“The credit goes to the fans,” Dayton Athletic Director Neil Sullivan said. “We just have great fans, and we’re grateful. We stand on the shoulders of our community and our fans — the Red Scare, our corporate partners, everyone that impacts our program. We have a deep sense of gratitude and thankfulness for the partnership that we’ve had for for many decades, going back long before me and long before any of us were here. It’s really a Dayton thing.”
Dayton opens the regular season at UD Arena on Nov. 6 against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. It first plays two exhibition games at UD Arena: Oct. 22 vs. Ohio State; and Oct. 28 vs. Cedarville.
The Flyers finished 22-12 last season. They return four starters, including their leading scorer DaRon Holmes II, and have seven newcomers on a roster with 12 scholarship players. They have been a unanimous favorite to win the Atlantic 10 Conference in all the preseason publications.
“My feelings are it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Sullivan said. “Clearly, there’s no season that we don’t plan on winning championships and playing basketball in March. This is no different. Certainly, we’re excited about our roster, excited about DaRon and the newcomers and are really hopeful and grateful for the medical support the guys that were injured last year got. They battled all spring and summer. Hopefully, they make the progress they need to make. We’ll tip it off here and and get ready to try and go compete for some championships.”
Dayton guaranteed its school-record sellout streak will grow from 44 games to 60. That includes the last 11 home games of the 2019-20 season, 17 home games in the 2021-22 season and 16 home games last season. It does not include home games played during the 2020-21 season, when attendance was limited during the pandemic.
UD has a long way to go to match the longest sellout streaks in college basketball. Duke has sold out 506 straight games at Cameron Indoor Stadium, which seats 9,314. Its last non-sellout was on Nov. 16, 1990. That’s the longest active streak in college basketball.
Kansas also has a long streak at Allen Fieldhouse, which seats 16,300. It stands at 352 games entering this season.
Dayton will average 13,407 fans for the third straight season. UD ranked 21st in the nation in attendance last season after ranking 19th with the same attendance the previous season.
Not counting the 2020-21 season, when attendance was limited during the pandemic, Dayton has ranked in the top 25 in the last eight seasons, in the top 30 for 25 straight seasons and in the top 35 every season since UD Arena opened in the 1969-70 season.
There are still ways to get tickets this season. According to UD, “Fans looking to purchase lower and upper arena tickets are encouraged to check Ticketmaster.com. Season-ticket holders who have tickets they are unable to use can post their tickets for sale straight from their My Flyer Account onto Ticketmaster or transfer tickets to friends and family via email. Ticket holders may also choose to donate their tickets to VetTix, supporting local active/retired military and first responders, through their My Flyer Account.”
Tickets may also become available two days before games if visiting teams or students return tickets.
In addition, according to UD, “A limited quantity of group premium seat options (ranging from 10-to-29 tickets are available on an individual or corporate basis. More information about group premium opportunities can be found by visiting Daytonflyers.com or by contacting Dan Preuett at (937) 229-5112.”
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