Cathedral Classic at the Palestra

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Date/Time
Date(s) - 11/25/2022
2:00 pm - 6:30 pm

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The University of Pennsylvania men’s basketball program has announced its participation in the Cathedral Classic presented by Sheraton University City. It will take place at The Palestra over the Thanksgiving weekend.

Penn will be joined by Colgate, Delaware and Hartford in the inaugural event, the four teams playing doubleheaders starting at 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 25; Saturday, Nov. 26; and Sunday, Nov. 27.

Both Colgate and Delaware won their conference tournaments last year and played in the 2022 NCAA Tournament, while Hartford competed in the 2021 NCAA Tournament. In addition, the four teams give Philadelphia basketball fans plenty of rooting options. In addition to the Quakers, all three visiting teams boast head coaches with deep Philly ties including two who have direct connections to the Penn program.

Colgate head coach Matt Langel played high school ball at nearby Mooretown HS and then was a four-year letter winner and two-time Ivy League champion as a guard for Penn. He later served as an assistant coach with the Quakers, the Red and Blue winning Ivy titles both years he was on the bench.

Hartford head coach John Gallagher was an assistant coach at Penn for two years in the late 2000s. Prior to that, he played his college ball at Saint Joseph’s under Phil Martelli and served as an assistant coach at La Salle. One of three Delaware County products among the four head coaches in the field, Gallagher played his high school ball at Cardinal O’Hara (coincidentally, the same alma mater as Penn head coach Steve Donahue).

Delaware’s head coach, Martin Ingelsby, won the Markward Award as the top high school player in Philadelphia his senior year at Archbishop Carroll, where he played for his father—former Villanova standout Tom Ingelsby—and graduated as that program’s all-time leading scorer.