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June 11, 2001
Location: Dayton, Ohio 45469-1679 A-10 Item List About Dayton 1) Where, Oh Where, Is Dayton, Ohio??? The city of Dayton is located in southwest Ohio. It is 50 miles north of Cincinnati and 75 miles west of Columbus. 2) Facts About The University Of Dayton... The University of Dayton is on the nation's 10 largest Catholic universities and Ohio's largest private university. UD was in the top five of "America's Best Colleges" in the Midwest in U.S. News & World Report's 2001 college rankings. Dayton has the 12th-best graduation rate of NCAA Division I scholarship athletes.
4) Virginia Ties... Dayton head basketball coach Oliver Purnell has several ties to the state of Virginia. He graduated from Old Dominion University, where he was a three-year letter winner and senior captain and MVP of the 1975 NCAA Division II National Championship team. He was an assistant coach at his alma mater and at the University of Maryland. Purnell was the head coach at Radford University from 1988-1991, then returned to Norfolk as the Monarchs' head coach from 1991-1994. He has been the head coach of the Flyers since 1994. Purnell is also the uncle of Spider senior tailback J.R. Purnell.
6) Don't Carry Me Back To Old Virginia... Dayton's men's basketball team has never won a game in the state of Virginia. The Flyers are 0-10 in trips to the Commonwealth. Dayton is 0-5 at Virginia Tech, 0-2 at Old Dominion, 0-2 at VCU and 0-1 at Virginia. 7) PRO-UD Arena To Host NCAA Tournament... UD Arena is one of four venues to host at least 60 NCAA basketball tournament games, including the first two rounds this past season. Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City hosted 83 games from 1940-1964. Madison Square Garden in New York City had 71 games from 1943-1961. The Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City has hosted 69 games from 1971-2000. UD Arena has now had 61 games from 1971-2001. Its first game is one of the most memorable in NCAA history. On March 7, 1970, Notre Dame defeated Ohio U. 112-82, as Austin Carr of the Irish set a tournament record with 61 points, a mark that still stands.
9) Cradle Of Coaches... Nearby Miami University is often call the Cradle of Coaches, but Dayton has two alums who have been very successful NFL coaches. Chuck Noll played offensive guard and defensive back for the Flyers and was a captain during his senior season. He graduated from Dayton in 1953 and was a charter member of the school's athletics hall of fame. Noll led the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl titles. Jon Gruden was a quarterback for the Flyers from 1983-1985. He graduated in 1986 and is the current head coach of the Oakland Raiders.
11) Pronouncer For A S-P-E-L-L... Alex Cameron is an associate professor of English at the University of Dayton. On May 29-31, he was center stage at the 74th Annual Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Cameron marked his 21st consecutive year as the event's pronouncer. ESPN televised the finals on May 31. 12) Not To Be Confused With Dayton-a... When you think of NASCAR, do you think of Dayton? Scientists at the University of Dayton Research Institute are working on two different energy-absorbing devices designed to save drivers' lives. One team is testing and evaluating an energy-absorbing racetrack wall "cushion". Another is working to develop the Humpy Bumper, a lightweight, shock-absorbing device to be marketing to the stock car industry. NEXT WEEK: Along Came the Spiders...to Duquesne.
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Spiders Fall To Hot-Shooting Ford Burgos 
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3) The Wright Stuff...
Did you know that Orville and Wilbur Wright lived in Dayton? It was in their bicycle shop in Dayton that they studied and built their first airplane. The parts were sent to Kill Devil Hill in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, where the plane was assembled and flown.
5) Third Time Is A Charm...
Oliver Purnell has been named Coach of the Year in three different conferences: 1991 at Radford (Big South), 1993 at Old Dominion (Colonial Athletic Association) and 1998 at Dayton (
8) Maybe It Should Be Called LO-UD Arena...
As the Spiders found out this past March, the Flyers have a definite home floor advantage in the UD Arena. Built in 1969, UD Arena has a capacity of 13,455. The Flyers averaged 12,157 in home attendance this past season, the top mark in the Atlantic 10 and the 24th highest average in Division I. In the past 13 years, 99% of Dayton's home games have drawn at least 10,000 fans. The past 71 regular season games have drawn at least 10,000 fans and the past 39 have had crowds of at least 11,000.
10) Flyer En Fuego...
ESPN anchor Dan Patrick is a 1979 of the University of Dayton. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in broadcasting. In 1997, he received Dayton's Distinguished Alumni Award. He was named the National Sportscaster of the Year in January, 2000. Patrick is attempting to become King of all Sports Media, as he anchor and reports on ESPN's SportsCenter, writes for ESPN The Magazine, and hosts The Dan Patrick Radio Show weekdays on ESPN Radio, which is carried by more than 600 affiliates nationwide.
