University of Dayton - Athletics

Athletics

The Dayton Flyers compete in the Atlantic Ten Conference in all sports except football, in which they compete in the Pioneer Football League. The Flyers' mascot is "Rudy Flyer," a pun based on the university's initials, "U.D." Rudy is a barnstorming pilot who wears 1930s-1940s-era goggles and a leather pilot's helmet. The nickname "Flyers" is a tribute to the Wright Brothers who began their careers and invented the airplane in Dayton.

Flyers basketball is one of the biggest sports attractions in the Dayton area with the Flyers perennially ranking in the NCAA Division I top 30 in basketball attendance. The men's basketball team has advanced to the NCAA tournament numerous times and holds a 13-15 all time NCAA tournament record. The team reached the NCAA finals against UCLA in 1967 and won the NIT in 1962, 1968, and 2010.

Football has similarly experienced considerable success throughout its history at Dayton. UD has won two NCAA Division III titles (in 1980 & 1989) and advanced to the title game three other times. Since moving to NCAA Division I-AA (now FCS) in 1993, the Flyers have won eight PFL championships and in 2002 and 2007 were the NCAA Division I-AA/FCS Consensus Mid-Major Football National Champion.

Dayton's historic rivalries in most sports have involved fellow Southwest Ohio schools—the University of Cincinnati, Miami University, and Xavier University. Dayton and Xavier play for the Blackburn/McCafferty Trophy during their regular season home-home men's basketball matchups.

UD offers a wide variety of varsity athletic opportunities to men (baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis) and women (basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, volleyball).

Many of these varsity athletic teams are supported by the Red Scare, UD's spirit group made up of 1,300 undergrads. From its inception in 1996 until 2006, Red Scare was focused primarily on men's basketball. In 2007, the focus of Red Scare expanded to other sports including baseball and softball in the spring, football, men's and women's soccer, and volleyball in the fall, and men's and women's basketball in the winter. The Red Scare expanded other sports' fan base with the creation of a points system called "Spirit Points." Students are given points for each sporting event they attend. These points are then used to obtain a quality seat at the men's basketball game.

In addition to varsity athletics, there are numerous club and intramural sports available to students including ice hockey. In January 2006, the university opened its new RecPlex, a $25 million state of the art sports and recreational facility for students of the university.