Sometimes, the name on the front of those opposing uniforms has not been very appealing. Take Saturday night’s opponent, Presbyterian.
Now, why this is necessary. According to last year’s numbers, the UD basketball program earned about $9.1 million. The department, overall, made about $18 million. One program, then, earned about half of the department’s revenue.
Because of that, you need home games, and as many of them as you can get. The big-name teams just won’t come.
A few years ago, for a story on Dayton’s schedule, SMU coach Matt Doherty told me that when he was at North Carolina he wouldn’t even take UD’s call, and the Flyers called often. He didn’t want to play at UD Arena because of the atmosphere and the chance his team would lose.
Games against teams like Presbyterian are necessary at times, because they generate that needed revenue.
Granted, some of that revenue is brought in by significant ticket prices, which is why fans would like to see more opponents whose programs have a national-caliber history.
Unfortunately, those programs aren’t coming, no matter how hard Dayton tries.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com
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