Dayton returns four starters and 10 of its top 11 scorers from last year's 27-8 team that reached the NCAA Second Round. The Flyer returnees include all four players who earned Atlantic 10 postseason honors in 2008-09: Chris Wright, Marcus Johnson, London Warren and Chris Johnson. Wright, named to the prestigious John Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 List and the Naismith Preseason Watch List, led UD in scoring (13.3) and rebounding (6.6), and set a school single-season record for dunks (54) last year as a sophomore.
- Recording a double-double with a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds in the win over West Virginia in the NCAA First Round.
- Posting his third double-double in as many games with 13 points and 13 boards over then-No. 15 Marquette.
- Wright scoring 17 of his game-high 19 points in the second half against then-No. 14 Xavier and was named the Blackburn-McCafferty MVP.
- Tying for a game-high 17 points in UD's win over Wofford and scored a game-high 18 points against Delaware State.
Picking up his first double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 boards against Mercer. He added another double-double with a career-best 14 rebounds and 10 points versus Auburn.
FIGHT FOR YOUR WRIGHT
In his freshman season, Chris Wright earned a spot on the A-10 All-Rookie team even though he logged just eight minutes in conference play. Wright was the fifth Dayton player to be selected to the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team. Tony Stanley (1998), Brooks Hall (2000), Keith Waleskowski (2001) and Brian Roberts (2005) are the previous Flyer A-10 Rookies. He played eight minutes in conference action before fracturing a bone in his ankle that required surgery. Before that, he was chosen A-10 Rookie of the Week four times in the first six weeks of the season (the last player to do that was Jameer Nelson).
TAKING FLIGHT WITH WRIGHT
In the March meeting against Xavier, Chris Wright set Dayton's all-time, single-season record for dunks. He finished the 2008-09 season with 54, including five against West Virginia in the NCAA Tournament. Wright passed the previous record holder, Sean Finn, who tallied 43 slams during the 2003-04 season.
MARVELOUS MARCUS
An athletic guard with shutdown defender talent, Marcus Johnson hopes the strong finish he had last year will propel him into the 2009-10 campaign. On March 9, Marcus Johnson earned a spot on the 2009 Atlantic 10 Honorable Mention team and was named the co-winner of the White Allen MVP award with Chris Wright. Johnson scored in double figures 26 times in the 2008-09 campaign and averaged 12.1 points per game. Johnson sat out the exhibition game versus Ferris State with an injury.
JOHNSON NABS PRESEASON ALL-ATLANTIC 10 SECOND TEAM SELECTION
Senior Marcus Johnson was one of three Dayton Flyers to earn preseason, All-Atlantic 10 honors. Johnson earned a spot on the preseason All-Atlantic 10 Second Team. Johnson ranked second on the team in scoring last year averaging 11.8 points per game.
MORE ON MJ
Marcus Johnson has moved up the charts in UD basketball history, ranking in a tie with Noland Robinson for 46th on the all-time scoring list with 942 career points. He needs 14 points to reach James Paxson for 45th.
SHUTDOWN CORNER
Marcus Johnson scored in double figures in 21 of his last 26 games, but was even more critical to the Flyers' success was his defense down the stretch. He guarded the opposition's top scorer in 21 of those 26 contests as well and matched his career-best with four steals in the wins at Duquesne and at La Salle. Johnson had the primary defensive responsibility to guard four of the five 2008-09 First Team All-Atlantic 10 selections and West Virginia's Alex Ruoff, a 2008-09 Big East Honorable Mention selection.
YOU LOOK MAHVELOUS
Since the calendar turned to 2009, Marcus Johnson was one of the most consistent scorers for UD. He finished last season scoring in double figures in 21 of the last 26 games. Since the 2009 calendar year, Johnson has averaged 12.3 points while shooting .450 (103-229) from the field. Johnson also averaged 28.3 minutes per game during that span, best on the team.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Marcus Johnson, a 6-3 guard from Cleveland, scored in double figures 43 times in his 99-game career, including 41 in his last 59 games. Johnson also reached double figures in scoring 26 times during the 2008-09 season, including 21 of his last 26 contests.
BEING `KURT' TO THE OPPOSITION
As one of the most team-oriented players to wear a Flyer uniform, Kurt Huelsman looks to be counted upon more as a leader on both ends of the floor. A starter and leader from the moment he hit campus, Huelsman is a two-time winner of the prestigious John L. Macbeth Scholar Athlete Award. Last season Huelsman ranked second on the team in blocks with 22 and third in rebounding at 4.1. In the exhibition game against Ferris State, Huelsman scored 15 points and snagged six rebounds.
THE IRON MAN
Senior Kurt Huelsman has started every game in his UD career. Huelsman possesses the longest active streak of consecutive starts in the Atlantic 10 Conference with 100 games. Nate Green holds the all-time record with 133 games played and Mark Ashman holds the UD record for starts with 119.
LONG-LASTING FRESHNESS
Kurt Huelsman has started every one of his 100 career games at UD. Only one college player -- Clemson's Trevor Booker -- has started every game of his college career and started more games than Huelsman. Booker has started all of 102 games for Tigers. Oakland's Johnathan Jones has also started all 100 games of his career. Damion James of Texas is the active career leader in overall starts (106), followed by Tulsa's Ben Uzoh (1050, Villanova's Scottie Reynolds (104), Booker, Texas's Justin Mason (101) and Huelsman and Jones.
LONDON CALLING
Known as the "Jacksonville Jet," London Warren is an explosive point guard who has outstanding quickness on the offensive and defensive ends. Warren's energy, enthusiasm and creativity made him a favorite among the Flyer Faithful. In his first year as a starter, London Warren led the Flyers in assists (4.5), assist-to-turnover ratio (2.4) and steals (1.6), and was in the Top 20 in the Atlantic 10 in all three categories. He was named to the 2009 Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team. Warren had six points and three assists versus Ferris State in exhibition action.
SECRETARY OF DEFENSE
Named to the 2009 preseason Atlantic 10 All-Defensive Team, London Warren's defense provides a huge spark for the Flyers. Last season, Warren had at least one steal in 29 out of 34 games, including three against Kansas in the NCAA Tournament. Warren led UD in steals (55) and assists (145).Warren has 127 steals in his Flyer career, good for 10th all-time in UD history.
THE JACKSONVILLE JET
In the 11 games, without backup point guard Rob Lowery, London Warren had 69 assists with just 18 turnovers. His 2.33 assist-to-turnover ratio last season was tied for fifth-best in the program's history.
RL BACK FROM THE DL
Senior Rob Lowery is known as a strong, hard-nosed guard that will find a way to win. Sidelined by a knee injury that cost him the final 11 games of his junior season, Lowery averaged 7.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. Still recovering from the knee injury, Lowery sat out the exhibition game against Ferris State.
BIG SHOT ROB
Prior to the injury Lowery made a name for himself as a clutch performer. In the 72-71 win over Fordham, Lowery drove the length of the floor for a basket with 5.4 seconds to go. In the win over No. 15 Marquette, Lowery scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting from the floor. With UD protecting a two-point lead, Lowery, who missed his first five shots, drilled a 15-foot field goal with 48 seconds to go to push the lead back to four and swished two free throws with 15 ticks left to seal the decision versus Wofford. He tied for the team-high with 13 points and had the steal and dunk that tied the game, the assist on the go-ahead three-pointer and the free throw that made it a two-possession game against George Mason. Lowery averaged 6.1 points a game at home, but 9.6 away from UD Arena.
HEY MICKEY
Known as a contributor in all facets who steps up everyone's game when he is on the floor, Phillip "Mickey" Perry looks to close his Dayton Flyer career with a strong finish. In the final nine games of the 2008-09 season, Perry turned it on averaging 7.7 points per game. He scored a career-high 15 points on 6-of-11 shooting versus Duquesne in the A-10 Semifinals. Perry tallied 10 points against Kansas in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. Perry finished with double-figure scoring efforts in his four of his last seven games, after only having three in his year-and-a-half UD career. Perry, a native of Chicago and a Proviso East graduate, played in all 35 games and averaged 4.6 points a game last season. Against Ferris State in exhibition action, Perry led the Flyers with 16 points.
HANGING TEN
When Rob Lowery got injured, Mickey Perry eventually filled in at the point guard position behind London Warren and played the best basketball of his Flyer career. Perry stepped up his production to average 7.1 points per game in the final 10 contests of the year.
DIAL IN WITH DEVIN
Junior forward Devin Searcy is back to patrol the paint and provide the Flyers with versatility and athleticism in the post. Not only is Searcy an athletic 6-9, he has a 37-inch vertical leap and a seven-foot fingertip-to-fingertip reach. Last season Searcy was second on the team in field goal percentage (.493) and averaged 2.8 and 2.4 rebounds per game. In exhibition action, Searcy had four rebounds and four assists against Ferris State.
SEARCY TRAVELS WITH ATHLETES IN ACTION
Over the summer, Devin Searcy was chosen to be part of an Athletes In Action team that traveled to New Zealand for two weeks in August. The AIA team played four games against the top professional team in that part of the world, the New Zealand Breakers, and two more games against New Zealand's Under-20 National Team. Searcy opened the trip scoring a team-high 17 points.
CHRIS-CROSSING
Sophomore Chris Johnson joined the Flyers with a reputation as a high-flying, explosive scorer and a rebounder with a non-stop motor. His freshman season, he did not disappoint. Johnson moved into seventh all-time for most rebounds by a freshman in a season with 177. He led the team in free throw shooting (.772) and was second on the team with 71 offensive rebounds, even though he played 9.2 minutes less per game than the teammate he trails, Chris Wright. Against A-10 opponents last season, Johnson shot .544 (31-57) from the field and averaged 6.6 points and 5.1 rebounds. Johnson recorded 14 points and nine boards against Ferris State in exhibition action.
COOL HAND LUKE
A versatile player that can play either the two guard or the wing, Luke Fabrizius is a strong scorer with good range from the outside. A lanky catch-and-shoot forward, Fabrizius led Dayton in 3-point field goal percentage (.375). In his last six games of the season, Fabrizius shot .519 (14-27) from the field and 12-of-25 (.480) from three point range. He broke out hitting 5-of-6 from beyond the arc en route to a career-high of 17 points against Duquesne. He had 34 points in the last three games after scoring 12 in all of February. Fabrizius had 14 points against Ferris State in exhibition play.
P-DUBYA
Sophomore Paul Williams, one of the top prep recruits out of Michigan, brought a reputation as a clutch shooter and lockdown defender to the Flyer backcourt. He was a member of the A-10's Preseason All-Newcomer team. After 32 games of play during his freshman debut, Williams shows sure signs of improving numbers in all categories, adding to the success of the Flyers in the upcoming 2009-10 season. After being slowed by a foot injury and a hamstring injury, Williams averaged 2.2 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Williams chipped in with 11 points against Ferris State in exhibition action.
BENSON'S BACK
Redshirt freshman Josh Benson, the second in a line of highly-anticipated local talents who made the decision to "stay home" and committed early to the Flyer program, returns to the squad looking to pay dividends in the front court. Benson had a torn right labrum that he injured in early November. Following surgery, he underwent a long rehab program and redshirted in 2008-09. Benson had a good start to the season by adding eight points and five boards versus Ferris State in exhibition play.
WELCOME MATT
With only one scholarship available, University of Dayton men's basketball coach Brian Gregory and his staff landed their third top local product in as many years when Centerville High School star Matt Kavanaugh signed his letter of intent to attend UD and play basketball for the Flyers. In his senior season, Kavanaugh averaged 17.7 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game for Centerville. His junior season he was the only underclassman on the All-Ohio First and Second Teams. Kavanaugh had a rebound versus Ferris State in exhibition play.
PARKER TRANSFERS TO DAYTON
In April 2009, guard Josh Parker transferred to the University of Dayton from Drake University. Parker, a 6-0 guard who graduated in 2007 from Thornton High School in suburban Chicago, has already begun classes and will redshirt the 2009-10 season due to NCAA transfer rules. Parker appeared in 33 games last season for Drake, with nine starts. He averaged 10.7 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.5 rebounds, while shooting .432 (57-132) from three-point range and .720 (67-93) from the free throw line. He was third on the team in scoring, and led the team in 3-pt. FG%.
WALK THIS WAY
Walk-ons can be the lifeblood of a successful college basketball program. That is no different at Dayton. Senior Dan Fox is a gritty, hard-nosed worker on-and-off the court. A student of the game, Fox has been helpful to the Flyers' overall success in his previous three seasons. Another four-year team member, Luke Hendrick is a "whatever it takes" type of player who is unselfish and team-oriented. The Flyers also will gain two players from the 2007-08 squad, Peter Zestermann and Logan Nourse. Zestermann played in three games and made his only field goal attempt of the season. Nourse appeared in four games and had a steal. Against Ferris State in exhibition action, Fox tallied three rebounds and an assist, Zestermann connected on a field goal and Hendrick had a rebound.
UD COACH Brian Gregory's CONTRACT EXTENDED THROUGH 2018
University of Dayton Vice President and Director of Athletics Tim Wabler announced in May that the University has extended head men's basketball coach Brian Gregory's contract for an additional five years, and that it will run through the 2017-18 season. Since taking over as Dayton's head coach in 2003, Gregory has a record of 125-68. His original contract term was five years. He signed a new agreement in 2005 that originally ran through 2013. He is one of just 25 coaches who have been at their current school at least five years. That list includes Syracuse's Jim Boeheim, UConn's Jim Calhoun, Florida's Billy Donovan, Michigan State's Tom Izzo, Duke's Mike Kryzewski, Louisville's Rick Pitino, Kansas' Bill Self, Maryland's Gary Williams and North Carolina's Roy Williams, average at least 20 wins a season.
GREGORY SELECTED TO TOUR WITH USO'S OPERATION HARDWOOD VI
In August, University of Dayton men's basketball head coach Brian Gregory had the opportunity to travel to the Persian Gulf and visit troops as part of the sixth installment of "Operation Hardwood," a USO/Armed Forces Entertainment tour. The tour featured a week-long basketball tournament and championship game with some of the best military players stationed overseas. It was the second straight year Gregory toured overseas.
NCAA TOURNAMENT RETURNING TO UD ARENA THROUGH 2013
The National Collegiate Athletic Association has announced preliminary round sites for the 2011, 2012 and 2013 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championships, and the tournament is returning to the University of Dayton Arena in each of those years. The NCAA First and Second Rounds will come back to Dayton in 2013. In addition, the NCAA Opening Round Game will remain at UD Arena through the 2013 tournament.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Dayton finished last season second in the Atlantic 10 in field goal percentage defense (.396) and scoring defense (61.5). UD held then-No. 14 Xavier to 21 percent shooting from three-point range, forced 15 turnovers and tied a school record for blocks with nine. In the Marquette win, UD forced the Golden Eagles to shoot 39 percent from the field. Saint Joseph's Ahmad Nivins, the Atlantic 10 Player of the Year, was limited to a season-low 12 points against the UD defense, which was eight below his season average.
DEFENSE MECHANISMS
Just how good was Dayton's defense last season. Consider the Flyers set single-season records for offensive rebounds (484) and block (124). The 61.4 points per game was the best since the 1959-60 season and the opponent's field goal percentage of .397 was the best since the 1968-69 campaign.
STEAL OF A DEAL
Dayton's 6.5 steals per game last season was UD's best average in 17 years and ranks as the fifth-best steal-per-game average in school history. UD tallied six swipes against No. 15 Marquette. At Akron the Flyers had 11 steals and at Creighton UD tallied seven swipes. UD added nine steals against UNC Greensboro and had 10 versus UMass. The Flyers swiped nine in the win over St. Bonaventure with no player grabbing more than two. Dayton swiped nine in the win over then No. 14 Xavier. UD had eight steals at Rhode Island and seven swipes at No. 17/18 Xavier. UD had seven against Richmond in the A-10 Quarters.
CLOSE SHAVE
In 2008-09, Dayton was 11-1 in games decided by five points or less, the best record of close games in the nation. The Flyers were also 19-0 last season when leading with five minutes left in regulation.
CONQUERING GOLIATH
In recent years the Flyers have proved they can handle the big-name programs. The Flyers are 5-2 in the last three years against BCS programs and have won three consecutive games against Big East opponents.
TO BE THE BEST YOU HAVE TO BEAT THE BEST
During the 2008-09 campaign, Dayton defeated five teams that advanced to the 2009 NCAA Tournament (West Virginia, Marquette, Xavier, Temple, Akron).
THAT'S A CATCH-22
UD held opponents to 22 points or less in a half 10 times during the 2008-09 campaign. In 2007-08 the Flyers accomplished that feat six times.
ARENA ROCK
The Flyers' 20 consecutive home victories stretching back to the 2007-08 season is the longest streak since moving to UD Arena in 1969. UD's homecourt streak is third-best in the nation through games of November 4 and is the best in the Atlantic 10. The Flyers will be shooting for the Dayton all-time record for consecutive homecourt victories at the home opener against Creighton.
HOME SWEET HOME
Over the last three years on Tom Blackburn Court, the Flyers are 48-5. The 48 victories are the ninth-most in the NCAA since the 2006-07 season. Just ahead of the Flyers are Memphis (55 wins), Kansas (54), UNLV (52), Florida (51), Ohio State, Texas A&M and Pittsburgh (50) and Syracuse (49). UD has started at home 10-0 for the last three seasons. The Flyers have a home all-time winning percentage of .778 (749-213).
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Dayton's 18 victories last season at UD Arena set the program record for home wins and eclipsed the old mark set by the 2002-03 team that went 17-1 and the 1977-78 squad that went 17-3. Only two other Flyer squads, the 1949-50 team at the Fairgrounds Coliseum (16-0) and the 1959-60 squad in the UD Fieldhouse (14-0), have ever been unbeaten at home.
SPARK OFF THE BENCH
With such a deep team, it was no surprise Dayton's bench was a big part of the team's success last year. The Flyers went 21-3 in 2008-09 when their bench out-scores the opponents. UD held an 855-520 edge in bench scoring.
BIG ROTATION
Last season UD was one of 15 teams with at least 27 wins, but was the only one with 12 players averaging eight minutes per game.
ELITE COMPANY
Dayton coach Brian Gregory became just the fourth coach in Flyer basketball history to record 100 career victories. Gregory joined Don Donoher, Tom Blackburn and Oliver Purnell as the only Dayton coaches to reach the 100-win plateau. Gregory reached 100 wins faster than any Dayton coach except the two icons of Flyer basketball: Donoher and Blackburn.
THIRD IS THE WORD
Dayton won 27 or more games for just the third time in school history. Brian Gregory and the legendary Tom Blackburn are the only coaches to accomplish that feat at UD.
WELCOME TO FLIGHT CLUB
Dayton set a new single-season record for dunks just 19 games into the 2008-09 season. The Flyers' total of 117 was 56 more than the 61 slams performed by the 2003-04 team in 33 games. Dayton had a program-record nine against UNC Greensboro and matched that one month later with nine against St. Bonaventure. Against Delaware State, Wright had four dunks including one where Mickey Perry threw it off the backboard. At Akron, Wright had four of the Flyers' five slams. The Johnsons (Chris and Marcus) had two apiece in the Coppin State win. UD had four slams against George Mason and hammered home five at UMass. Dayton had eight flushes at Duquesne, four versus Saint Joseph's and four at La Salle. Dayton had six dunks from four different players against Temple. The Flyers had five slams at Xavier and Wright had all five against West Virginia in the NCAAs. Wright led UD with 54 dunks.
FILLING UP THE STAT SHEET
Dayton had six different players lead the team in scoring during the 2008-09 season - Chris Wright (16), Marcus Johnson (10), Rob Lowery (five) Charles Little, Mickey Perry and Chris Johnson (twice) and Luke Fabrizius (once). In rebounding, eight players have taken honors in at least one game - Wright (16), Chris Johnson (12) Kurt Huelsman and Little (five) and Devin Searcy, London Warren, Marcus Johnson and Rob Lowery (once). (Note: scoring and rebounding numbers add up to more than 35 due to games where more than one player tied for the team-high).
EYE 75 ON THE SCOREBOARD
The Flyers are 36-5 under head coach Brian Gregory when they score at least 75 points and were 7-1 last season.
RED & BLUE GAME RECAP
The Blue Squad defeated the Red Squad 62-51 as the Flyers played three eight-minute periods, and one six-minute period before more than 2,000 fans at UD Arena. Sophomore Luke Fabrizius had a huge day finishing up with a team-leading 23 points which included seven three pointers. Junior Devin Searcy also had a break out day scoring 20 points and getting four rebounds. Junior Chris Wright ended up getting a double-double scoring 13 points and snagging 10 rebounds, while senior Marcus Johnson finished with 13 points.
DAYTON DOWNS FERRIS STATE 88-73 IN EXHIBITION ACTION
Five players scored in double figures as the No. 21/22 University of Dayton men's basketball team opened the exhibition season Tuesday with an 88-73 victory against the Division II Ferris State Bulldogs. Sophomore Chris Johnson had a huge night for the Flyers, finishing the game with 14 points and nine rebounds. The rest of the scoring was UD's typical balanced attack. Senior Mickey Perry led the team with 16 points, while senior Kurt Huelsman added 15 of his own. Sophomore Luke Fabrizius finished with 14 points and Paul Williams tallied 11.
THE NAME OF THE GAME
The 35 games last year were the most played by the University of Dayton in a single season.
HEAD OF THE CLASS
UD's seniors, the Class of 2010, have tied the best mark in UD history for wins in their first three seasons on campus. The Flyers' 69 wins inform 2007-09 tied the freshman-sophomore-junior wins by the Class of 1955 and the Class of 2005. The 69 wins are also the third-best three-year period, regardless of class year, in school history. Dayton won 79 games between 1949 and 1952, and 75 games between 1953 and 1956.
WINNING SOLUTIONS
The 27 victories last season tied for second-most in school history. Dayton's overall body of work included three solid winning streaks. An eight-game winning streak with victories over Marquette and Auburn, a seven-game streak with wins against George Mason and Miami and a six-game streak that included triumphs over Duquesne and Saint Joseph's.
NATION'S BEST
Last year the Flyers finished tied for 17th nationally in winning percentage (.771), 25th in the NCAA in field goal defense (.397), 30th in three-point field goal defense (.312) and tied for 35th in scoring defense (61.4).
DEPTH CHARGE
UD was the only top team playing 12 players at least eight minutes a game, and one of the products of that is simply wearing down the opposition. Dayton out-scored George Mason 11-2 in the last 4:41 of the game. In the Miami game, UD out-scored the Redhawks 10-4 over the last 4:31. Against Marshall, UD held the Thundering Herd scoreless for exactly nine minutes late in the second half. In the Saint Louis game, the Flyers held SLU without a field goal in the last 7:18 of play. In the NCAA Tournament, Dayton held a 12-6 scoring advantage over West Virginia in the final five minutes. In the last five minutes of the game, Dayton held its opponents to just .388 (95-245) from the field and .287 (29-101) from three.
HOT, HOT, HOT
UD has won its last 28 non-conference home games. Included are games against members of the Big East, Conference USA, Mid-American and Missouri Valley conferences.
SPECIAL DELIVERY
This year's Dayton Flyer basketball marketing theme is "We're All Flyers," once again signifying the bond between UD and Miami Valley residents. For the second year in a row, head coach Brian Gregory and every UD player hand-delivered season tickets to 20 season ticket-holders around Dayton on Oct. 19.
DAYTON TEAMS' ACADEMIC PROGRESS RATES AMONG THE NCAA'S BEST AGAIN
In April 2009, eight athletics programs at the University of Dayton were honored by the NCAA with Public Recognition Awards for their latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) scores. The Flyer men's basketball team was one of 10 NCAA teams listed (BYU, Duke, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan State, North Carolina, Texas, Villanova and VCU are the others) that posted multi-year APR scores in the top 10 percent of all squads. The APR provides a real-time look at a team's academic success each semester or quarter by tracking the academic progress of each student-athlete. The APR includes eligibility, retention, and graduation in the calculation and provides a clear picture of the academic culture in each sport.
102 FLYERS NAMED TO A-10 HONOR ROLL
The University of Dayton Division of Athletics continued its long tradition of success in the classroom by placing 102 student-athletes on the Atlantic 10 Commissioner's Honor Roll for the Spring 2009 semester. The A-10 Honor Roll, which was released in June by Atlantic 10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade, honors each student-athlete with a 3.5 grade-point average or higher during the Spring 2009 semester. Dayton was third among the 14 Atlantic 10 Conference institutions in number of student-athletes recognized, despite sponsoring fewer sports than all but one school in the league.
AND THE CROWD GOES WILD
The Flyer Faithful set a UD record for regular season total attendance. The sellout crowd that saw UD defeat Duquesne pushed the season total attendance up to 229,768, the best in the regular season and the third-best overall.
THE FLYER FAITHFUL
For years, UD has claimed it has had the best fans in the nation. In 2001, The Sporting News conducted an unscientific poll of college basketball coaches, media and SIDs. In the Jan. 8, 2001 issue of the magazine, UD's fans were tabbed as college basketball's best. And they prove it to everyone the Flyers play. In 2007-08 UD had the second-best average home attendance in school history (12,801). UD Arena has 89 sellouts in its 38-year history and four in 2008-09. The record for sellouts is eight held in the Arena's first season 1969-70. UD's last 151 regular season home games have had attendance of at least 11,000 fans. In the last 14 years, 99% of UD's home games have drawn at least 10,000 (389 of 392), including the last 188 regular season games.
UD AMONG THE BEST IN NCAA ATTENDANCE
The University of Dayton finished in the Top 30 in men's basketball attendance for the 11th straight season in 2007-08. The Flyers led the Atlantic 10 in attendance for the 12th straight season. UD averaged more than 2,400 fans a game better than any other team in the conference.
TOURNEY TOWN
The NCAA Division I Tournament made its start at UD Arena for the eighth year in a row as the University of Dayton Arena host the NCAA Opening Round Game in 2009. This year the UD Arena will serve as a regional site for the 2010 NCAA Women's Basketball Championship. UD has hosted the Opening Round game since its inception in its current form in 2002. When the 2010 NCAA Tournament is over, UD Arena will have been an NCAA site in 24 of the last 41 years and will have hosted 87 NCAA Tournament games. It makes UD Arena the most prolific NCAA Tournament venue ahead of Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City (83) and the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City (81).
DAYTON AMONG TOP 10 IN NCAA GRADUATION SUCCESS RATE
The University of Dayton's 96 percent Graduation Success Rate leads the Atlantic 10 Conference and ties it for 10th in the NCAA. In addition, this year's GSR Report shows that UD graduated 100 percent of its student-athletes that participated in women's basketball, men's cross country, women's cross country/track & field, men's golf, women's golf, women's rowing, women's soccer, men's tennis, women's tennis and volleyball. In addition to the ten programs listed above, the football program had a GSR of 95 followed closely by men's soccer (93), baseball (92), softball (92) and men's basketball (89). The UD's men's basketball team's GSR was the best in the A-10.
DID YOU KNOW?
UD won more games than any other school in both the 1950s and `60s. UD won 435 games between 1950 and 1969 and ranks among the top teams of the 1950s and 1960s in Division I history. The Flyers' .763 (228-71) winning percentage in the 1950s ranks fifth in the decade. Their .729 (207-77) winning percentage ranks eighth in the 1960s.
