UD Basketball Sells Out Again
TJ Thompson | Sports Editor
Dayton men’s basketball has sold out for the entire season for the fourth consecutive year, as announced by the University on October 11. The announcement also included UD’s two exhibition games this year, Xavier and Ashland. the Flyers’ Spotlight on Mental Health charity game against Xavier will be played on Oct. 20, and the Ashland game on Oct. 26.
UD is looking to have strong conference play again this year. Dayton opens the conference season at home against LA Salle on New Year’s Eve. UD Arena will not see much conference play this season, with only three of the eight games being played at home.
With 18 more sellouts this season, Dayton will extend its regular-season sellout streak to 77 games dating back to the 2019-2020 season. This will mark the fifth consecutive season that UD has had double-digit sellouts.
Last season, UD ranked 20th nationally in average attendance. Over the last four seasons, UD Arena has welcomed an average of 13,407 fans through its doors every game. This is a school record for average attendance. Since the Arena opened in 1969, UD has been in the NCAA’s Top 35 in men’s basketball attendance all 53 seasons. UD became just the 11th school to have 10 million fans attend the men’s basketball games.
Dayton opens the season at home against Saint Francis on Nov. 4. When the doors are opened before tip-off, UD will welcome its 11 millionth fan to attend a game at UD Arena.
Dayton returns three starters from last year’s team that ended the season with a 25-8 record and a third-place finish in the A-10—earning them a number 7 seed in the NCAA tournament, and a first-round win.
University of Dayton Vice-President and Director of Athletics Neil Sullivan said, “Our fans are the heartbeat of our program.” He also stated, “As college sports transform, the partnership with our fans is more important than ever. Our fans have choices, and we are grateful they choose to invest in the Flyers.”