A major part of the Big 5's special nature is the unparalleled relationships that the different coaches in the conference have with one another. These relationships, based on mutual respect, competitiveness, and shared experiences, create one of the most remarkable coaching fellowships in the country.

That team in the mid-80s got its season off to a prolific 10-0 start, and eventually finished the season with a 10-2 record. The men of 2018 currently stand at an 8-2 record, are ranked No. 5 in the nation, and are showing plenty of signs that their season can eclipse that of the 1985 team.

On the heels of last week's thrilling game between Penn and Temple, we asked four writers in DP sports their opinions on the best player in the Big Five outside of Villanova.

Of course, braving the sub-zero temperatures and seemingly endless bus rides was not purely for fun. This “vacation” was actually a NCAA-sanctioned international tour, which is allowed once every four years. And, with this being the lucky year, coach Jack Wyant took his squad north for the training retreat.

Call them the "Swaggy Six," or the "Super Sophs", or the "Bars Bunch"; no matter the alias, Penn gymnastics will be tough to beat this year due to a record-breaking crop of sophomores on the bars.

Though most programs would hesitate to refer to a two-season title hiatus as a drought, the mentality for Penn gymnastics is clear. It’s “championship-or-bust time” for the Red and Blue, and the 2018 squad is more than ready to do so.

For the Quakers, the only starter who was not previously a fixture in the starting lineup is junior forward Max Rothschild. After averaging 13.6 minutes per game and starting three games combined in his first two seasons at Penn, Rothschild has averaged 23.9 minutes per game this season, starting all 17 games. And so far, he has validated coach Steve Donahue’s decision to increase his role.

Owned by regional sports media giant Comcast Spectacor, who also own the Flyers, the Philadelphia Fusion was established in 2017 as the city’s representative in the Overwatch League, an international eSports league made up of 12 teams spanning four countries.

On Friday, Penn men's basketball played its second Ivy League game of the season, defeating rival Cornell, 69-61. The Quakers (11-5, 2-0 Ivy) were paced by AJ Brodeur with 18 points, while guards Ryan Betley and Darnell Foreman joined him in double figures with 13 and 12 points respectively. Overall, it was a strong win for the Red and Blue in the first of back-to-back home games.

The absence of the Brown's men's swimming from the meet on Jan. 13 will change the approach that the Quakers plan to take in deciding this weekend’s lineups.  

On Thursday, Penn Athletics introduced a new series of game day enhancements, including a limited amount of free student tickets, that will debut at Penn men’s and women’s basketball’s doubleheader with Cornell this Friday at the Palestra. The news comes a day after Penn Athletics announced a new partnership with Uber that will provide Penn students with free uberPOOL rides to and from the Palestra for select men’s basketball games.

On Friday afternoon, the Baltimore Ravens announced that they had hired James Urban, who served as Penn’s Director of Football Operations from 2000 to 2003, as their quarterbacks’ coach, effective immediately.

2017 is over, but at least one thing isn’t changing in the new year. On Monday, Penn women’s basketball freshman center Eleah Parker was named Ivy League Rookie of the Week for a third straight week.

Penn women’s basketball might have only had one game this past week, but that one game was all it took for freshman center Eleah Parker to earn recognition as the Ivy League Rookie of the Week.

It’s fair to say Benjamin Oh is facing a bit more pressure than the average Penn student this week. That’s because Oh’s version of finals doesn’t involve competing with classmates to get friendly curves on exams or essays. Rather, it entails of battling with some of the top athletes in the nation at the U.S. Olympic Trials, where Oh is one of sixteen men’s short track speed skaters seeking to qualify for Team USA’s five spots at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games.

Taking a step back from the actual games themselves, 2017 was an exciting year for the Penn Athletics community. 

Sometimes, the numbers don't tell everything. With a little more than a month gone in the season, Penn women's basketball currently sits at 3-4. The small number of games played by the Red and Blue has led to a small sample size of stats and observations, but there are several overarching trends from the team as it approaches Ivy play.