It’s a big weekend in Philadelphia for college basketball fans. In Division I men’s and women’s basketball, the city champions are crowned.
In this city, rivalries go back decades. Talking nonsense with friends, relatives and colleagues.
But when the dust settles this weekend, only two teams will have ultimate bragging rights.
The lights will be bright at Villanova on Friday when the school hosts the first Big 5 women’s championship.
“We have 6,500 seats here. I honestly think this is the perfect location for something like this,” said Brian Beacham, Villanova’s Senior Associate Athletic Director and Chief Athletics Operating Officer.
La Salle and Penn play for fifth place.
St. Joe’s and Drexel will battle for third place, and the hosts will face Temple for the title.
“It’s great to host and play in that championship game,” Villanova women’s head coach Denise Dillon said.
Villanova is ready for the task, having hosted the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament two years ago.
“This is something we as a board at Villanova have been working on since June,” Beacham said. “The majority of the details are about the facility and how we make three games work here in a six- to eight-hour period.”
The goal is to eventually move the Women’s Big 5 Classic to the Wells Fargo Center.
For the second year under this new format, the Men’s Big 5 Classic will be held Saturday in South Philly.
“From the setup to the shootarounds and the game presentation, everything is mapped out in advance. It’s just months of organization and coordination,” says Michael Sulkes, business director of the Big 5 Men’s Classic.
One ticket gives you access to all three games, but the organizers want to combine old-school traditions with new-school ideas. Fans leaving the arena can get a wristband to get back in, Sulkes said.
“We felt this was absolutely necessary to keep the spirit of the Big 5 alive – combining those old-school traditions like the streamers and the rollout with the brand new location,” Sulkes said.
Penn and Drexel will play for fifth place. Temple and Villanova will meet in the third-place match, and La Salle and St. Joe’s will play for the crown.
“That’s a moment for La Salle University – versus defending champion St. Joe’s – that the old format would never have created,” Sulkes said. “That’s what we were looking for. We’re really excited about Saturday to see how it turns out.”
The Toyota-presented men’s Big 5 Classic tournament concludes with three matches on Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center, while the women’s tournament concludes on Friday on the Main Line.
