Dayton Flyers

<P><B>Dec. 7, 2007</B> <P> <!-- LINKS TO RELATED PAGES BEGIN --> <!-- LINKS TO RELATED PAGES END --> <P> <p><a href="http://daytonflyers.cstv.com/photos/schools/dayt/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/CampRelease.pdf"><b>Complete Release in PDF Format</b></a> <P>University of Dayton senior tight end <A HREF="http://www.fansonly.com/schools/dayt/sports/m-footbl/mtt/champa_matt00.html" >Matt Champa</a> has been named to the 2007 Walter Camp Foundation Football Championship Subdivision All-America team. The team was selected by the head coaches and sports information directors of the Football Championship Subdivision schools. <P>Champa led all FCS tight ends in catches per game (4.92), receiving yards per game (76.8) and touchdowns (9). His 59 catches in 2007 were the third-most in a single season at UD, and his 921 yards were the second-most in a season. Both are Flyer records for tight ends. The nine TD catches tie Jim Currin for the best by a UD tight end, and are the second-highest total by any Dayton player. <P>On the Flyer career all-time lists, Champa finished second in TD receptions (19), fifth in catches (104) and seventh in yardage (1,588). All are UD tight end career records. <P>Hailing from Sagamore Hills, Ohio, Champa is a 2002 graduate of Nordonia High School. He will graduate December 15 with degrees in Leadership and Marketing. <P>Champa was a unanimous First Team All-Pioneer Football League selection. <P>Dayton was 11-1 in 2007. The Flyers were voted as FCS Mid-Major National Champions after defeating Albany 42-21 in the Gridiron Classic Bowl Game. UD was co-champions of the PFL, the school's ninth league title in the last 15 years. Dayton was also ranked #24 in the final FCS Coaches Poll. <P>Walter Camp, "The Father of American Football," first selected an All-America team in 1889. Camp - a former Yale University athlete and football coach - is also credited with developing play from scrimmage, set plays, the numerical assessment of goals and tries and the restriction of play to eleven men per side. <P>The Walter Camp Football Foundation - a New Haven, based all-volunteer group - was founded in 1967 to perpetuate the ideals of Camp and to continue the tradition of selecting All-America teams for the Football Bowl and Championship subdivisions.