The Guru Report: The Big Five Enacts the Local Men’s Tournament Format for the Women With a Triple Header Classic Finish Played at Villanova While Completing the Two-Year Welcome to Drexel

Guru’s note: More coverage will exist over Aaron Bracy’s Big5Hoops.com website Friday morning.

By Mel Greenberg @womhoopsguru

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Coincidentally, on the 80th anniversary of the World War II D-Day allied landings on the shores of France, the Big 5 at a press conference Thursday morning here at Villanova’s Finneran Pavilion, officially revealed its own new major historical moments, announcing the finishing embrace of Drexel with the addition of the Dragons women a year after welcoming the men.

Furthermore, the women’s City Series now mirrors the men’s move of a year ago into a tournament format — two three-team pod groups hosting games on campus and a triple-header Women’s Big 5 Classic to be held here on Dec. 6 — the matchups determined out of the records at the pod level for games to decide 5th, 3rd and 1st place, which last year saw the Saint Joseph’s men sweep to the title in the new format beating Temple in the championship at the Wells Fargo Center.

In the old 10-game round-robin format, the Saint Joseph’s women last season swept 4-0 to the City Series crown, a setup the local five women’s squads have played every season since organizing ahead of 1979-80 except in 2020-21 when the COVID-19 pandemic played havoc causing game cancellations.

And at the business level, Comcast Spectacor chief executive officer Dan Hilferty, also a governor of the NHL Flyers, has been named Lead Ambassador to the Big 5.

The women’s pod arrangement will match the men, who will repeat with the same groups this season — Saint Joseph’s, Villanova, and Penn on one side; Drexel, Temple, and La Salle on the other.

After this winter, both genders will stay synchronized and rotate every two years.

The women of Temple and Saint Joseph’s, who could only meet in a crossover game this winter through hooking up at the Classic, have scheduled another game outside the format, both veteran Hawks coach Cindy Griffin and Owls coach Diane Richardson commenting it’s an easy local match that adds strength to both schedules with an eye toward building resumes for the NCAA tournament.

It is unknown whether others in the city at some point will also echo the move in some of their schedules. Saint Joseph’s and La Salle meet twice annually in-season as rivalry opponents in the Atlantic 10.

It’s possible the Hawks and Explorers could meet three times some years because of the A-10 schedule.

As for the addition of Drexel, whom Richardson faced at least twice annually in CAA competition in her previous job at Towson in suburban Baltimore, she said, “I am thrilled to have the ‘new’ format and so excited to include Drexel as a participant. This will now be a true Philadelphia championship event.”

As already noted, the six women’s squads will have their own Big 5 Classic, playing the inaugural triple-header here on Friday, December 6, and then also rotate annually to the other campus sites in an alignment to be announced at a future date.

Villanova athletic director Mark Jackson said in his remarks, it’s a day to involve all six Big 5 women’s teams in one venue.

It was also noted despite six teams, the brand will always be the Big 5, a precedent already set at conference levels where this season following realignment the Big Ten will have 18 members.

As for home court advantage where the Classic is played, La Salle women’s coach Mountain MacGillivray said, “There’s always going to be a home court advantage. But it’s a six-year rotation so each of us will have an equal turn.

“Being on campus allows for the best crowds so that’s why it’s being done this way.”

The Villanova ticket office is now accepting deposits for the women’s classic at https//villanova.revenue.net/events/WB5. Tickets officially go on sale on June 17.

During discussions last winter there was a preference by coaches for playing the women’s event in The Palestra at Penn, considering its history, which will eventually occur off the rotation.

Off the men’s success of a year ago, they will return to the Wells Fargo Center, home of the 76ers and Flyers in South Philadelphia, on December 7, a day after the women’s Classic, and will also continue the Big 5 Classic on their side for two more seasons in the current three-year deal, following a one-year arrangement that all parties agreed was successful.

Considering how the schedules will play out that week, with the right sponsors to help, the two-day women’s/men’s classics could possibly be associated with a preview social event in the afternoon or night at The Palestra to be held that Thursday in advance.

Additionally, if selectees are already known, the occasion could become a Big 5 Hall of Fame event with acceptance speeches, which didn’t occur last year.

One of the perks of giving Hilferty the new position is his ties in the corporate and marketing world.

Despite the disruption in 2020-21, postseason awards were still presented so it will be the 44th local competition for the women but the 45th anniversary season from the birth of the Big 5 Women.

Ahead of the 1979-80 season, it had been noted that for the first time all five women’s teams were to play each other, thus the required 10-game local schedule was already complete.

And so late in the fall of 1979, coaches, sports information directors, and some media met in a second-floor room provided by Doc Watson’s Pub, across from Jefferson Hospital, in Center City.

That was when the Big 5 on the men’s side was at its most popular and proponents among the women’s groups at the meeting noted the branding promotional benefits with marketing and TV, though there was some pushback on the men’s side initially before quickly fading away.

Thursday’s gathering here was far larger than at the women’s creation in 1979 and comes at a time the sport is at a zenith of popularity on the collegiate side as well as enjoying momentum at the pro level in the WNBA, which is considering Philadelphia on a short list of future expansion sites.

Though at the Big 5 level, this Women’s Classic set-up is more amendable, several Comcast individuals here noted a goal exists to bring some national women’s games into the Wells Fargo Center, as has been done at other big venues around the nation, which certainly would be a great test of the market for the WNBA.

Hilferty, a Saint Joseph’s alum, noted in his remarks the early Hawks women’s teams of yesteryear in the late 1970s when he was a student, mentioning now retired Hall of Fame Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw and Mary Sue Garrity, among several, who starred.

Being the 45th anniversary season, the occasion offers many celebratory opportunities alongside the games both within the City Series and outside in key conference games.

Former La Salle star Cheryl Reeve, coach of the WNBA Minnesota Lynx from South Jersey, is a former La Salle star who will coach the USA Women’s Olympians in Paris this summer, targeting an eighth straight gold medal.

Dawn Staley launched a successful coaching career at Temple near her North Philly home as well as being one of the all-time playing greats, who now has three NCAA titles, including last season’s unbeaten championship, and led USA to the gold in the summer of the 2021, delayed a year due to COVID.

Hall of Fame coach Geno Auriemma at UConn, who first was a women’s assistant to Jim Foster at Saint Joseph’s and grew up in Norristown, with a record 11 NCAA titles and two Olympic golds on the sidelines, this week signed a new extension and is set to become the all-time winningest Division I collegiate coach early next season.

The United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) recently announced that Auriemma’s name upon his retirement whenever that occurs will be associated with its annual women’s coach of the year award.

Recent Villanova star Maddy Siegrist is thriving in the WNBA with the Dallas Wings after being the third overall pick a year ago.

Temple alum Candice Dupree became an all-timer in the WNBA and will be launching her coaching career this winter at Tennessee State.

Penn, under Mike McLaughlin, has been one of the better Ivy teams with three titles in his resume.

Meanwhile, Drexel coach Amy Mallon spoke of her joy in formal remarks at the podium, as both Dragons squads are now officially members of the Big Five after years ago becoming an equal in ability to compete locally.

“It means so much to me,” Mallon said. “We always played these teams, not every year, but we had opportunities to win games and also lose them.

“They were always great games for us. Now, to put a title out there that we’re part of, this allows us to be part of that tradition and part of history.”

Mallon played one season at Saint Joseph’s after transferring from Richmond, coached Villanova’s Dillon as an assistant here, and then spent a long span as her associate head coach with the Dragons until promoted when Dillon four years ago returned to her alma mater after the legendary Harry Perretta retired.

Besides the three CAA tournament conference crowns and a national WNIT championship that have occurred at the West Philadelphia campus, at the outset of 2010-11 Drexel under Dillon showed its worth in local action getting off to a 4-0 overall start in 10 days winning at la Salle 86-55; and then at home beating Penn 62-31; Saint Joseph’s 50-47; and Villanova 56-50.

Although Drexel coaches and athletic directors usually got invitations to Big 5 social events, the barrier toward full inclusion locally continued, though the media finding a way to create some equally when talking of the overall local group when also addressing Drexel, termed it the Philly Six.

As soon as all the local women’s Big 5 games are set, the list will appear here.