Dayton Flyers

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The Flyers is the team name for the University of Dayton's intercollegiate athletic teams. The name is a reference and homage to Daytonians Orville and Wilbur Wright who pioneered heavier than air flight.

Contents 1 NCAA affiliation 2 Fan support 3 Rivalries 4 Mascot 5 Notable Student Athletes

[edit] NCAA affiliation

All Flyer's intercollegiate sports teams participate at the NCAA Division I level. The football team competes in the Division I FCS non-scholarship Pioneer Football League, and women's golf plays in the Colonial Athletic Association, while all other sports compete in the non-football Atlantic 10 Conference. Dayton fields seven men's teams (baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, and tennis), and nine women's teams (basketball, cross country, golf, rowing, soccer, softball, tennis, track and field, and volleyball).

[edit] Fan support

University of Dayton athletic teams enjoy considerable support from their energized fan base. The men's basketball team is perennially among the top 25 programs nationally in attendance.[1] The student fan base is known as the "Red Scare" and provides raucous support for the Flyers from behind the east goal during basketball games.

Red Scare is a highly visible student organization impacting and influencing the outcomes of each and every University of Dayton athletic contest. Since its inception in 2000, the Red Scare has grown from 50 members to the current membership of over 1300 UD undergrads. With each passing year, the Red Scare continues to grow in number and prestige, making all of UD's facilities some of the most intimidating environments in the nation.

[edit] Rivalries

The Flyers' traditional rivals in most sports are regional schools such as Xavier, Cincinnati, and Miami (Ohio). Both members of the Atlantic 10 Conference, Dayton and Xavier vie for possession of the Blackburn/McCafferty Trophy during regular season men's basketball games. Other historical rivals of note include Louisville, Notre Dame, DePaul, and Marquette. The latter three schools formed an informal basketball league with Dayton during the 1970s and 1980s, prior to formal league association for each school (all three are now in the Big East Conference).

[edit] Mascot

Rudy Flyer is the mascot of the Dayton Flyers. He is dressed in early pilots attire including a scarf and goggles. Each year two or three students share the responsibility of wearing the Rudy suit.

[edit] Notable Student Athletes

Chuck Noll (1953) - Super Bowl winning Head Coach of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers

Jon Gruden (1986) - Head Coach of the NFL's Tampa Bay Buccaneers was a backup quarterback for the football team

Roosevelt Chapman (1984) - all-time leading men's basketball scorer. Drafted in the 3rd round of the 1984 NBA draft by the Kansas City Kings

Dan Patrick - Sports radio talk show host and former ESPN personality.

Jim Paxson - Former NBA player for the Boston Celtics and Portland Trail Blazers, former General Manager for the Cleveland Cavaliers

Chris Rolfe - Striker for the Chicago Fire in the MLS.

Dasan Robinson - Defender for the Chicago Fire in the MLS.

• University of Dayton
• Dayton Athletics
• UDPride.com Flyer Fan Website
• UD Cheerleaders Official Website
• UD Red Scare

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