Last year, Big 5 officials held a series of meetings to brainstorm ways to rejuvenate the city tradition that was in danger of wearing thin. A 2022 doubleheader at the Palestra that barely filled half the 8,700-seat venue sparked serious conversations about how to re-excite longtime Philadelphia college hoops fans.
Prior to the 2023-24 season, a new format was implemented that added Drexel to the Big 5 and split the six teams into two pods. Based on the results of pod games, teams would play in placement games in a triple-header at the Wells Fargo Center. The event, by all accounts, succeeded in resparking excitement around the Big 5.
There was just one problem — the women’s Big 5 didn’t get the same treatment.
The Big 5 has always existed in women’s basketball, just to a much lesser extent of popularity. Before the 2024-25 season, the Big 5 announced a new women’s format that mirrored the men’s.
Implementing the same Big 5 Classic format as the men gave the women’s game a chance to grow and step into the spotlight. Temple took home the first-ever Big 5 Classic championship on Dec. 6, but more importantly, the event shined light on women’s basketball in Philadelphia and gave the sport a chance for growth. Despite the improvements, there is still a lot that can be done to help the women’s Big 5 grow in the years to come.
“When I first came to Philly, I didn’t understand the magnitude of the Big 5 because I was a foreigner,” said Temple head coach Diane Richardson. “Just being here these two years, I realized that this is a big deal and it’s big for women’s basketball. Especially this year when we have so much exposure.”
The one major difference between the men’s Big 5 format and the women’s is the triple-header location. The men’s tournament takes place at the 21,000-seat Wells Fargo Center while women’s will rotate through campus sites. This year it was held at Villanova’s Finneran Pavilion.
Before arriving at the Finneran Pavilion, each team played two campus games against teams within their pod. The Owls took down Drexel at home on Nov. 23 and beat La Salle on the road on Dec. 1 to earn a spot in the championship game against Villanova.
In the championship game, Temple pulled away with a 76-62 win in front of what was essentially a Villanova home crowd. The game was an exciting back-and-forth battle and the crowd’s electricity could be felt at multiple pivotal moments.
“It means a lot [to win the Big 5 Classic championship], especially being in the heart of Philadelphia,” said Temple guard Tiarra East. “To bring the championship back there is really important for us. That’s what we wanted and what we worked for.”
For its inaugural year, the event was a success and showed how popular women’s basketball could be. But there were still evident signs of the women’s side lagging behind the men.
The women’s Big 5 classic was not promoted nearly as much as the men’s Big 5 classic on multiple team’s Instagram accounts. On the official Temple Athletics Instagram, the men’s event was promoted twice, while the women’s event only got one promotional post which was a combined promotion with the men’s team.
The Saint Joseph’s athletics account used a similar promotion strategy. The men’s Big 5 classic had two promotional posts pushing students to attend the game. The women’s Big 5 classic had just one promotional post, which was a combined post also promoting the men’s event. The lack of all-around promotion certainly did not help attendance numbers for the women’s event.
The attendance for the women’s Big 5 Classic championship was 1,526, according to ESPN. The crowd was loud and into the game between Temple and Villanova, but even with it being at Villanova’s home stadium there were a lot of empty seats. In comparison, the men’s Big 5 Cclassic championship drew more than 15,000 fans last season and more than 14,000 fans this season.
Holding the event at Villanova, which is almost a 45 minute drive from Temple’s Main Campus and equally as far to other Big 5 schools, may have also hurt the attendance. The Finneran Pavilion is not accessible to a lot of people who live in the city. The event is set to rotate through different campuses and attendance could rise if the games took place at an arena like The Liacouras Center or The Palestra.
“I think it’s just continuing to get every school involved with the promotion of [the event],” said Villanova head coach Denise Dillon. “I would certainly like each and every school to bring their fan base so we can make this event even better.”
While the attendance numbers could have been better for the women’s Big 5 Classic, the turnout is encouraging for year one of the event. The fans who were there made their presence felt and made the games fun, especially the championship game.
Women’s college basketball has been rapidly growing across the country. Stars like Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers helped elevate the game into the national spotlight. After being hidden in the shadow of the men’s game for years, women’s basketball is finally receiving the recognition it deserves.
The first year of the Women’s Big 5 Classic showed what women’s basketball could become in Philadelphia. The game is growing and the Big 5 Classic is the latest step in leveling up women’s basketball. The event will be back in the coming years, hopefully with more fanfare so more people can see that the Big 5 is more than just men’s basketball.
“This is awesome,” Richardson said. “The feel of it is really great and it’s great that Philadelphia is shining a light on women’s basketball. We’ve probably played in the shadows for a long time, but this kind of exposure and this tournament can shine the light back onto women’s basketball and we can catch the wave.”
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