Huge Exciting News for Dayton Flyer

Dayton Strives to Balance Multiple Priorities in Men’s Basketball Scheduling

Neil Sullivan discusses the 2025-26 schedule, released Thursday.

For Dayton Flyers men’s basketball, patience and persistence are crucial when crafting a schedule, according to Athletic Director Neil Sullivan. Sullivan had already predicted earlier this year that the schedule would be finalized later than usual, and indeed, it was released 15 days later than last year’s.

Months of effort—countless phone calls, emails, and texts—paid off as Dayton’s schedule is packed with opportunities to boost their NCAA tournament resume. “I’m not shy about asking people to play us,” Sullivan remarked. “Most schools have heard from me or someone on our staff.”

Dayton’s non-conference schedule over the past two seasons featured five games against Quad 1 teams. This year’s 13-game slate may not hit that number, but it still offers intriguing matchups:

• Dayton faces four NCAA championship-winning programs: Cincinnati (1961, 1962), Marquette (1977), Georgetown (1984), and Virginia (2019).

• The Flyers will take on as many as three ACC teams: Virginia, Florida State, and Miami (possibly at the ESPN Events Invitational).

• For the second straight year, Dayton will meet two Big East teams: Marquette and Georgetown.

• The Flyers will also play a Big 12 team (Cincinnati) and possibly another (Brigham Young) at the ESPN Events Invitational.

• Liberty, who had the most wins last season (28-7), boasts the highest number of victories over the past decade (233-106).

This schedule offers Dayton more chances for resume-building wins than many other A-10 teams. For example, Saint Louis will only face one team from a power conference, and Loyola Chicago’s upcoming schedule has no matchups with teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, or Big East.

Even past Dayton teams would envy this slate. The 29-2 squad of 2019-20 faced its top five non-conference opponents away from UD Arena, but the 2025-26 team will host Florida State and Liberty at home.

Finding the Right Balance
“Our goal is to balance a lot of competing priorities,” Sullivan explained. “The most important thing is creating a resume that appeals to the selection committee. We also want to provide compelling matchups for our season-ticket holders and feature games that are relevant for national TV. Of course, we need home games to support our financial needs.”

The schedule includes five Quad 3 or Quad 4 games at UD Arena: East Tennessee State, North Florida, Bethune-Cookman, Maryland-Baltimore County, and Canisius.

The addition of Virginia, Liberty, and Florida State was particularly significant since Dayton will play just two games at its November tournament instead of the usual three. Sullivan acknowledged that these types of tournaments with three games in three days are disappearing, citing events like the Players Era Festival—expanding to 32 teams in 2026—which draws teams away from traditional events like the Maui Invitational.

“Losing that third game in Orlando made this year’s schedule even more critical,” Sullivan said. “Each game is crucial. We need a volume of Quad 1 and Quad 2 games, and every loss feels even harder to stomach.”

Dayton’s 2025-26 Non-Conference Schedule

• Oct. 19, 2 p.m.: Penn State (Exhibition)

• Oct. 27: Bowling Green (Exhibition)

• Nov. 3: Canisius

• Nov. 8: UMBC

• Nov. 11: @ Cincinnati

• Nov. 15: @ Marquette

• Nov. 19: North Carolina Central

• Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m.: vs. Georgetown (ESPN Events Invitational)

• Nov. 28, 7 p.m. or 9:30 p.m.: vs. Brigham Young or Miami (ESPN Events Invitational)

• Dec. 2: East Tennessee State

• Dec. 6: vs. Virginia (Charlotte)

• Dec. 13: North Florida

• Dec. 16: Florida State

• Dec. 20: Liberty