This was in an article from the Northwestern RIvals page after their win over UIC
Chicago-area tournament floated once more: Per usual, as Northwestern plays a few area schools like UIC, Eastern Illinois and DePaul, interest grows for an early season, Chicago-area tournament.

"It'd be great to play in some kind of classic...," Ehsan said. "Loyola, DePaul, [UIC], Northwestern... If we did it in the right venue you could probably get an amazing environment."

Collins echoed the sentiment, saying he'd have interest with so many Chicago teams on the rise, including DePaul, which recently hired his friend, Chris Holtmann. But he also made sure to use his coaching veteran status to remind people of the scheduling difficulties at hand.

"What happens is the scheduling piece is a tough dynamic," he said. "So it does interest me. I think it could be a good thing. I know they were doing it in Indiana, but that's been disbanded because scheduling is really hard...

"Everybody is trying to put together the schedule that fits them. We try to do a good job every year of playing in-state teams... In theory, it's a really good idea, it's just how do you put it together and when do you play it?"

There's also, for now, the frank issue of competitive balance. The Wildcats have taken to scheduling more aggressive Thanksgiving tournaments that can possibly put a feather in their cap come NCAA Tournament time. They played Rhode Island and Mississippi State last season, and Liberty and Auburn the year before. Butler is on the schedule this season, with a chance to play Mississippi State or UNLV afterwards.

Ehsan has UIC on a very strong trajectory, and Holtmann could resurrect the Blue Demons. But Loyola hasn't made the tournament since 2022. DePaul and UIC haven't since 2004. There's always going to be buzz and excitement, but I think the reality is unfortunately still pretty far away.

Oh come on, Sun Times. You really putting not making the tournament since WAY BACK in 2022 on a similar level as 2004? And you're floating Rhode Island, UNLV, Butler, Liberty as "aggressive" scheduling? Lame ending to the article.

A multi-game "tournament" would be difficult, but a single game or round robin "classic" would be fun.

Having worked for a Philadelphia-based company and I lived in Central Jersey during that time, I saw what the Philadelphia schools did with the Big 5 up close. They actually cooperated. One of the results of having the Big 5 be a priority for the programs was that a lot of Philly guys stayed home and played for the local teams.