Big Five's return may revive pride in Philly basketball

Sporting News, The, May 10, 1999 by Mike DeCourcy

You've stepped indoors at Cameron Indoor Stadium to watch Duke's students hop around at courtside. You've counted the banner's at Pauley Pavilion, scalpel tickets at the Final Four and visited Allen Fieldhouse to hear Kansas fans singing "Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk"--whatever that means.

You may think you have covered it all, seen every spectacle this sport can offer, but that's not tree if you have yet to see a Big Five game. That has been kind of hard to do lately, but it won't be any longer.

The Big Five is not one of the NCAA's 31 Division I conferences. It is more than that. It is a piece of the game's rich tradition, a loose affiliation among Philadelphia schools that was far too loose in the past eight seasons.

Penn. St. Joseph's. Temple. La Salle. Villanova. Starting in 1999-2000, they will return the Big Five to what it should be, with each team playing the other four through the course of the season. The one with the best record will own a tree City Series championship, rather than the phonied-up title awarded in recent years for a mere two Big Five games each.

"It's got to be bigger than whatever our own intentions are, whatever any of the schools' intentions are," Villanova coach Steve Lappas says. "It's been here for a long time, and it's part of Philadelphia as much as soft pretzels and cheese steaks."

Villanova was largely responsible for ending the most indispensable Big Five traditions: playing all games at the Palestra and the everybody-meets-everybody schedule. The Wildcats pushed for games to be moved to home courts for financial reasons in 1987. In 1991, they cut back on Big Five games because of scheduling constraints.

In the coming season, they were to play Temple and La Salle. But with the Big East cutting its league schedule from 18 games to 16 and Villanova needing a boost in profile, Lappas and athletic director Tim Hofferth decided they would be well-served to revive the Big Five.

Half of the games each year will be played at the Palestra, with Temple and Villanova playing their home games on campus. Teams will try to sprinkle Big Five games throughout the season, so the competition for the city title will not be concentrated in December.

Drexel had to delay a game against St. Joseph's for a year to dear space on the Hawks' schedule. For the sake of Philadelphia basketball, the Dragons generously (and wisely) stepped aside.

"I think every school wins," St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli says. "I think we all have dormant basketball fans, and they remember this golden era, these golden games. Now that it's being revived, they'll be able to say, `My team is city champion' or `Your team stinks.' I think you'll be able to get those fans back."

Villanova-particularly former coach Rollie Massimmo-took plenty of grief for bailing on the Big Five. With Massimmo recruiting few Philadelphia-area players, Villanova increasingly was viewed by the others' fans as an uppity, self-absorbed suburban school. Which, of course, only made St. Joe's and Temple and La Salle want to play and beat the Wildcats more.

"As far as we were concerned, it was a no-brainer," Lappas says. "We know what it means to Philly basketball."

No other city can claim five schools that each made trips to the Final Four. Even players and teams that would best be forgotten, however, have the capacity to thrill in the context of the Big Five. In February 1989, a Villanova team that was on the way to an 18-16 finish was challenged by a St. Joseph's team that wound up 8-21.

There was every reason for an outsider to expect a through-the-motions game in a half-full gymnasium. Instead, the Palestra was packed, and the fans filling it were delirious with intensity.

It's uncommon enough to come across a great game between great teams during a college basketball season. Where else can you find this sort of show when the teams are crummy? This is not what the Big Five aspires to be, but it's one more thing that makes it unique.

Mike DeCourcy covers college basketball for the Cincinnati Enquirer. E-mail him at decourcy@sportingnews.com.

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