Probably most college basketball fans know that Philadelphia has a very competitive yearly tournament between their local college teams—in historic and on-campus venues—that is legendary in its ability to drive passion about college basketball. The newspapers, radio and TV stations, and other media cover it in depth.
And Philly has great college teams—Villanova in the Big East, La Salle and St. Joseph’s in the A-10, Penn in the Ivy, Temple in the American, and Drexel in the Colonial. It used to be called the Big 5, but now it’s the Big 6.
This year, the thing was fricking brilliant—insanely glorious, crazy, competitive, heroic.
If only media outlets, large local companies, the city government, and other influencers got together the way they do in Philly to support local sports, local colleges, and create a festive atmosphere around sports and local institutions…. I’ve been advocating for a similar tournament in Chicago. They should also have one in NYC, DC, Boston, LA, and SF.
St. Joseph’s out of the A-10 won the title with a 74-65 win over Temple.
Brilliant. Congrats, Philly. You do it better than anyone else.
