![]() Liberty Bell Classic logo | |
Sport | Baseball |
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Founded | 1992 |
No. of teams | 8 |
Venue(s) |
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Most recent champion(s) | Saint Joseph's University |
Most titles | University of Delaware (8) |
The Liberty Bell Classic was conceived in 1992 as a way for local Philadelphia-area Division I colleges to compete against each other in a tournament, as well as an opportunity for the schools to play on the big league field of Veterans Stadium. The original eight schools were Drexel University, La Salle University, Saint Joseph's University, Temple University, University of Delaware, University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, and West Chester University. In the first championship game, Delaware defeated Villanova 6–2.
When West Chester was reclassified as Division II, it was replaced by Rider University, which was then in turn replaced by Lehigh University. When Drexel's baseball program was dissolved after the 2003 season, Lafayette College joined the Liberty Bell Classic.
Originally all games were played at Veterans Stadium but with the closure of Veterans Stadium, starting in 2004, games are now played at local venues with the championship game being held at Citizens Bank Park. The first championship at Citizens Bank Park was claimed by Lehigh as they defeated Villanova 11–3.
A second tournament, the Bill Giles Invitational, was created in 2001 for the Philadelphia-area Division II colleges. Competing in the Giles Invitational is previous Liberty Bell competitor West Chester University, along with Philadelphia University, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University. The championship games for the Bill Giles Invitational and Liberty Bell Classic are hosted as part of a double header.
The Bill Giles Invitational (BGI)—named for Philadelphia Phillies chairman emeritus Bill Giles—was begun in 2001, for the NCAA Division II baseball teams in the Philadelphia area. [1]
The Delaware Valley, sometimes referred to as Greater Philadelphia or the Philadelphia metropolitan area, is a metropolitan region in the Northeast on the East Coast of the United States that centers on Philadelphia and spans four U.S. states: southeastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey, northern Delaware, and the northern Eastern Shore of Maryland. As of the 2020 census, the core metropolitan statistical area of the Delaware Valley had a total population of 6.288 million residents, making it the nation's seventh-largest, the continent's eighth-largest, and the world's 35th-largest metropolitan area. The combined statistical area of the Delaware Valley is even larger with a total population of 7.366 million.
The Big 5 is an informal association of college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is not a conference, but rather a group of NCAA Division I basketball schools who compete for the city’s collegiate championship.
The 1980 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 6, 1980, and ended with the championship game on March 24 at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis. A total of 48 games were played, including a national third-place game.
The East Coast Conference was an college athletic conference at the Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It was founded as the university division of the Middle Atlantic Conferences (MAC) in 1958. The MAC consisted of over 30 teams at that time, making it impossible to organize full league schedules in sports like football, basketball, and baseball. In 1958, the larger schools created their own mini conference, consisting of 11 members.
The La Salle Explorers men's basketball program represents La Salle University in college basketball.
The Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey Conference (DVCHC) is a collegiate hockey conference associated with the Collegiate Hockey Federation (CHF) and independent women's university teams. The conference has men's teams that compete within divisions II and III of the CHF and women's teams that compete in divisions I and II.
The Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team represents Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The program is classified in the NCAA's Division I, and the team competes in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Saint Joseph's competes as well as part of the Philadelphia Big 5. Their home court is the Hagan Arena. The team is coached by Billy Lange, who was hired on March 28, 2019, after Phil Martelli was fired as head coach on March 19, 2019, after 24 seasons.
The City 6 is an informal association of college athletic programs in the Philadelphia area. It is an intra-city intramural competition, but it is also used as a colloquial term to describe all the NCAA Division I schools in the Philadelphia area.
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The Drexel Dragons men's basketball program represents intercollegiate men's basketball at Drexel University. The team currently competes in the Colonial Athletic Association in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and plays home games at the Daskalakis Athletic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Drexel last appeared in the NCAA tournament in 2021.
The East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year was a basketball award given to the East Coast Conference's most outstanding player. The award was first given following the 1974–75 season and was discontinued after the league folded following the 1993–94 season. In 1994 the East Coast Conference was absorbed into the Mid-Continent Conference, now known as the Summit League.
The Temple Owls men's soccer program represents Temple University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. Founded in 1926, the Owls compete in the American Athletic Conference. The Owls are coached by Brian Rowland, who was hired as the program's head coach in December 2017. Temple plays their home matches at Temple Owls Sports Complex, on the campus of Temple University.
The 1972 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University of Delaware as an independent during the 1972 NCAA College Division football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Tubby Raymond, Fightin' Blue Hens compiled a record of 10–0. The team the played home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware.
The 1973 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team represented the University of Delaware as an independent during the 1973 NCAA Division II football season. The Hens completed the 85th season of Delaware football, and their first as members of the reorganized NCAA Division II. The Hens played their home games in at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware. The 1973 team came off an undefeated 10–0 record from the previous season. The 1973 team was led by coach Tubby Raymond. The team finished the regular season with an 8–3 record and made the inaugural NCAA Division II playoffs. However, the Hens lost to Grambling, 17–8, in the first round, the Boardwalk Bowl.
The 1971 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team was an American football team that represented the University of Delaware as an independent during the 1971 NCAA College Division football season. In their seventh season under head coach Tubby Raymond, the team compiled a 10–1 record and was voted No. 1 in the AP and UPI small college polls. The season concluded with a victory over C.W. Post in the Boardwalk Bowl.
The 1953 Delaware Fightin' Blue Hens football team was an American football team that represented the University of Delaware as an independent during the 1953 college football season. In its third season under head coach David M. Nelson, the team compiled a 7–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 201 to 80. Johnny Borreson was the team captain. The team played its home games at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Delaware.
The 1970 Lehigh Engineers football team was an American football team that represented Lehigh University as an independent during the 1970 NCAA College Division football season.