Dayton Flyers

May 1, 2007

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It was a rare sight over at the former Physical Activities Center as trucks drove up to the main entrance and poured more than 2,800 tons of sand, gravel and concrete into the former swimming pool.

The reason for the sudden wave of construction is that the second phase of the PAC renovation is underway. Phase two of the PAC renovation will result in the transfer of the basketball court from UD Arena to the former swimming facility.

A new Blackburn Court is on order for the 2007-08 season for the Arena.

Having a practice area available on campus will help alleviate scheduling problems and provide a great place for the basketball teams to play open gyms, do individual workouts, and work independently on their skills.

The proximity of the facility to academic essentials and campus sends a strong message about UD's commitment to developing its student-athletes' abilities both on-and-off the court.

In January, the renovated Collins Gym began operations as a new indoor multi-purpose practice facility. Sports such as women's track and field, men's and women's soccer, men's and women's tennis, baseball, softball and football have taken advantage of the additional time and space.

Improved facilities not only give practice time flexibility for coaches, but help decrease the injuries, lessen travel time for the student-athletes, and serve as a great recruiting tool for the Flyers.

UD men's and women's basketball can begin practicing at the renovated facility in August.

Improvements still to be made in the future renovation phases of the PAC include:

• The 30-year old facade will be spruced up in 2008 to meet the architectural standards developed through the University of Dayton Campus Master Plan.
• The Frericks Center gym will receive a new floor for volleyball.

  From 1998 to 2006, Dayton has won 18 championships and made 17 postseason appearances.

  Prior to that, UD competed in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference for five years. As a total sports program, the Flyers finished no better than sixth out of eight teams in the five of the six years in the league.

  The competitive success has not come at the expense of academic performance. Since 2000, UD has averaged 435 student-athletes per year and their cumulative grade point average has been a 3.0 or better on a 4.0 scale every season.