Big 5 Classic

The Big 5 Classic returns to the Xfinity Mobile Arena on Saturday, December 5, bringing Philadelphia's most iconic college basketball tradition back to the city for another year. If you've followed the city's hoops scene for a while, you know the Big 5 is more than just a set of games—it's a piece of Philly sports history that goes back to the 1954-1955 season. Back then, the city's NCAA Division I men's programs—La Salle, Penn, Saint Joseph's, Temple, and Villanova, later joined by Drexel—played a round-robin series at the Palestra. For decades, that was the heart of college basketball in the city, but as attendance dipped, the series needed a change to keep it alive.

In January 2023, the schools adopted the format we're seeing now. The six teams are split into two pods of three, playing round-robin games at their own campuses throughout November. Then, they all converge on the Xfinity Mobile Arena for a same-day tripleheader, with the top seed from each pod competing for the championship. It's a high-stakes way to wrap up the series, and the titles have been shifting: Saint Joseph's took the first two in 2023 and 2024, and Villanova claimed the 2025 crown. Since 2024, Toyota has been the title sponsor, and NBC Sports Philadelphia carries the tripleheader live, so you can catch it from home if you can't make it in person.

There's a women's edition too, which launched in June 2024. It follows the same pod structure and is played at the Palestra on the first Sunday in December, keeping that connection to the original home of the series. Between the two, the city gets two separate Big 5 championships every winter—one at the Arena and one at the Palestra.

The men's tripleheader is set for Saturday, December 5, at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, with game times still to be announced. Keep an eye on the schedule as the date gets closer.