Villanova basketball kicked off its 2025-26 season on Wednesday with the “Roommates Show” Homecoming event at the Finneran Pavilion.
New York Knicks jerseys were scattered across the crowd as former Villanova Wildcats and current Knicks players Jalen Brunson and Josh Hart returned to their alma mater to host a live taping of their “Roommates Show.” The podcast brought on special guests Maddy Siegrist, Jay Wright and Jason Kelce. In addition to the podcast, players from the women’s and men’s basketball teams were also introduced and took part in three-point and dunk contests.
The Homecoming event marked the official start to the Villanova men’s and women’s basketball season. It replaced the annual “Hoops Mania” event that used to include a special guest performer.
Villanova emcee Jimmy J introduced Brunson and Hart, as well as their other co-host and friend, Matt Hillman. The “Roommates Show” podcast was launched in February 2024 to discuss basketball, life and other various subjects.
Brunson and Hart traded jokes about heading to Kelly’s Taproom to split the tab after the event.
After announcing both the men’s and women’s programs, the podcast hosts spoke with women’s head coach Denise Dillon and men’s head coach Kevin Willard about the upcoming season.
Dillon is entering her sixth season as head coach and has a mix of returning and new players on her roster.
“We open here (at home) on Nov. 3, so we need you all here,” Dillon said. “I know the players are anxious. We are just looking forward to just opening up here at the Finn and showing who we have this season. We’re ready to roll.”
For the men’s basketball team, it is the complete opposite. Willard is entering his first season as head coach at Villanova and has brought in 13 new players to the program.
“I am excited about being in the Finn,” Willard said. “I used to walk in that door, get my ass kicked, and then walk right back out that door.”
The show began with Siegrist, Villanova basketball’s all-time leading scorer and current Dallas Wing, as its first guest. It was the beginning of the banter between the two former roommates, Hart and Brunson.
“We didn’t have NIL,” Hart said. “We had like $273 a month. We barely had enough for CampCo (Campus Corner). We couldn’t even get the bone-in wings. We couldn’t afford those. We had to get the boneless.”
Siegrest spoke about her time playing with the WNBA’s Dallas Wings, and Brunson asked her about her time at Villanova and her favorite moments, including her 50-point career high game in 2023.
“I think the best thing about my time at Villanova was knowing I just wasn’t here for the time I was going to be on campus,” Brunson said. “It was going to be like a lifetime commitment. This place has meant more to me than you guys know. This place is home. This is for life here.”
The segment was followed by a three-point and dunk contest made up of men’s and women’s basketball players. Team Hart won the three-point contest, comprised of Nico Onyekwere, Bryce Lindsay, Dani Ceseretti and Kennedy Henry.
Tafara Gapare won the dunk contest with a full-court running start between the two fan sections on the court. He launched off the Big East logo that sits right below the free-throw line.
The dunk that won Tafare Gapare the dunk contest.
In slow motion. pic.twitter.com/8SXG80MWoW
— Dylan Johnson (@bydylanjohnson) September 18, 2025
Hall of Fame head coach Jay Wright joined the trio of hosts for the second leg of the podcast. Wright discussed the 2016 National Championship and reflected on the upcoming 10th anniversary. He highlighted the stories of how much trouble he had with Hart in college, as well as how his recruitment went.
”When Mikal [Bridges] was a freshman, he was only 160 pounds, and he was really long,” Wright said. “He would guard Josh in practice. And Josh would bully him in practice, and he would dominate him. But every once in a while, Mikal would block Josh’s shot. And [Mikal] would go down the court, on a breakaway, and everybody on the staff was yelling, ‘No, Josh, no.’ It’s like you see a dog running after someone, like, ‘No, don’t.’ And Josh would chase him down and knock him into a wall.”
The night ended with one final special guest, former All-Pro Philadelphia Eagle center and Super Bowl champion, Kelce.
Hart, a Washington Commanders fan, and Kelce went back and forth on the rivalry their two teams have. While Brunson, an Eagles fan, sided with Kelce.
Kelce spoke about his playing career and the shift into his new podcast, “In the Heights,” which he hosts with his brother, Travis Kelce.
Brunson and Hart both mentioned that Kelce’s live podcast show at his and Travis’ alma mater, the University of Cincinnati, was the inspiration to bring the “Roommates Show” to Villanova.
Hart, Brunson, Hillman and Kelce posed for a photo on stage before Kelce started signing pairs of underwear to throw into the crowd on its way out.
Men’s basketball is set to host an exhibition on Sunday, Oct. 19, at 4 p.m. against Virginia Commonwealth University at the Finn.
As for the women’s basketball, it will host an exhibition on Friday, Oct. 24, against Towson at home.
Both programs will begin the official 2025-26 basketball season on Monday, Nov. 3.
