Kevin Willard says Villanova didn't quit the Big 5 and calls its format stupid

Philadelphia's Big 5 is splitting up, and Villanova coach Kevin Willard says it isn't his school's fault.

On Thursday, Penn, La Salle, Temple, Saint Joseph's and Drexel announced they will play a men's basketball round robin without Villanova starting in 2027-28. The Big 5 Classic tripleheader ends after this season's Dec. 5 event at Xfinity Mobile Arena, per the AP. About 12 hours later, after a 93-71 exhibition loss to Virginia, Willard pushed back.

"This was not a Villanova thing," he said, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. "[Villanova is] the Big 5." He said Villanova "didn't opt out," and when asked whether the school still wanted the current format, he called it "stupid."

Who blocked what

Willard blamed Temple athletic director Arthur Johnson, saying Johnson blocked an alternate format. According to the Inquirer's sources, one proposal would have given the two teams with the best NET ranking from the previous season a bye and a home game before the Classic. Villanova finished 34th in NET last season. Saint Joseph's was the next-best Big 5 team at 111th.

In practice, that format would have kept Villanova at home most years. "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."

The Inquirer reported that Temple was not the only school unwilling to sign off on that plan.

The La Salle line

Willard said he "would love to play at the Palestra" and might call Penn coach Fran McCaffery about a home-and-home. Then he added: "I'm not going to go to La Salle and play in front of 400 people. No, that's not going to happen."

The five remaining schools said in a joint statement that a full round robin with home and away games "will sustain traditional rivalries while providing valuable scheduling stability."

Why it matters

The Big 5 dates to 1954. In the revenue-sharing era, home games matter more than ever to a Big East program, and Willard's comments make clear Villanova saw little value in road trips across town. The other five schools chose a format that works for them without Villanova. Villanova still plays its pod game at Temple this season before the final Classic in December.