College Sports
A lot more than just the Big 5
Army/Navy Game
One of the greatest rivalries in college football has called Philadelphia its home for the majority of its history. The fiercely competitive Army-Navy game has been played in Philadelphia for 78 of its 105 years.
As a neutral site conveniently located between the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, Philadelphia was an easy choice for the Army-Navy game, which the city now enjoys as its unofficial bowl game. In 2005, the game will be played in the new Lincoln Financial Field, which will host the Army-Navy game every year through 2009, except 2007.
The “Big 5”
In addition to a rich professional basketball history, the city of Philadelphia is home to what is affectionately known as the “Big 5.” Born in 1955, the “Big 5” is a battle for basketball bragging rights between five local universities: Villanova, Penn, Temple, St. Joe’s and LaSalle.
The “Big 5” has produced one NCAA Champion and one Final Four team in Villanova and Penn, respectively. The Wildcats brought the NCAA title home when they pulled off the biggest upset in tournament history, knocking off Georgetown in 1985.
Great players and coaches have come from Big 5 schools, including John Chaney, Tom Gola, Lionel Simmons, Aaron McKie, Eddie Jones, David “Corky” Calhoun, Steve Bilsky, Dr. Jack Ramsay, John Baum and Guy Rodgers.
At the start of the 1979-80 season, the athletic directors of the five schools expanded the group to include the women’s basketball programs from each of their schools. Helping to first put women’s basketball on the map in Philadelphia were the “Mighty Macs” from Immaculata College. The Macs ruled women’s basketball in the early 1970s by winning three consecutive championships from 1972–1974.
The Penn Relays
The University of Pennsylvania’s historic Franklin Field, which hosted the Army-Navy game 18 times between 1899 and 1935, is the site of one of the nation’s most storied track meets, the Penn Relays. A late April tradition, the Penn Relays date back 109 years and attract top-notch track stars for one weekend of intense competition and collegiate activity in May.