New UD Arena director getting to know his workplace

Dayton announced the hiring of DeBolt, who is also a senior associate director of athletics, on Dec. 13. In his first days, he oversaw a graduation and men’s and women’s basketball games. He will also oversee other athletic facilities on campus and is getting up to speed on some possible renovation projects.

“I’m really excited,” he said. “I’ve been looking to get into college athletics. I’m at a point where it was a good move for me. Obviously, Dayton and UD Arena has a pretty good history. It’s a prestigious venue. So far, it’s been great.”

DeBolt, a 1992 Wittenberg University graduate, spent the previous 12 years as the vice president of operations for the Columbus Crew. He oversaw field maintenance at Crew Stadium and managed events there. He was named Major League Soccer Operations Executive of the Year in 2005. He won that same award in 2000 when he was director of operations for the Chicago Fire.

“When you’re running a facility, whether it’s indoors or outside, it’s kind of the same,” he said. “We didn’t do just soccer there in Columbus. We did other sports. I managed that and our training complex, which was off-site there.”

DeBolt replaces Tim O’Connell, who was named vice president of ballpark operations for the Cincinnati Reds.

Former Flyers: Kevin Dillard, a senior on the men's basketball team last season, is averaging 16.3 points and 3.8 assists per game for Novipiu Casale Monferrato, a team in the second division of Italian basketball. Dillard had 20 points in the team's most recent game Sunday.

The city of Casale Monferrato is located between Turin and Milan in northwest Italy. There is one other American on Dillard’s team: David Jackson, who played for Western Illinois.

• Josh Benson, a senior last season, is averaging 6.2 points through 23 games for the Toyama Grouses in Japan. Other Americans on the team include: Gonzaga’s Ira Brown, UNC-Greensboro’s Josh Gross and Pacific’s Sam Willard.

• Chris Wright, who scored 1,601 points for the Flyers from 2007-11, is averaging 22.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game for the Maine Red Claws in the NBA D-League. He has scored in double digits in 25 straight regular-season games.

• Brian Roberts, Dayton’s MVP from 2006-08, is averaging 5.2 points per game in his second season with the New Orleans Pelicans.

• Chris Johnson, Dayton’s career leader in games played (138, 2008-12) is averaging 19.2 points per game for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the D-League. Johnson made his NBA debut last season, playing eight games for Memphis.