Former Inquirer sportswriter Joe Juliano is among 2025 inductees to Big 5 Hall of Fame

The group of six former players and Juliano, a media member, will be inducted during the men’s Big 5 Classic at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Dec. 6 and honored again during the Dec. 7 women's Big 5 Classic

Joe Juliano, the former college basketball writer who spent over 40 years working for The Inquirer, was named to the Big 5 Hall of Fame class for 2025 on Wednesday.Read moreCHARLES FOX / Staff Photographer

by Owen Hewitt

Published Nov. 5, 2025, 2:09 p.m. ET

Dionte Christmas, Dante Cunningham, Amy Griffin, Sydney Stipanovich, Carlin Warley, and Joe Juliano have been named as the 2025 Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame class, the organization announced Wednesday.

The group of inductees, composed of five players and one media member, will be inducted during the men’s Big 5 Classic at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Dec. 6 and honored again at the women’s Big 5 Classic at the Finneran Pavilion on Dec. 7.

Juliano spent nearly 40 years at The Inquirer covering Big 5 basketball, specifically La Salle and Villanova, highlighted by coverage of the Wildcats’ national title runs in 2016 and 2018.

Juliano, who was inducted into the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Hall of Fame in 2022, also covered 44 consecutive runnings of the Penn Relays. Juliano last wrote for The Inquirer in 2022.

Christmas is one of four men’s players in Temple history to eclipse 2,000 points, finishing with 2,043 points in his senior season in 2009. The Philadelphia native was a two-time All-Atlantic-10 first-team pick as a guard.

Christmas holds Temple’s record for three-point makes in a career, leading the Owls to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances under Fran Dunphy in 2008 and 2009. The Owls claimed a share of the Big 5 title in 2008, Christmas’s junior season.

Cunningham led Villanova with 16.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in his senior season, bringing the Wildcats to the 2009 Final Four. The forward was named the Big East’s Most Improved Player in 2009. Villanova went 15-1 in Big 5 games while Cunningham was on the team, claiming the title in 2006, 2007, and 2009, and a share of the title in 2008.

Cunningham was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in the second round of the 2009 NBA draft. He played 10 seasons in the NBA for seven franchises.

Griffin is No. 3 on the women’s all-time scoring list at La Salle, with 1,741 career points. By the time Griffin finished her senior season with the Explorers in 2018, the guard/forward was La Salle’s all-time leader in made field goals (678) and second in blocks (151). Griffin was named to the All-Big 5 first team in 2016, 2017, and 2018.

Stipanovich was a three-time All-Ivy and All-Big 5 center for Penn in 2013-17. As a junior during the 2015-16 season, Stipanovich became the first player in Ivy League history to be honored as both Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year. She earned Defensive Player of the Year honors for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 seasons and finished her career as the Ivy League’s all-time leader in blocks with 317.

With Stipanovich at center, the Quakers reached the NCAA Tournament in 2014, 2016, and 2017. Penn also claimed a share of the Big 5 title in the 2014-15 and 2016-17 seasons.

Warley is one of four players to amass both 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in St. Joseph’s program history. The forward spent four years on Hawk Hill, starting 114 games. Warley finished his career in 1995 with 1,480 points and 1,138 rebounds. Warley was named to the All-Big 5 team three times and led the Hawks to a share of the title in the 1994-95 season.