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The Holy War
Teams	Saint Joseph's Hawks Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball The Saint Joseph's Hawks men's basketball team represents Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the Atlantic 10 Conference. Its home court is the Hagan Arena. The team's only Final Four appearance in 1961 was removed from the NCAA records due to a gambling scandal. Through... Villanova Wildcats Villanova Wildcats men's basketball This is the article about the men's basketball team from Villanova University. The team has competed since the 1920–21 season. Nicknamed the "Wildcats", Villanova is a member of the Big East Conference and the Philadelphia Big Five. The Villanova Wildcats have appeared in the NCAA...
Originated	January 15, 1921
Series	Villanova leads, 43-24
Most Recent Winner	Villanova
Trophy	None

The Holy War is a basketball rivalry game in the Philadelphia Big 5

Philadelphia Big 5

The Philadelphia Big 5 is an informal association of college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. It is not a conference; indeed the five schools that are members of the Big 5 are members of three separate conferences: the Atlantic 10, the Big East, and the Ivy League.The five...

 between Saint Joseph's University

Saint Joseph's University

Saint Joseph's University is a private, coeducational Roman Catholic Jesuit university located partially in the Wynnefield section of Philadelphia and partially in Lower Merion Township and located in the Pennsylvania Main Line, Pennsylvania, United States.The school was founded in 1851 as Saint...

 and Villanova University

Villanova University

Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

, 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

Order of Saint Augustine

The Order of St. Augustine —historically Ordo Eremitarum Sancti Augustini", O.E.S.A.), generally called Augustinians is a Catholic Religious Order, which, although more ancient, was formally created in the thirteenth century and combined of several previous Augustinian eremetical Orders into one...

, and Saint Joseph's University run by the Jesuit order

Society of Jesus

The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...

. Recent games between the two schools have been played in February during ESPN's Rivalry Week

Rivalry Week

Rivalry Week is a week of programming by ESPN devoted to showing the top rivalries in college basketball. Games that are annually shown during Rivalry Week include:* Duke vs. North Carolina...

, either at the Palestra

Palestra

The Palestra, also known as the Cathedral of College Basketball, is a historic arena and the home gym of the University of Pennsylvania Quakers men's and women's basketball teams, volleyball teams, wrestling team, and Philadelphia Big 5 basketball. Located at 215 South 33rd St...

 on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...

 when Saint Joseph's hosts the game, or at The Pavilion

The Pavilion

The Pavilion is a 6,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States, about 20 miles outside of Philadelphia. It was built in 1985, and is home to the Villanova University Wildcats basketball teams. It is recognizable from the outside for its hyperbolic paraboloid roofline,...

 when Villanova is the host. However, the Hawks will host the Wildcats this year at the Hagan Arena on Saint Joseph's campus on December 17.

Villanova

Villanova University

Villanova University is a private university located in Radnor Township, a suburb northwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States...

leads the all-time series, 43-24 and 31-24 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. Recently, Villanova has performed well, winning eleven of the last fourteen contests. In 2011 Saint Joseph's will be the host of the Holy War for the first time in the history of the rivalry at Hagan Arena.

Don DiJulia, athletic director at Saint Joseph's has called the rivalry the "Army-Navy of basketball".

History of the programs

Category	Hawks	Wildcats
NCAA Championships	0	1
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

Recent history

Since 2000, Villanova leads the series over Saint Joseph's 9-3:

17 February 2000 : @ The Palestra : Villanova 68 Saint Joseph's 61

11 December 2000 : @ The Palestra : Villanova 78 Saint Joseph's 75

28 January 2002 : @The Pavilion : Villanova 102 Saint Joseph's 73 (the largest point differential in the series)

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