The Robert V. Geasey Trophy is awarded to the most valuable men's basketball player in the Philadelphia Big 5, an informal association of college athletic programs in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The trophy does not represent the entire regular season's most valuable player, the award goes simply to the best basketball player for Big 5 games played that season. It has been given since 1956 and is granted by the Herb Good Basketball Club, which is composed of local media members who cover the Big 5. From the Philadelphia Big 5's inception until 2023, members included La Salle University, the University of Pennsylvania, Saint Joseph's University, Temple University and Villanova University. In April 2023, Drexel University officially joined as the sixth member, but the association retains its Big 5 branding. Through at least the 1981–82 season, the most valuable player award was sometimes also known to be presented with the Michael Saxe Trophy, named after the first head coach in Villanova men's basketball history (1920–1926).
Key † Co-Players of the Year * Awarded a national player of the year award that same season: Sporting News; Oscar Robertson Trophy; Associated Press; NABC; Naismith; Wooden Player (X) Denotes the number of times the player has been awarded the Robert V. Geasey Trophy at that point
Winners
Season Player School Position ClassReference 1955–56 Temple PG 1956–57 (2) PG 1957–58 (3) Temple PG 1958–59 PF 1959–60 PG 1960–61 SG / PG 1961–62 SG / PG 1962–63† SG SG 1963–64† SG (2) SG 1964–65 PF 1965–66 SG 1966–67 SG / SF 1967–68 SG 1968–69† PF / C C 1969–70 (2) PF / C 1970–71 (3) PF / C 1971–72† SF SG 1972–73 SG / PG 1973–74 PF 1974–75 (2) PF 1975–76 SG 1976–77 SF 1977–78 La Salle SF / PF 1978–79† Penn SG Temple SG / SF 1979–80 (2) La Salle SF / PF 1980–81 Villanova PF 1981–82† Saint Joseph's SF (2) Villanova PF 1982–83† (3) Villanova PF SG / PG 1983–84 SG 1984–85 Villanova PF 1985–86 Villanova SG / SF 1986–87 Temple SG 1987–88 La Salle PF 1988–89 (2) La Salle PF 1989–90 * (3) La Salle PF 1990–91 Temple SG 1991–92 La Salle PG / SG 1992–93 Temple SG 1993–94 Temple SG 1994–95 Villanova SG 1995–96 (2) Villanova SG 1996–97† Saint Joseph's PG / SG Villanova PG 1997–98 (2) PG / SG 1998–99 Temple PG 1999–00 (2) Temple PG 2000–01† PF / C Saint Joseph's SG 2001–02 Temple PG / SG 2002–03 Saint Joseph's PG 2003–04 * (2) Saint Joseph's PG 2004–05 SG / SF 2005–06 Villanova SG 2006–07 Penn PG 2007–08† Saint Joseph's SF / SG Temple PF 2008–09 SF 2009–10 Villanova PG / SG 2010–11 Temple PF / C 2011–12 Penn PG 2012–13 Temple SG 2013–14 Villanova SG 2014–15 Villanova SG 2015–16 Saint Joseph's SF 2016–17 Villanova SG 2017–18 * Villanova PG 2018–19 Villanova PG 2019–20 Villanova SF 2020–21 Villanova PG 2021–22 (2) Villanova PG 2022–23 Penn SG 2023–24 Villanova PF 2024–25 (2) Villanova PF 2025–26 Saint Joseph's PG
Winners by school School Winners Years Villanova 30 1962, 1963†, 1964†, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969†, 1972†, 1973, 1981, 1982†, 1983†, 1985, 1986, 1995, 1996, 1997†, 2001†, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024, 2025 Temple 17 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1979†, 1983†, 1987, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2008†, 2011, 2013 15 1959, 1963†, 1964†, 1967, 1982†, 1997†, 1998, 2001†, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2008†, 2009, 2016, 2026 La Salle 11 1969†, 1970, 1971, 1976, 1978, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1992 Penn 8 1972†, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1979†, 2007, 2012, 2023 Drexel 0 —
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