Worth keeping an eye on too I reckon. Personally, while I'm not super-invested in any one school, seeing these games at the WFC wasn't as interesting to me, but going back to the really old way obviously will never happen, especially since it's also Six now.
since its inception in 2023, the Big 5 Classic has restored some juice to the games that ‘Nova, Temple, St. Joseph’s, La Salle, Penn, and Drexel play against each other.
Would Willard be open to severing Villanova’s ties to the Big 5? He didn’t mind having Seton Hall’s 100-year series with St. Peter’s end on his watch, and he was not especially enthusiastic about the Pirates’ annual matchup against Rutgers for New Jersey supremacy — a game in which Seton Hall, traditionally the better program, had little to gain and a lot to lose. The New York Post once referred to him as the “rivalry grinch.” The Classic’s contract has two years left. Once the schools fulfill those obligations, it wouldn’t be all that shocking if Willard, maybe under the guise of seeking some early-season scheduling freedom, started inching Villanova toward an exit.
