Though Villanova's football team calls the Main Line its home, West Philadelphia will have to suffice when the Wildcats (1-1) play host to Penn (1-0) on Saturday night at Franklin Field.
As part of an eight-year contract between the local rivals, Franklin Field will be considered a neutral site for the second consecutive year, with Penn and Villanova sharing the expenses and the revenues from the game. In last year's contest, Penn was designated as the home team.
Despite the fact that Penn's Franklin Field is hardly a neutral site, the stadium can accommodate more than four times the number of fans than Villanova can.
According to Dean Kenefick, Villanova's Assistant Athletics Director for Communications, playing the game at Franklin Field as opposed to Villanova Stadium -- which seats only 12,000 people -- will ensure that there will be enough room for everyone interested in attending.
While Villanova head coach Andy Talley acknowledged the importance of expanding the seating for a game of such great local interest, he also noted that playing the game on Penn's campus will make it more difficult for his team to win.
"It will be a tough game to play against a high-ranked team like Penn," Talley said. "Penn doesn't lose much at home. It's not unfair, but [it is] a disadvantage."
Talley added that of the Wildcats' 11 regular season games, only five, including Saturday's game, are scheduled as home games.
"It's like having only four home games now," Talley said. "We play pretty well at home, and we just gave up an opportunity to play at home."
Nonetheless, last year at Franklin Field, the Wildcats withstood a late Penn charge to win 16-13.
The contract, which took effect in 2004, called for the teams to play each other annually through 2011.
In 2004 and 2005, the games were scheduled to be played at the neutral location of Franklin Field, with both schools sharing the expenses and revenues associated with putting on the event.
Penn was designated as the home team in 2004, with the stipulation that the schools would alternate between being home or away each year.
In 2006 and 2007, the teams have been scheduled to play at Franklin Field and at Villanova Stadium, respectively, with the rotation starting over in 2008.
Penn's Associate Athletic Director Earl Cleghorn said that the teams drew up the contract in order to expand the cross-town rivalry to include football.
"We have a strong relationship with [Villanova] in a number of sports," Cleghorn said. "The game is a good challenge for us, and we hope this game will grow and become popular as time goes on."
In discussing the reasons for making Franklin Field a neutral site, Cleghorn pointed out that Penn was very careful to maintain at least five games per season at Franklin Field.
"The way we scheduled the games puts us at an advantage," he continued. "We're always looking for the ability to play in our home stadium, and we're treating Saturday's game just like a home game."
Both teams are excited about the prospect of having a larger crowd at Franklin Field than usual. Last year, the game drew 16,572 people, compared to the stadium's season average of 13,170.
Villanova will provide transportation for its students to and from Penn, and admission will be free for students of both schools.
The four-year cycle - 2004, 2008: Penn home game at Franklin Field; teams share costs - 2005, 2009: Villanova home game at Franklin Field; teams share costs - 2006, 2010: True Penn home game - 2007, 2011: True Villanova home game
