The Holy War is a basketball rivalry game in the Philadelphia Big 5 between Saint Joseph's University and Villanova University, which is considered the most intense of all the Big 5 games. It's called the "Holy War" because both universities have Roman Catholic religious affiliations: Villanova University is Augustinian, and Saint Joseph's University run by the Jesuit order. Recent games between the two schools have been played in February during ESPN's Rivalry Week, either at the Palestra on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania when Saint Joseph's hosts the game, or at The Pavilion when Villanova is the host. However, the Hawks hosted the Wildcats at Hagan Arena on Saint Joseph's campus on December 17, 2011.
Villanova leads the all-time series, 43-25 and 32-25 as members of the Big 5. Villanova had won eleven of the twelve meetings since the first game took place in 1921, until the formation of the Big Five in the 1955-56 season. While normally all Big 5 games are played at the Palestra, Jay Wright has refused to host home games anywhere other than on Villanova's campus. In 2011, Saint Joseph's hosted the Holy War for the first time in the history of the rivalry at Hagan Arena (a 74-58 rout for SJU).
Don DiJulia, athletic director at Saint Joseph's has called the rivalry the "Army-Navy of basketball".[1]
[edit] History of the programs
| Category |
Hawks |
Wildcats |
| Perfect Seasons |
1 |
0 |
| NCAA Championships |
0 |
1 |
| Wooden Player of the Year |
1 |
0 |
| Naismith Coach of the Year |
1 |
0 |
| NCAA Final Fours |
1 |
4 |
| Elite Eights |
2 |
12 |
| Sweet Sixteens |
6 |
18 |
| NCAA Tournament Berths |
18 |
30 |
| Conference Tournament Championships |
4 |
3 |
| Conference Regular Season Championships |
7 |
7 |
[edit] Recent history
Since 2003, Villanova leads the series over Saint Joseph's 6-4:
3 February 2003 : @ The Palestra : Saint Joseph's 92 Villanova 75
2 February 2004 : @ The Pavilion : Saint Joseph's (#3) 74 Villanova 67
7 February 2005 : @ The Palestra : Villanova (#22) 67 Saint Joseph's 52
6 February 2006 : @ The Palestra : Villanova (#4) 71 Saint Joseph's 58
6 February 2007 : @ The Pavilion : Villanova 56 Saint Joseph's 39
4 February 2008 : @ The Palestra : Saint Joseph's 77 Villanova 55
11 December 2008 : @ The Pavilion : Villanova 59 Saint Joseph's 56
9 December 2009 : @ The Palestra : Villanova (#3) 97 Saint Joseph's 89
3 December 2010 : @ The Pavilion : Villanova (#12) 71 Saint Joseph's 60
17 December 2011: @ Hagan Arena: Saint Joseph's 74 Villanova 58
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