Philadelphia, PA – The La Salle men's basketball team will take part in the 2025 Cathedral Classic, a multi-team event (MTE) at The Palestra over the Thanksgiving weekend, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania. The Explorers will take on the Quakers as well as Hofstra and Merrimack.
The four teams will play a round-robin schedule over the weekend with doubleheaders starting at 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 28; 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 29; and noon on Sunday, Nov. 30.
La Salle joins Penn in adding local flavor to this year's Cathedral Classic, becoming the second Big 5 program to participate in the four-year-old event. The Explorers will take on Hofstra on Friday at 2 p.m., before taking on Penn on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The tournament wraps up on Sunday, with La Salle facing off against Merrimack at noon.
After finishing the 2025-26 season with an 8-19 record, Penn will enter a new era this season under head coach Fran McCaffery, a Penn alumnus who played three seasons for the Quakers. McCaffery has been a college basketball coach for 43 years, most recently at the University of Iowa. The two teams last met in 2023, with the Explorers earning an epic 93-92 overtime victory over the Quakers at the first-ever Big 5 Classic.
A relatively new Division I program, Merrimack went 18-15 last year that included a 14-6 mark in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The Warriors then advanced to the MAAC Tournament semifinals. Merrimack was a member of the Northeast Conference (NEC) during its transition to Division I; the Warriors earned three NEC regular-season titles during that five-year transition, won the conference tournament title in 2023, and made the tournament final in 2024. Merrimack's head coach is Joe Gallo, who has overseen the program throughout its transition from Division II to Division I.
Hofstra went 15-18 last season including a 6-12 record in the Coastal Athletic Association (CAA). Prior to last season, the Pride totaled 45 wins in 2022-23 (25) and 2023-24 (20) and went a combined 28-8 in CAA play. The 2022-23 team earned an NIT bid, beating Rutgers in the first round before falling to Cincinnati. Hofstra's head coach is Speedy Claxton, a Pride alum who enters his fifth season at the helm.
2025 Cathedral Classic Schedule
Friday, Nov. 28
La Salle vs. Hofstra, 2 p.m.
Penn vs. Merrimack, 4:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 29
Hofstra vs. Merrimack, 2 p.m.
Penn vs. La Salle, 4:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 30
La Salle vs. Merrimack, noon
Penn vs. Hofstra, 2:30 p.m.
