“Every match we’re playing, we could bring our A game and still lose. I’ve never had a schedule like that,” he said.
UD begins the season in the Dayton Flyer Classic against Pittsburgh on Aug. 27 and will play in tournaments at Minnesota, Nebraska and Notre Dame. In the Ratings Percentage Index – yes, volleyball has those computer standings, too – every UD nonconference foe ranked 90th or better out of 330 Division I teams last year.
But the Flyers have never advanced past the second round of the NCAA tourney, and Sheffield believes the schedule will help them gear up for an extended postseason run.
“We’re not just trying to get into the Sweet 16. We’re trying to get to the second weekend and win,” he said. “To do that, we have to play a lot of matches that simulate that type of opponent you’d be playing. We have a team capable of getting to the Elite Eight. We’re going to schedule that way.”
If the Flyers do reach the Elite Eight, they should have plenty of fan support. The regionals will be held this year at UD Arena.
New academic home
UD held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new student-athlete academic center Tuesday, Aug. 10. A $500,000 donation by Anthony and Sheila Riggs made the state-of-the-art facility possible.
“I’m going to take full advantage of it,” said Flyer sophomore basketball player Josh Benson, looking over the 54 work stations in the expansive digs, located in the Frericks Center. “I’ve already designated three spots in the room that I prefer to be at.”
UD was first in the Atlantic 10 in Graduation Success Rate last year and has consistently been among the national leaders in key academic criteria.
But while she was overwhelmed by her new headquarters, Beth Flach, the academic coordinator for the men’s and women’s basketball teams, joked: “I guess I’m a little worried. (Athletic Director) Tim Wabler’s motto is win one more game, graduate one more (athlete), touch one more life in the community. ‘Graduate one more’ might be bumped up to graduate two more.”
No Gridiron Classic
The Gridiron Classic, which pitted the winners of the Pioneer Football League and the Northeast Conference, was played for the final time last season.
That means the UD football season will end with a regular-season game at Marist on Nov. 13.
“It’s always nice to have a postseason game,” UD coach Rick Chamberlin said. “But the way we approach our goals, we always say we want to have a winning season because we want to keep the tradition at Dayton going and we want to win the PFL. Those are our main goals.”
The Northeast Conference was given an automatic bid to the FCS playoffs (formerly Division I-AA) this year, putting an end to the Gridiron Classic. The thinking within the PFL is that the league will get an automatic bid during the next round of expansion.
C
ontact this reporter at (937) 225-2125 or dharris@DaytonDailyNews.com.
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