PHILADELPHIA (AP) 鈥� The Big 5 has expanded with the addition of Drexel this season in women's basketball, the sixth Division I program to join the famed Philly hoops tradition.
Drexel will now make up the rest of the city series teams with Penn, La Salle, Temple, Saint Joseph鈥檚 and Villanova. The Dragons in men鈥檚 basketball last season. The women鈥檚 city champion will be crowned in the Big 5 Classic tripleheader at Villanova on Dec. 6.
The men鈥檚 Big 5 Classic will be held Dec. 7 at the Wells Fargo Center. The Big 5 and the city's NBA arena announced an agreement Thursday to hold the Classic for the next three seasons.
Saint Joseph鈥檚 won last season鈥檚 . The Big 5 listed total attendance of 15,215 for the first Classic.
The Big 5 鈥� the name was coined by Philadelphia Inquirer sports writer Herb Good 鈥� was officially formed in 1954, and the schools started round-robin play for 鈥淐ity Series鈥� bragging rights in 1955. The first game was 69 years ago when Saint Joseph鈥檚 beat Villanova 83-70 on Dec. 14, 1955, in front of 2,636 fans at the Palestra.
The women鈥檚 and men鈥檚 pods will have Penn, Saint Joseph鈥檚 and Villanova in one section, and Drexel, La Salle and Temple in another. The winners of each pod will meet in the Big 5 Classic championship game. The site of the Women鈥檚 Big 5 Classic will also rotate on a yearly basis to other sites that will be determined another time.
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