Grabbing Your A10tion

Dayton Flyers

Location: Dayton, Ohio
Founded: 1850
Enrollment: 6900
Nickname: Flyers
Colors: Red and Blue
President: Dr. Daniel Curran
Vice President/Director of Athletics: Ted Kissell
Joined the A-10: 1996
Driving distance from Charlotte: 463 miles
Website: www.daytonflyers.com
Sports in which the Flyers and 49ers will compete: Baseball, Men's Basketball, Women's Basketball, Men's Cross-Country, Women's Cross-Country, Men's Golf, Men's Soccer, Women's Soccer, Softball, Men's Tennis, Women's Tennis, Women's Track, Volleyball Other Sports: Football, Women's Golf, Women's Rowing
Recent League Tournament Titles: Women's Soccer (2004, 2003, 2001), Volleyball (2004, 2003), Men's Basketball (2003) Recent NCAA Appearances: Men's Basketball (2004, 2003, 2000); Women's Soccer (2004, 2003, 2002, 2001); Volleyball (2004, 2003)
NOTE: The Flyers have won 7 straight women's soccer regular-season titles and four of the last six tourney titles.

1.) Facts about The University of Dayton... The University of Dayton is one of the nation's 10 largest Catholic universities and Ohio's largest private university. UD was in the top five of "America's Best Colleges" in the Midwest in U.S. News & World Report's 2001 college rankings. Dayton has the 12th-best graduation rate of NCAA Division I scholarship athletes.

2.) First in Flight vs. the Birthplace of Aviation ... While North Carolina, thanks to Orville and Wilbur Wright's initial flight in Kitty Hawk, N.C., claims to be "First in Flight", Dayton, Ohio calls itself "The Birthplace of Aviation". Orville and Wilbur Wright lived in Dayton, Ohio and it was in their bicycle shop in Dayton that they studied and built their first airplane. The parts were sent to Kill Devil Hills in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where the plane was assembled and flown.

3.) UD Arena: The NCAA Host with the Most ... UD Arena is one of four venues to host at least 60 NCAA basketball tournament games, including Opening Round games in each of the last three seasons. Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City hosted 83 games from 1940-1964. Madison Square Garden in New York City had 71 games from 1943-1961. The Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City has hosted 69 games from 1971-2000. UD Arena has now had 66 games from 1971-2005. This spring, UD Arena will host the NCAA Opening Round Game, again, on March 14, as well as First and Second Round Games, March 17 & 19. Its first game is one of the most memorable in NCAA history. On March 7, 1970, Notre Dame defeated Ohio U. 112-82, as Austin Carr of the Irish set a tournament record with 61 points, a mark that still stands.

4.) Maybe It Should Be Called LO-UD Arena... The Flyers have a definite home floor advantage in the UD Arena. Built in 1969, UD Arena has a capacity of 13,455. The Flyers averaged 12,569 in home attendance this past season, the top mark in the Atlantic 10 and the 18th highest average in Division I. In the past 16 years, 99% of Dayton's home games have drawn at least 10,000 fans and the last 87 regular-season games have drawn at least 11,000 fans.

5.) A Test for Lipsitz... Dayton looks like the team to beat for the 49ers' new women's soccer coach John Lipsitz. Dayton has won seven straight women's soccer regular-season titles in the A-10 and four of the last six A-10 tournaments. Dayton has advanced to the NCAA Tournament each of the last four years. Charlotte last earned an at-large berth to the NCAA's in 2002.

6.) Star Coaches... Dayton has two alums who have been very successful NFL coaches. Chuck Noll played offensive guard and defensive back for the Flyers and was a captain during his senior season. He graduated from Dayton in 1953 and was a charter member of the school's athletics hall of fame. Noll led the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles. Jon Gruden was a quarterback for the Flyers from 1983-1985. He graduated in 1986 and is the current head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was the youngest coach ever to win a Super Bowl when the Bucs won it all in 2003.

7.) Flyer En Fuego... ESPN anchor Dan Patrick is a 1979 graduate of the University of Dayton. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in broadcasting. In 1997, he received Dayton's Distinguished Alumni Award. He was named the National Sportscaster of the Year in January, 2000. Patrick is attempting to become King of all Sports Media, as he anchor and reports on ESPN's SportsCenter, writes for ESPN The Magazine, and hosts The Dan Patrick Radio Show weekdays on ESPN Radio, which is carried by more than 600 affiliates nationwide, including 1660, WFNA, locally.

8.) Exactly Where Is Dayton, Ohio? The city of Dayton is located in southwest Ohio. It is 50 miles north of Cincinnati and 75 miles west of Columbus. 49er fans will remember Charlotte's trip to Dayton for the 2001 NCAA Midwest Region First and Second Rounds. Charlotte dropped Tennessee, 70-63, before falling to Illinois.

9.) NASCAR Country?... When you think of NASCAR, you're more likely to think of Charlotte than Dayton. But scientists at the University of Dayton Research Institute worked on two different energy-absorbing devices designed to save drivers' lives. One team tested and evaluated an energy-absorbing racetrack wall "cushion". Another helped develop and test the "Humpy Bumper", a lightweight, shock-absorbing device to be marketed to the stock car industry. The bumper was the brainchild of Charlotte's Lowe's Motor Speedway President Humpy Wheeler, who made the suggestion to inventor Paul Lew.

10.) Other Alums... A school that has produced Chuck Noll, Jon Gruden and Dan Patrick has certainly done its share for the athletic realm, but other alums include author Erma Bombeck, Nobel Prize winner William Pedersen and comedian Don Novello ... better known as Father Guido Sarducci.