Philadelphia has the Big 5. The state of Iowa has the Big Four — an informal confederation of Division I basketball programs, linked by geography, passion and the never-ending pursuit of bragging rights.

The four-way rivalry was kindled in the late 1970s when the University of Northern Iowa joined Division I. For decades, Iowa and Iowa State, the major conference stalwarts, annually scheduled games against the midmajors Drake and U.N.I., alternating home sites each year, before the programs began playing a four-team doubleheader in Des Moines in 2012. The games are usually competitive, and fans relish them.

Darian DeVries, who is Drake’s first-year coach and who grew up in the small northern Iowa town of Aplington, attended a memorable Big Four game in 1990 with his father, Vern, and younger brother, Jared (a future Detroit Lions defensive end). They were among 22,791 packed into the U.N.I. Dome as the Panthers and their high-scoring star Jason Reese upset the 20th-ranked Hawkeyes, 77-74, on the way to the program’s first Division I N.C.A.A. tournament berth.

“I’m not sure we could see anything, but it was the most incredible sporting event ever,” DeVries said after a recent Bulldogs game in Minneapolis. “That was my greatest memory as a kid.”