Access is granted in accordance with the
Protocols for the University Archives and Records Center.
PROVENANCE
Transferred to the Archives in 1997.
ARRANGEMENT
The Collection has been divided into three series: 1. Administrative
Records, 1954-1994; 2. Scrapbooks, 1956-1974; 3. Videotapes and Films,
1973-1996. The Videotapes and films have been arranged chronologically.
AGENCY HISTORY
In May 1954, the University of Pennsylvania proposed to four other
universities and colleges in the Philadelphia area--Temple University,
Villanova University, LaSalle College, and St. Joseph’s College--that
the five schools coordinate basketball game scheduling in Philadelphia.
The Palestra gymnasium of the University of Pennsylvania, it was further
proposed, would be utilized and designated as the home floor for all
intercollegiate games. The proposal aimed to eliminate conflicting
doubleheaders, save costs of promotion and have a greater use of the
Palestra facilities. In November of that year, Gaylord P. Harnwell,
President of the University of Pennsylvania, formally announced on
behalf of the presidents of the five schools the formation of a cooperative
arrangement on basketball games involving the five institutions for
a five-year period beginning with the 1955-1956 season. The cooperative
program was hence referred to as the Basketball at the Palestra Program
or the Big Five Basketball Program and the director of the Penn Department
of Intercollegiate Athletics or his authorized representative was
designated to be the Manager of the program. The athletic directors
of the five schools met from time to time and rotated to be in chair
at the meetings. They discussed game schedulings and all other matters
concerning the group, such as technical details of the rules of the
game, promotion, publicity by television, ticket sales, and joint
initiatives with nation-wide basketball organizations.
In 1960, the five schools agreed that the program be extended for
another five years. The program has been renewed many times and remains
active at the present. Since 1979, the program has used a new name--the
Philadelphia Big 5-- and a new logo.
SCOPE AND CONTENT
The collection documents the operation and activities of the Philadelphia
Big 5 program since its formation in 1954.
The Administrative Records series consists of correspondence and
reports to and from the Business Manager of the program from 1954
to 1965, the minutes of the Big 5 athletic directors meeting from
1973 to 1996, files of the Hall of Fame program, and financial documents
related to income from ticket sales and tax.
The Scrapbooks series comprise seven volumes containing news clippings
of the basketball games at the Palestra gymnasium from 1956 to 1965
and two that include information on team scores and schedules from
1965 to 1974.
The Videotapes and Films series represents the bulk of the collection.
There are a total of 257 broadcast quality tapes and ten film reels,
which have recorded games among the teams, men or women, of the five
institutions in the Philadelphia area from 1973 to 1996 and, in addition,
a few games between teams of the group and outside teams.
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