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What happened to the Big 5? The decline of Philly basketball’s one-time legendary alliance began a long time ago.
Local recruitment and attendance have dropped sharply, with only Villanova regularly expected in the NCAA Tournament, reflecting shifts in college basketball's landscape.
- Recently, the Philadelphia 'Big 5' has seen its rivalries lose energy, with only Villanova now entering seasons expecting NCAA Tournament qualification.
- Television and conference moves shifted incentives, with historic deals expanding national rights and scheduling constraints making city-series participation harder, including Villanova's push to cut back games.
- A Palestra doubleheader drew just 3,300, illustrating declining crowds and shrinking local recruiting pipelines among Drexel, La Salle, and Penn.
- Panelists warned smaller programs face casualties, as interest in the city series has plummeted and the Big 5 as a Philadelphia institution has weakened.
- At a La Salle panel, analysts discussed the Big 5's fate and noted modest on-court improvements have not reversed the broader decline.
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The Billings Gazette+21 Reposted by 21 other sources
What happened to the Big 5? The decline of Philly basketball’s one-time legendary alliance began a long time ago.
PHILADELPHIA — One afternoon in early December, Bill Raftery and Tim Legler, both La Salle alumni, returned to campus for an hourlong panel discussion about their careers in sports media, only to have the conversation shift to a topic with…
·Billings, United States
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Total News Sources22
Leaning Left2Leaning Right0Center19Last UpdatedBias Distribution90% Center
Bias Distribution
- 90% of the sources are Center
90% Center
C 90%
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