The dates and locations for the men’s and women’s Big 5 Classic are set.
The men’s classic will be held at Xfinity Mobile Arena for the fourth consecutive year on Dec 5. Meanwhile, the women’s classic will come to the Palestra on Dec 6.
The choice of Palestra for the women’s classic coincides with the 100-year anniversary of the storied arena. The event was held at Villanova’s Finneran Pavilion for its first two years.
Along with the women’s Big 5 Classic, Penn is hosting an expanded Cathedral Classic during Thanksgiving weekend and the men’s and women’s Ivy League tournaments this season.
In the case of the larger Big Five Classic, both events will feature the city’s six Division I programs playing in a tripleheader. Seeding will be once again be determined by the teams’ performance in pod play. Each pod will see its respective teams play against one another at the schools’ on-campus arenas in a round-robin format.
𝐀 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 🏛️
We’re excited to announce that the Big 5 Classic returns to University City this year to celebrate the 100th anniversary of The Palestra! 🔴🔵
📰| https://t.co/bBNoqAUfea#FightOnPenn x #Palestra100 pic.twitter.com/cJJUmdPTMb
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— Penn Women’s Basketball (@PennWBB) August 25, 2026
For both the men and women, the teams that make up each pod are the same. Pod 1 will feature Drexel, Penn, and Saint Joseph’s while Pod 2 will consist of La Salle, Temple, and Villanova.
With St. Joe’s and Villanova separated for a second year in a row, fans of each program will have to hope the teams face one another in the Big 5 Classic. St. Joe’s won the first two iterations of the Big Five Classic, while Villanova enters this season as the defending champions after it trounced Penn, 90-63.
In the women’s championship, the Wildcats also came out on top, defeating St. Joe’s 76-70.