DAYTON, Ohio – University of Dayton head football coach
Rick Chamberlin and his staff will welcome 109 players back to campus Monday, August 8 as the Flyers prepare for the 2016 football season. Chamberlin is beginning his ninth season as UD's head coach and returns 18 starters (nine offense, seven defense, both kicking specialists) from last season. First practice will be Tuesday, Aug. 9.
Dayton was 10-2 overall in 2015, making the Flyers' first appearance in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision playoffs. UD was the Pioneer Football League co-champions with a 7-1 conference record. It was the Flyers' 12th PFL crown in the 23-year history of the league.
This season, UD is predicted to finish second in the PFL's preseason coaches' poll, in a tight race that separated Dayton and preseason favorite San Diego by one voting point. The Flyers got six first-place votes, while the Toreros had five.
The Flyers have had 38 winning seasons in the last 39 years.
UD is led by a trio of redshirt senior captains – linebacker
Christopher Beaschler, tight end
Ian Palin and center
Shane Toub.
Beaschler is just the sixth two-time captain in school history. He was a CoSIDA First Team Academic All-American in 2015 and the Pioneer Football League's Co-Scholar Athlete of the Year. He is a two-time First Team All-PFL selection and a three-time Academic All-PFL performer. He led UD in 2015 with 110 tackles. In three seasons of action, the senior has 293 total hits and 21.5 tackles behind the line, with two interceptions.
A three-year starter, Palin caught 14 passes in 2015 and grabbing 13 in 2014. He was Honorable Mention All-PFL and was named Second Team Academic All-PFL. He was the 2015 winner of UD's Beno Keiter Award, which is for contributions to the program over a career.
Toub is two-year starter and the unquestioned leader of a veteran offensive line. He is a four-time member of the Pioneer Football League Academic Honor Roll. He is also a football team representative on UD's Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. He has a 17-5 record as a starter.
Beaschler is also one of six Flyers who were named Preseason All-PFL heading into the 2016 season.
That group is led by junior cornerback
Christian Searles. Searles was named to the PFL team as both a cornerback and a kick returner. He was also named a Third Team Preseason All-America Punt Returner by STATS, LLC.
Others named Preseason First Team All-PFL were fellow cornerback
Cameron Stubbs, offensive tackle
Jimmy Vogel, placekicker
William Will and punter
Sean Smith.
Other key performers back are quarterback
Alex Jeske (nine win as a starter), running back
Tucker Yinger (leading rusher with 731 yards), linebacker
Jack Crain (second on team with 105 tackles) and defensive tackle Miles Ashelman (led team with 5.0 sacks).
Coach Chamberlin has guided UD to 65 wins in his first eight seasons. A Flyer All-American linebacker in his playing days, Chamberlin has been a part of 359 of UD's 659 wins – 26 as a player, 268 as an assistant coach, and 65 as a head coach. He was the 2015 AFCA Region Coach of the Year.
After reporting, attending meetings, getting their equipment and undergoing physicals Monday, the team will undergo fitness tests Tuesday morning. First practice for the 2016 Flyers will be Tuesday afternoon. Practices will be at Welcome Stadium and the adjacent Jerry Von Mohr practice field.
Dayton will play six home games. In addition to the home opener on Saturday, Sept. 3 against Central State, UD will play a second home non-conference game against Robert Morris on Sept. 10. Pioneer Football League teams visiting Welcome Stadium in 2016 are Drake (Oct. 1), Morehead State (Oct. 8), Stetson (Oct. 29) and Valparaiso (Nov. 5).
With the exception of the season opener, all home games are all 1:00 p.m. ET starts. In a scheduling fluke, the Flyers will alternate pairs of home and road games until the regular season finale at Marist.
Tickets Now On Sale...Season tickets are only $50 for adults and $25 for ages 18 and under. Children eighth grade and younger can join the Future Flyers Kids Club for just $20 to have free admission to all home football, men's basketball and women's basketball games. Single game tickets are $10.00 for adults, and $5 for children high school age and younger. Groups of 20 or more are $5 each. UD students are admitted free with an ID. Call 229-4433 for more information.
Good News Worth Repeating...The Flyers enter the season with the fourth-best winning percentage (.757, 134-43) in FCS football since 2000 AND have produced the most football Academic All-Americans (23) at any level of competition in the same time frame. The top five are Harvard (.805), Montana (.766), North Dakota State (.7613), Dayton (.757) and San Diego (.705).
Streaking…UD has not been shut out in a school-record 443 straight games, the best such active string in all of college football. The last team to shut out the Flyers was Marshall, 9-0, on Oct. 16, 1976. That is also the all-time FCS record.
Success In The Classroom…In the last 15 years, the University of Dayton football program has produced 23 Academic All-Americans, the most of any college football team. In the history of the Academic All-America program, UD football has had 53 Academic All-Americans. Among schools playing Division I football, only Nebraska (106), Penn State (63) and Notre Dame (58) have had more. Oklahoma (52) and Ohio State (52) are next. The Flyers also had a PFL-record 81 players on the 2015 PFL Academic Honor Roll, the most in the PFL for the 21st time in the 23-year history of the league. UD is one of five D-I schools (and the only one in the PFL) to have a Campbell Trophy semifinalist for 10 straight seasons. The Campbell Trophy is the National Football Foundation's award sometimes referred to as "the Academic Heisman."
PFL Power...The Pioneer Football League is in its 23rd season. The original (and now the only) Division I strictly need-based football league began with charter members Butler, Dayton, Drake, Evansville, San Diego and Valparaiso. UD's 103-32 record is the best in PFL history.
