The Liberty Bell Classic was conceived in 1992 as a way for local Philadelphia-area Division I colleges to compete against each other in a tournament, as well as an opportunity for the schools to play on the big league field of Veterans Stadium. The original eight schools were Drexel University, La Salle University, Saint Joseph's University, Temple University, University of Delaware, University of Pennsylvania, Villanova University, and West Chester University. In the first championship game, Delaware defeated Villanova 6–2.
When West Chester was reclassified as Division II, it was replaced by Rider University, which was then in turn replaced by Lehigh University. When Drexel's baseball program was dissolved after the 2003 season, Lafayette College joined the Liberty Bell Classic.
Originally all games were played at Veterans Stadium but with the closure of Veterans Stadium, starting in 2004, games are now played at local venues with the championship game being held at Citizens Bank Park. The first championship at Citizens Bank Park was claimed by Lehigh as they defeated Villanova 11–3.
A second tournament, the Bill Giles Invitational, was created in 2001 for the Philadelphia-area Division II colleges. Competing in the Giles Invitational is previous Liberty Bell competitor West Chester University, along with Philadelphia University, University of the Sciences, and Wilmington University. The championship games for the Bill Giles Invitational and Liberty Bell Classic are hosted as part of a double header.
Champions
1992 – Delaware 1993 – Drexel 1994 – Delaware 1995 – Delaware 1996 – Temple 1997 – Delaware 1998 – Villanova 1999 – Villanova 2000 – Temple 2001 – Delaware 2002 – Delaware 2003 – Temple 2004 – Lehigh 2005 – Villanova 2006 – La Salle 2007 – Lafayette 2008 – Lafayette 2009 – (no champion, due to inclement weather) 2010 – Delaware 2011 – Villanova 2012 – Saint Joseph's 2013 – Delaware 2014 – Saint Joseph's 2015 – Rider 2016 – Saint Joseph's 2017 – La Salle 2018 – Lafayette 2019 – Lafayette 2020 – (no champion, due to COVID-19 pandemic) 2021 – (no champion, due to COVID-19 pandemic) 2022 – Villanova 2023 – Rider 2024 – Delaware 2025 – (no champion, game not held) 2026 – Saint Joseph’s
Championships by school 9 – Delaware 5 – Villanova 4 – Saint Joseph's 3 – Temple 2 – La Salle 2 – Lafayette 1 – Lehigh 1 – Drexel 2 – Rider 0 – Penn 0 – West Chester
Bill Giles Invitational The Bill Giles Invitational (BGI)—named for Philadelphia Phillies chairman emeritus Bill Giles—was begun in 2001, for the NCAA Division II baseball teams in the Philadelphia area.
BGI champions See footnote.
2001 – Philadelphia 2002 – Philadelphia 2003 – West Chester 2004 – West Chester 2005 – West Chester 2006 – West Chester 2007 – Wilmington 2008 – West Chester 2009 – West Chester 2010 – West Chester 2011 – West Chester 2012 – West Chester 2013 – Philadelphia 2014 – Wilmington 2015 – West Chester 2016 – West Chester 2017 – West Chester 2018 – Wilmington 2019 – Wilmington 2020 – (no champion, due to COVID-19 pandemic) 2021 – (no champion, due to COVID-19 pandemic) 2022 – West Chester 2023 – West Chester 2024 – West Chester
BGI championships by school 15 – West Chester 4 – Wilmington 3 – Philadelphia 0 – University of the Sciences
References
External links
Bill Giles Invitational official webpage