DAYTON -- The University of Dayton football team will host Valparaiso on Senior Day Saturday at 12 Noon ET.  Dayton is now 5-4 overall and 3-3 in the Pioneer Football League after last week's 16-10 loss to San Diego.  

19 Flyers will be recognized in Senior Day ceremonies on Saturday -- Danny Baker, Conor Clyde, Ca'ron Coleman, Mitchell Colter, Dylan Davidson,  Logan Foody, Nate Hess, Chase Holmes, Ryan Iiams, Cole Johnson, Jeremy Jonozzo, Colin Koennecke, Dan Kowaleski, Jerell Lewis, Aiden McKinley, Logan Miller, Kevin Roberts, Ty Stylski, and Austin Yeager.  Six others who went through Senior Day last year will be playing their final home game -- Cade Beam, Luke Brenner, Jake Coleman, Dylan DeMaison, Alec Keathley and Jack Wardzala.  At halftime, one of those 25 will be awarded the Lt. Andy Zulli Memorial Trophy.

UD leads FCS football in total defense (247.4 yards per game) and passing yards allowed (128.9) opponent first downs (12.9) and blocked kicks (7).  Dayton is second in FCS opponent third down conversion (25.4%).   Linebacker Gideon Lampron leads FCS in TFL (2.2).  Lampron and safety Vincent Firenze are tied for third nationally in blocked kicks (2).  O 

Valparaiso is 3-6 this season and also 1-4 in the PFL.  After dropping three games by double-digit margins at the start of league play, VU has played 60-minutes game the last two  outings -- a 17-14 win at Marist and a 24-17 loss to Butler at home last week.  

Beacon coach Landon Fox spent 11 seasons on Mike Kelly's and Rick Chamberlin's staff at Dayton as defensive coordinator and secondary coach.  Now in his sixth season at Valpo, this is just the second time Fox has brought his team to Welcome Stadium, that to the scheduling quirks of the Pioneer Football League.  

The Flyers entered the season with the fifth-best winning percentage (.711, 180-73) in FCS football since 2000 AND have produced the most football Academic All-Americans (36) in Division I in the same time frame.  The top five in winning percentage are North Dakota State (.804), Montana (.766), Harvard (.751), San Diego (.712) and Dayton (.711).

The Flyers are one of 11 FCS teams to win 700 games.  The first eight members of the FCS 700 Win Club were Yale, Harvard, Penn, Princeton, North Dakota State, Dartmouth, Delaware and Lehigh.  Dayton was the ninth.  Northern Iowa and Lafayette joined the 700 win club last season.

The Pioneer Football League is in its 31st 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.    The Flyers' 141-55 record is the best in PFL history. 
UD's 12 league championships are tied with San Diego for the most in PFL history.  

Trevor Andrews was named the University of Dayton's head football coach on Dec. 12, 2022.  
A 1998 Dayton graduate, he brought 25 years of college coaching experience back home to his alma mater.  Andrews was a three-year letterwinner at defensive back for the Flyers.  He was a member of three Pioneer Football League championship teams.

Dayton will close out the regular season in Minneapolis at St. Thomas next Saturday.  Game time is 2 p.m. ET.