What is the Big 5?
The Big 5 is an informal league of six colleges, originally consisting of St. Joe’s, Villanova, 5Temple, University of Pennsylvania and La Salle, founded in 1955. The recent addition of Drexel last season rounds out the six schools with a storied tradition in the city’s unique basketball rivalry.
When is the Big 5 Classic?
The women’s inaugural Big 5 Classic will be held Dec. 6 at Finneran Pavilion in a triple-header, matching the new format the men’s side adopted last season. The men’s second annual Big 5 Classic will be held the following day, Dec. 7, at the Wells Fargo Center.
Who is St. Joe’s playing?
The St. Joe’s women’s team will face Big 5 newcomers, the Drexel Dragons, in a 5:45 p.m. game, playing for third place. The men’s team will take on the La Salle Explorers in the 7 p.m. championship game, meaning the neighboring Atlantic 10 conference rivals will face each other three times this season: once in this city matchup outside conference play and twice during their A-10 Conference slate.
The other men’s games see Temple battling Villanova for third place and Drexel facing Penn for fifth place. On the women’s side, Temple will face Villanova in the championship game while Penn and La Salle play for fifth place.
Who are the reigning title holders?
St. Joe’s currently holds the Big 5 title on both the men’s and women’s side. The men’s team will play in the championship game once again for a chance to defend their title, while the women’s team will play in the third-place game in their first taste of the new format.
Which teams have the most titles?
Villanova has the most Big 5 titles on the men’s side, earning a piece of the title 29 times, with 17 of those times being an outright win. On the women’s side, Villanova has 17 Big 5 titles, with 10 of them being outright wins. When the title was based on teams’ records, it was common to see ties for the title, prior to the pod format the Big 5 now takes.
How do I get tickets?
Students can sign up for their free student tickets for both the men’s and women’s games throughout the week from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in Campion or 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the box office at Hagan Arena. For non-students, limited tickets are still available for the women’s games and can be purchased through Villanova’s website for $25. Tickets for the men’s games are available through the Wells Fargo Center website for $45. Tickets on both the men’s and women’s sides offer guaranteed admission to all three games of the triple-header.
