Twelve hours after the five Philadelphia-based Big 5 schools announced they would move forward with a men’s basketball round robin that does not include Villanova, Kevin Willard said the development was “disappointing” and “not a Villanova decision.”
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Willard, who addressed the news of a Big 5 split after Villanova’s 93-71 exhibition loss to Virginia at the Finneran Pavilion, criticized an Inquirer story from Thursday morning that detailed the events resulting in the six schools not coming to an agreement on a format for 2027-28. Willard later confirmed the essential details of that report.
Villanova was not interested in continuing with the current format, which saw the six teams split into two pods to play two games, round-robin style, to determine seeding for the Big 5 Classic tripleheader.
“This was not a Villanova thing,” Willard said in response to a question from The Inquirer. “[Villanova is] the Big 5. But unfortunately either people are illiterate, which I don’t think they are, or you’re just a bad writer.”
In regards to Kevin Willard blaming Temple: according to multiple sources, Temple wasn’t the only school that wasn’t going to sign off on the format that Villanova wanted. https://t.co/EtjQgT2C6M
— Jeff Neiburg (@Jeff_Neiburg) October 23, 2026
Willard called details in The Inquirer’s story “false,” arguing that Villanova “didn’t opt out.”
Asked if Villanova was still interested in continuing in the current format, Willard called the format “stupid.”
Willard passed the blame to Temple athletic director Arthur Johnson, who he said blocked an alternate format.
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According to sources who have familiarity with the negotiations, one of the formats under discussion would have seen the two teams with the highest NET ranking from the previous season earn a bye and a home game leading into the Big 5 Classic. Given the ongoing disparity between Villanova and the rest of the Big 5 — Villanova finished last season 34th in NET, and St. Joseph’s was the next Big 5 school at No. 111 — Villanova would have been unlikely in the near term to play another Big 5 road game.
“That doesn’t mean we were guaranteed not to be on the road, I just guess the other schools just didn’t think that would ever happen,” Willard said. “Not my issue.”
While Willard criticized Temple for rejecting that format, sources who have familiarity with the negotiations said Temple was not the only school unwilling to sign off on that proposal.
Willard said he “would love to play at the Palestra” and said he may call Penn coach Fran McCaffery to set up a home-and-home, but said “I’m not going to go to La Salle and play in front of 400 people. No, that’s not going to happen.”
Home games for Villanova in the era of revenue sharing have become more important than ever. The Wildcats’ road game in pod play this year at Temple is one of only a handful of games on the college basketball calendar this season featuring a power-conference team playing a true road game against a team from outside a power conference.
The current format had Villanova and other Big 5 schools playing one home game and one road game in pod play before playing in the Big 5 Classic. The Big 5 Classic, in which revenue from ticket sales is split among the six schools and Xfinity Mobile Arena, includes reduced ticket proceeds compared to what a school could receive for a true home game.
“The other schools wanted us to play on the road every year,” Willard said. “I have to do what’s best for my program.”
Read more Big 5 men’s basketball schools to move forward with round-robin format without Villanova in 2027-28