Yao | The future of the Big 5 Women’s Classic

On June 6, 2024, the Philadelphia Big 5 Athletic Directors made two huge announcements. The first welcomed Drexel University as the newest member of the Big 5. The second was that the inaugural Women’s Big 5 Classic would be held at Villanova’s Finneran Pavilion on Friday, December 6, 2024.

The news came a year after the men’s side saw the same changes. The only difference? The men’s side saw the triple-header thriller finding a permanent home at the Wells Fargo Center. 

While there has been no announcement regarding whether or not the women’s version of the event will continue being played at Finneran Pavilion, officials seem intent on eventually having the women’s and men’s teams both playing at the Wells Fargo Center.

“I do see a point in the not-too-distant future, hopefully after we celebrate the Palestra’s 100th [year], where this will obviously be moved to the Wells Fargo and you can celebrate both the men and women in that building,” Penn’s Head Athletic Director Alanna Wren said at the time of the announcement.

Interest in women’s sports, especially basketball, is currently at an all-time high after a season in which former Iowa guard Caitlin Clark put the sport at the forefront of college sports in general. It only makes sense to capitalize on this increased expression of interest by getting as many eyes on Philadelphia’s own collegiate women’s basketball scene as possible.

At this year’s inaugural tournament, I couldn’t notice how empty the stands were for the early Penn vs. La Salle fifth place game. Even though the game happened at a less-than-ideal time, the trend continued for the rest of the matchups. Attendance for the championship game later that night between Villanova and Temple was 1,526, paling in comparison to attendance at the men’s championship game between St. Joseph’s and La Salle the next day, which was 14,108. 

The appeal of having the women’s play right before the men’s immediately goes a long way toward getting more eyes on the women’s side of the game. In a city with no professional women’s teams but plenty of Philly spirit to go around, this would easily be the best way to get more people to be more aware of the talented programs in the area and to achieve exponential growth in terms of support for the teams. 

Would this decision be the right one though?

It’s certainly one that many of the women’s coaches haven’t necessarily bought into. They don’t necessarily believe that combining with the men’s is a necessary step in boosting viewership. Instead, they think that the quality of the games being played will be more than enough to engage more fans to come out for future editions of the event. 

Currently, women’s basketball is performing as strong as it has ever been in the city. At this year’s event, all six teams entered with records above 0.500. And, all three games were competitive for long stretches of the game. In comparison to the men’s teams, even going back to pod play, scores were much closer, making for much more intense matchups. 

“Traditions tend to attract so as it builds momentum, and people hear about how good it was this year, that can be good going forward,” La Salle coach Mountain MacGillivray said. “… [The Big 5 has] a strong, high level of basketball, and we want to keep that going. So if all these teams stay competitive, and [since] it's a really well-hosted event… the word will spread. More and more people will come.”

The alternative to playing at Wells Fargo would be having schools rotate which one hosts the annual event. Most of the schools are willing — if not eager — to host. 

“Absolutely,” MacGillivray said when asked about La Salle’s interest in hosting the event. “I can't speak for my AD, but I'd say the sooner, the better.”

And the selection of stadiums isn’t lacking. Finneran Pavilion has already proven itself to be a more than worthy venue to hold an event of this magnitude. After winning this year’s event, Temple is also gunning for the opportunity to bring more eyes and spectators to Liacouras Center. There is also the historic Palestra, which is often called the Cathedral of College Basketball for a reason. 

“The Palestra is a phenomenal place — I’m a little biased there, of course,” Penn coach Mike McLaughlin said. “As long as we get together like this and we create an atmosphere, and we create excitement for these athletes, I think it’s a win-win for all of us.”

This approach would keep the focus of the event on the women. If combined with the men’s side, there is no doubt that most of the media attention would go to the men’s teams. By keeping the Women’s Big 5 Classic a stand-alone event, it guarantees that everyone in attendance will be there for the female athletes on the teams. 

“I think if we continue to do a great job promoting our women’s teams,” McLaughlin said. “This will be a great event for years.”

I went into writing this column fully believing that there could be nothing cooler than future Penn students getting to watch Penn women’s and men’s basketball play in back-to-back championship games at Wells Fargo Center. 

But after fully considering what it means for the women’s game to have its own stand-alone tournament, I’m no longer sure if combining the two is the right move for the future of the conference. I do know that Big 5 women’s basketball is in a great spot and that it should continue to thrive no matter what the decision ends up being.

VIVIAN YAO is a junior and current DP sports editor studying Bioengineering from Clarksville, MD. All comments should be directed to dpsports@thedp.com.