DAYTON, Ohio - Five months after the end of the regular season, the University of Dayton football team will conclude its offseason with the annual Red & Blue game at Welcome Stadium on Sunday, April 18. Kickoff is at 12:00 Noon ET, and admission is free.
The Flyers will be divided into two teams and play an actual game, instead of conducting a controlled scrimmage.
“The players and coaches love spring ball,” said University of Dayton head coach Rick Chamberlin, “After all of the conditioning, it’s just football.”
UD finished 9-2 overall, and 7-1 in the Pioneer Football League in 2009. With a 27-16 win over Marist, the Flyers earned a share of their 10th Pioneer Football League Championship. Dayton is returning a high-powered offense, including PFL Offensive Player of the Year Steve Valentino.
Former Flyer standouts Jim Overman and Bob Shortal will serve as honorary coaches for the Red & Blue game. Overman and Shortal played together in 1962 and 1963.
Overman was a record-setting fullback, while Shortal was a strong guard, turned linebacker who was drafted by the New York Giants upon graduating. Both are members of the UD Athletic Hall of Fame.
The game will consist of four eight-minute quarters, with limited special teams activity. There will be live field goal and PAT attempts, but no kickoffs (the ball will be placed at the receiving team's 25-yard line in kickoff situations) and all punts must be fair caught.
At the coin flip before the game, the 2010 team captains will be announced. At halftime, four senior members of the UD’s 2009 football team – Kalen Hemmelgarn, Scott Horcher, Matt Smyth and Dan Sullivan – will represent their teammates in a ring ceremony honoring the Flyers’ 2009 PFL Championship Team. Members of the squad who are playing in Sunday’s game will receive their championship rings following the game in the Donoher Center.
The end of the game will in some ways begin the 2010 season, as 25 of UD’s 27 incoming recruits are expected to be in attendance. After the game concludes, the newest Flyers will join their new teammates on the field and be paired up with their “Big Brothers,” the veterans who will shepherd them through their first few weeks of Flyer football.
The Red & Blue Game will be broadcast live on Newstalk 1290 WHIO Radio, and streamed at www.DaytonFlyers.com. Chamberlin will join Flyer play-by-play announcer Larry Hansgen in the booth to provide commentary during the game.
