University of Dayton Athletics

Jason Ordway was named the Director of Track and Field/Cross Country for the Flyers in July 2017. Ordway, who was a volunteer assistant during the 2014 season, took over as head coach of the University of Dayton men’s cross country program, on July 1, 2015. He followed Rich Davis, a Dayton Athletic Association Distance Running Hall of Fame member, who coached the Flyers for 18 seasons.

Ordway guided the program through a complicated 2020-21 season in which the fall campaign was postponed due to COVID-19. The Flyers competed in one regular season meet in the spring with a perfect performance at Wright State, taking all top seven spots. The rest of the campaign was cancelled before Dayton competed in the 2020-21 Atlantic 10 Championships, placing sixth overall for the second straight season. Sophomore Calan Gizelbach led the effort, finishing 25th overall.

In 2019, Ordway guided the Flyers to three team victories in the first four meets of the year and added a third-place finish as well. Dayton went on to place sixth at the 2019 Atlantic 10 Championships, led by All-Conference performer Kevin Lawson who placed seventh overall.

Ordway earned another Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honor after leading the Flyers to the 2018 Atlantic 10 Championship, completing the three-peat. Dayton won the third consecutive title with three student-athletes earning All-Conference accolades. UD Men's Cross Country finished eighth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional and was ranked throughout the season. UD Women's Cross country finished twelfth at the NCAA Great Lakes Regional. 

The 2017 season saw Coach Ordway named Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year for the second straight season as the Flyers won their second consecutive A-10 title. Dayton placed four runners in the Top 15, earning All-Conference honors at the A-10 Championships as the men's program and the women's program swept the conference titles.

In just his second season in charge of the Flyers, Ordway earned Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year honors after leading UD to the program's first ever conference championship after being picked to finish ninth preseason. The championship was even more noteworthy since it was the first conference title for a men's cross country only program in NCAA history. Dayton had four All-Conference performers in Hunter Johnston, Tyler Adgalanis, Spencer Danielson, and Chris Negri.

In his first year at the helm of the program in 2015, Ordway guided numerous to career achievements. Academic All-American Hunter Johnston was the first All-Conference performer for Dayton since 2011 and the seventh to do so in program history. As a team, the Flyers earned USTFCCCA All-Academic honors and had a team GPA of 3.58, which ranked 10th in the nation. It is the 21st consecutive season that Dayton was recognized with this accolade.

As an athlete, Ordway was a four-time all-Ohio honoree at Holgate High School, where he was Valedictorian of his class and received the prestigious Chancellor's scholarship.

He was a four-year varsity letter winner in cross country, as well as indoor and outdoor track and field at Southern Illinois University from 2006-2010.

He was the 2009 Missouri Valley Conference Champion in the steeplechase and owns the eighth fastest time in school history (9:00.8). He earned All-MVC honors in the steeplechase for three consecutive years (2008, 2009, 2010), and was also an All-MVC performer in cross country in 2007 and 2008.

In addition he was an NCAA Nationals Prelims Qualifier in the Steeplechase in 2010 and an NCAA Regional Qualifier in the Steeplechase in 2009.

Post-collegiately, he qualified for the 2012 Olympic Trials in the Marathon in Houston where he finished in 60th place. He debuted at 44th in the nation in the marathon while qualifying for the Olympic Trials at age 22. His 5K, 10K, Half Marathon, and Marathon personal bests were all set after college and while self-coached. 

He studied physiology with a minor in chemistry and a focus in pre-med at Southern Illinois. He graduated with his master's degree in exercise science from UD where he also served as a graduate teaching assistant from 2013-15.