University of Dayton Athletics

Neil Sullivan was named the University of Dayton's vice president and director of athletics Sept. 25, 2015 when he was just 34 years old. He is committed to the University's values and mission, as well as continuing his pledge to conduct high-quality athletics programs, graduate student-athletes, and represent the University in a first-class manner. 

Sullivan leads a division known for a strong basketball tradition that dates back decades.  Dayton basketball has a lasting infrastructure built for long-term sustainability and success, with a fan base among the strongest in the country. In addition to basketball, Dayton has a robust offering of Olympic sports with strong platforms for success, especially in women’s volleyball and men's and women's soccer. 

Dayton has a broad-based sports program with 17 varsity sports, 430+ student athletes, 118 full-time employees and dozens of part-time employees.

The Dayton men’s basketball program has consistently appeared NCAA tournaments as at-large selections including advancing to the Elite 8 in 2014 and finishing with a No. 3 ranking in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls as a projected #1 seed in 2019-20.   In 2024, Dayton basketball was Dayton 24-7 overall, a #7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and advanced to second round.

Head Coach Anthony Grant was named National Coach of the Year, and sophomore forward Obi Toppin was the pick for National Player of the Year. This was just the second time in the last 40 seasons the Coach and Player of the Year came from the same school.

Since 2020, Dayton has had two consensus All-American players and three NBA draft picks, including two in the first round.  

Sullivan led the 50th anniversary season of UD Arena with the completion of a three-year, $80 million Arena Transformation Project. Since UD Arena opened in 1969, Dayton has been in the NCAA`s Top 35 in men’s basketball attendance all 53 seasons, and in the Top 25 a total of 32 times, including the last 22 seasons. A College GameDay visit in March 2020 gave visual representation into UD's storied tradition and fan base.  The Flyers have sold out every game since 2021-22, a streak of 77 consecutive sellouts entering the 2024-25 season.

The women’s basketball team has earned an NCAA bid seven of the last 11 seasons, including an Elite 8 appearance in 2015. Dayton's strong commitment to women's basketball has led to overwhelming community support, with attendance rankings in the top 50 as well as leading the A10 for 12 consecutive years.

The UD Arena is among the best college basketball facilities in the nation, and has hosted 137 NCAA Men’s Tournament Games, more than any other site in the country. UD Arena also hosts the Ohio High School Athletic Association state championships in boy's and girl's basketball. 

University of Dayton athletics is dedicated to developing true scholar-athletes and regularly competing for conference championships and earning NCAA appearances. The NCAA Academic Progress Reports (APR) continue to show University of Dayton athletics programs continuing to excel in the classroom, consistently ranked in the top 10% across many sports.

The Dayton women’s volleyball program has solidified its reputation as a powerhouse, with 28 consecutive winning seasons, appearing in 17 NCAA tournaments since 2003 and winning 16 A-10 Regular Season Championships.

Sullivan is responsible for the leadership of UD’s intercollegiate athletics division and serves on the President’s cabinet for broader issues within the University. 
•    The Division of Athletics sponsors for 17 varsity sports with 430+ student athletes, 118 full-time employees and dozens of part-time employees. 
•    UD’s annual operating budget is approximately $36M, while the capital budget is dependent on the status of current projects. 

Since Sullivan first came to the University of Dayton in 2006:
•    UD has won 63 conference regular season or tournament championships, including 19 in his years as director of athletics. 
•    Twenty-one teams have reached the post-season during his tenure as AD (46 since 2006).  
•    Thirty-four of those 46 have qualified for the NCAA tournament in their respective sport. 

While successful in competition, Flyer student-athletes are also very successful in the classroom.  
•    Since 2015, the cumulative grade point average has improved from 3.31 to its current 3.42.  
•    More than half of UD’s student-athletes (51%) have a cumulative GPA of 3.50 or better.  
•    Dayton’s Academic Progress Rates have risen from a very respectable 982 in 2006 to its current 993 average.  
•    UD’s current Graduation Success Rate score of 95 is among the top 10 percent in the nation and is the second-best in school history.
•    Of the school’s 117 Academic All-Americans, 30 have come in the five years Sullivan has been UD’s Director of Athletics.

Every Flyer sport program has had some sort of a facility upgrade – competition venue, practice facility, training and/or academic spaces – in the last two decades.  

The University of Dayton Arena is not just one of the best venues in college basketball, it is also a community resource.
•    When the world-wide pandemic canceled the 2020 NCAA tournament, the Arena pivoted immediately to becoming a community resource in the fight against CoVID-19.  
•    On the day the tournament should have begun with the First Four, UD Arena was the first drive-in testing site in Ohio, and eventually the largest testing site in the state as well.  
•    The Arena also served as one of the first mass vaccination sites (and the largest) in the Dayton area.

This is just another example of Dayton athletics’ commitment to public service.  
•    Flyer student-athletes and staff annually participate in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer Walk, the MVDSA Buddy Walk and Christmas on Campus. 
•    UD’s Student-Athlete Advisory Committee stepped up in a huge way for the Dayton community in 2019 in response to the Memorial Day tornadoes and the Oregon District mass shooting the following fall.  
•    They designed and sold "Dayton Strong" T-shirts and in three months they donated $35,000 to the Dayton Foundation.  The proceeds were earmarked for those targeted by the gunman and people whose lives had been uprooted by the tornadoes that struck the Dayton area on Memorial Day that year. 
•    During the pandemic, Dayton athletics staff members stepped up yet again when UD implemented a campus PPE stockroom that required volunteers for distribution. Eventually, athletics took over all aspects of supporting the PPE stockroom.  
•    Dayton’s SAAC did its part by setting up nursing home virtual visits and sending BHM video presentations to Dayton Public Schools. 
•    SAAC partnered with UDayton Votes to register every eligible UD student-athlete. 

Sullivan joined the Dayton division of athletics in 2006 and has held a variety of positions — Associate Director of Athletics, Assistant Director of Athletics and Director of Compliance. He previously had direct responsibility for finance, governance, external affairs, revenue generation, and facilities. 

Prior to his start at Dayton, he worked at the Big Ten. In addition to his work in athletics, sullivan has also served as a member of the University of Dayton faculty, teaching courses in corporate/sport finance, and athletic facility management.

Having represented UD on several governance committees for the A-10, he is a past Chair of the Atlantic 10 Athletic Director’s Committee.  

In 2015, Sullivan was named to the Dayton Business Journal’s Forty Under 40.  In the summer of 2021, he was inducted into the DBJ’s Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame.  

A native of the Pittsburgh area, Sullivan received a bachelor's in kinesiology (exercise science) from Penn State in 2002 and an MBA from Robert Morris in 2003. He and his wife Crystal live in Waynesville, Ohio, and have three sons, Caleb, Mac, and Colin.