanova's national championships in 2016 and 2018, a debate has emerged among Philadelphia sports fans about whether Villanova should be classified as a "Philly school", along with whether their national championships should be considered part of Philadelphia sports. Fans of other Big 5 schools contend that Villanova does not qualify because its campus is outside Philadelphia's city limits. In contrast, Villanova fans argue that because the team plays select home games are at the Wells Fargo Center, and that their championship parades in both 2016 and 2018 were held in Center City, Philadelphia, the school has a clear connection to the city.

Addition of Drexel and Big 5 Classic (2023–present)

Throughout the Big 5's existence, some suggested adding Drexel. Drexel is a member of the City 6, which is an intra-city intramural competition among the six schools. These talks amplified during the 2006–07 season, as Drexel beat three of the four Big 5 teams it played, but no changes were made.

In December 2022, ''The Athletic'' reported that administrators at the Big 5 schools and Drexel were discussing "trying to find a way to resuscitate the Big 5." The meetings came after a sparsely attended Big 5 doubleheader at the Palestra. According to ''The Athletic'', talks about reforms to the Big 5 began prior to the doubleheader as school administrators felt there was a decline in the series due to Villanova's recent dominance and many of the top local recruits opting not to play college basketball in Philadelphia.

In January 2023, the Big 5 announced a new format for the men's competition, which would include the addition of Drexel as a member of the series. In the new format, the six teams are split into two three-team pods, who play each other in November. On the first Saturday in December, the "Big 5 Classic", a triple-header showcase event, is held with a fifth place, third place, and championship game all taking place at the Wells Fargo Center. Some criticized the move as it eliminated the full round-robin nature of the Big 5 and games would no longer be primarily played at the Palestra.

In June 2024, the athletic directors of the Big 5 member schools introduced the women's Big 5 Classic, along with the addition of Drexel for the women's competition. Like the men's showcase, the six teams are split into the same two pods, and a same-day, triple-header event is held on the day before the men's edition of the showcase, the first Friday in December. However, unlike the men's showcase, the women's event is held at the Finneran Pavilion, located on the campus of Villanova University.

Current members

Annual winners

Men

From 1955–56 to 1990–91, and again from 1999–00 to 2022–23, all Big 5 men's basketball teams played each other once per season for a total of four games per team. Since 1956, there have been three instances of a five-way tie among all member schools, which occurred in 1980–81 (2–2 records), 1991–92 (1–1 records), and 1997–98 (1–1 records), though the latter two cases were during the period when there was no full round-robin series, so not every team played all four other teams.

Round-robin play (1955–2023)

Big 5 Classic (2023–present)

Most championships

List of national championships

NCAA tournament

National Invitation Tournament

Women

Round-robin play (1979–2024)

Big 5 Classic (2024–present)

Most championships

Other uses

Although known primarily of an association of the Philadelphia college basketball teams, students from Big 5 schools also coordinate frequent student government meetings. The governments consist of La Salle, the University of Pennsylvania, Temple, Saint Joseph's, and Drexel. Prior to Drexel's admission to the Big 5, the school would typically be represented instead of Villanova due to meetings primarily revolving around issues in Philadelphia proper. Villanova is the only Big 5 college not located within the city limits.

Notes

References

External links

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Philadelphia Big 5
1955 establishments in Pennsylvania
College basketball rivalries in the United States
Drexel Dragons basketball
History of college basketball in the United States
La Salle Explorers basketball
Organizations established in 1955
Penn Quakers basketball
Saint Joseph's Hawks basketball
Sports in Philadelphia
Temple Owls basketball
Villanova Wildcats basketball
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