New Thanksgiving college hoops fest to debut at Palestra

With the Palestra bearing down on its 100th anniversary, the old barn on 33rd Street will host an inaugural men’s basketball series of doubleheaders on Thanksgiving weekend called the Cathedral Classic, featuring four schools with coaches who all grew up locally.

The Penn Quakers will serve as hosts this first year, with Delaware, Colgate, and Hartford all participating. It won’t be a tournament format. Each team will play each of the others. There will be doubleheaders on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, Nov. 25-27.

The idea is to have different teams each year, with possibly a different local host team each year. All of this is a lead-up toward the 100th anniversary of the Palestra in 2027.

This was an easy sell for these four schools, considering that two of the visiting coaches both played in the Big 5 and were assistant coaches at Penn, and all four coaches played high school ball locally.

Penn coach Steve Donahue graduated from Cardinal O’Hara High, as did Hartford coach John Gallagher, a St. Joseph’s player who later did a stint as a Quakers assistant. Colgate coach Matt Langel, a Moorestown High graduate, was a Quakers star before assisting at Penn and Temple. Delaware coach Martin Ingelsby played his college ball at Notre Dame after graduating from Archbishop Carroll High.

The game lineup:

Friday, Nov. 25: Colgate vs. Delaware, 2 p.m. Penn vs. Hartford, 4:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 26: Delaware vs. Hartford, 2 p.m. Penn vs. Colgate, 4:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 27: Colgate vs. Hartford, 2 p.m. Penn vs. Delaware, 4:30 p.m.

Ticket information will be announced at a later date.