The current Big 5 men’s basketball format will cease to exist after the 2026-27 season.
A three-year deal that saw the six teams split into two groups to play two round-robin games to determine seeding for the Big 5 Classic tripleheader at Xfinity Mobile Arena ends after this season.
While it’s possible a Big 5 Classic could remain intact with an annual triple, the current format will no longer be after Villanova was not interested in maintaining the status quo, according to sources. A different configuration that Villanova found itself in — one that would all but guarantee the Wildcats would not have to play another Big 5 road game — could not be agreed to by all six schools.
Instead, the five non-Villanova schools decided to continue the more than 70-year-old tradition with a round-robin tournament.
“These institutions are united in their commitment to preserving the history and enhancing the future of Philadelphia’s Big 5,” the five schools said in a joint statement. “The round-robin format represents a revival of the competitive spirit that has defined the city’s college basketball landscape for more than 70 years, while preserving the future of a uniquely Philadelphia partnership.”
The six schools, meanwhile, are working on the possibility of a one-day Big 5 Classic tripleheader continuing into the future, sources said.
The writing was seemingly on the wall for Villanova not to advance in the current format over the last year as the contract neared its end and Kevin Willard took over Villanova’s program and studied its schedule.
“When you play 20 conference games, playing an A-10 road game every year is really tough,” Willard said in an interview with The Inquirer in June 2025, a few months after accepting the job. “You’re also taking away a home game when revenue has become extremely important.”
The argument is that the current structure — formed in 2023 with the addition of Drexel in an effort to revitalize Philadelphia’s long tradition that had both become stale and lost fan interest — takes away two potential home ticket gates at Villanova, which regularly sells most or all of the tickets at its 6,500-seat Finneran Pavilion. One is the automatic road game from the two pod-play contests, the other is the Big 5 Classic itself, which splits the ticket sales pot seven ways among the six schools and the building.
» LEARN MORE: Four things we learned from Villanova’s 84-67 win over George Mason
That’s hundreds of thousands of dollars in revenue that Villanova isn’t bringing in by scheduling home games, or even buying games against some of the smaller conference opponents it pays to come to the mainline. Villanova will play a road game at Temple this season under the current format and last season at La Salle, where the home team failed to fill its 3,000-seat arena.
How many power conference teams in today’s college basketball landscape play true road games against mid-majors? The answer is not zero, but it is not numerous. Only two Big East teams will play a road game in 2026-27 against an Atlantic 10 opponent. One of them is Providence, which plays at rival Rhode Island. The other is DePaul, which plays a road game at St. Louis, the best team in the conference. Otherwise, power conference teams playing true road games against mid-sized conferences have all but disappeared.
These days, dollars are more important than ever.
The Wildcats, who aspire to be championship contenders, likely spend more on their men’s basketball team than the other five Big 5 schools combined. The gap between Villanova — the only Big 5 program in a power conference with a major TV deal — and the rest of the schools has only widened on paper because of it.
Villanova struggled during the first few seasons of the new Big 5 Classic design, but Willard’s team won its three Big 5 contests last year by an average of 20 points, including a 90-63 victory over Penn. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see that happen again this season as the Wildcats field a team that received multiple votes in the first Associated Press Top 25 poll of the season.
It could be argued that the current format isn’t perfect for non-Villanova schools, some of which could generate more revenue by getting money to play a road game against a major-conference opponent. But sources said the other five were interested in maintaining the status quo.
» LEARN MORE: Kevin Willard believes his new Villanova team has closed the gap between the Wildcats and the Big East powers
“In recent years, the changing landscape of the NCAA has prompted institutions to evaluate how their athletics programs align with broader institutional priorities,” the non-Villanova schools said in a statement. “After extensive discussions and consideration of the interests and goals of all involved, the decision was made to move forward with Philadelphia’s Big 5 Men’s Championship format without the participation of Villanova.”
The future of the women’s version of the Big 5 competition is expected to include all six schools, according to sources, although nothing has been finalized.
The men’s event saw a significant drop in interest last year, reviving crowds keen to see the tripleheader event take place at the 8,700-seat Palestra. Announced attendance at Xfinity Mobile Arena for last year’s Big 5 Classic dropped to 10,361, about half the arena’s capacity and down from more than 15,000 in 2023 and more than 14,000 in 2024.
This year’s men’s event is scheduled for December 5 at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
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