An even bigger moment came Sunday when Dayton earned a spot in the Atlantic 10 Conference championship game. Sullivan drove to Pittsburgh on the morning of the game to watch the Flyers play Virginia Commonwealth at PPG Paints Arena. The Flyers lost 70-62.
Sullivan appeared on the court in the first half to pose for a photo with A-10 Commissioner Bernadette V. McGlade and others in a ceremony honoring McGlade at her last A-10 men’s basketball tournament before she retires later this year.
Sullivan talked to the Dayton Daily News before he arrived in Pittsburgh to give an update on his status.
“As you can imagine, I’d prefer not to go into all the details publicly,” Sullivan said. “I’ll just say that I dealt with a series of health issues in December and January that turned out to be a little more serious than I expected toward mid-January. I tried to push through, but after a few symptoms and a few tests, it became clear I needed to take more than a few days.
“I returned to the office around the first week of March. I’m still on a pitch count — kind of restricted minutes, or whatever analogy someone wants to use — but I am around and glad to be here today and supporting the team.”
Replacing McGlade: ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported Sunday that the A-10 will hire Big East senior associate commissioner Dan Leibovitz as its next commissioner. He will replace Bernadette V. McGlade, who is retiring after 18 years on the job at the end of the academic year.
A deal is expected “in the near future,” according to Thamel.
“Leibovitz brings extensive experience in basketball,” Thamel wrote, “as he has led the sport for both the SEC and American Conference. He has also worked as a college head coach and NBA assistant and spent a decade in the Atlantic 10 as an assistant coach for John Chaney at Temple.
Credit: David Jablonski
Credit: David Jablonski
Opposing viewpoint: After shooting 27 free throws in the first two games of the A-10 tournament and scoring 28 points in a 70-69 victory against Saint Louis in the semifinals, Dayton guard Jordan Derkack made 1 of 4 against VCU in the final.
VCU coach Phil Martelli Jr. talked after the game about Derkack scoring 29 points in a scrimmage before the 2023-24 season when Derkack was a sophomore at Merrimack, which played Martelli Jr.’s Bryant team.
Martelli remembered Derkack shooting 25 free throws in that game. In preparation for the championship game, Martelli told his players, “We’ve got to guard him the right way. We can’t foul him. We can’t put him on the line.”
Martelli said, “We only put him on the line four times, which was huge. He was a difference-maker (Saturday). He won them that game. He put them on his shoulders. He’s one of the warriors in my mind. I’ve got warriors that I’ve coached and that are some of my favorite players that I’ve coached. He’s on another list of warriors that I didn’t get a chance to coach, but it’s an honor to compete against him.”
NIT update: The A-10 started 0-2 in the NIT on Tuesday.
• George Mason lost 77-71 at home to Liberty, finishing the season 23-10 after a 20-2 start.
• Davidson lost 84-70 at Oklahoma State. The Wildcats finished 20-14. It’s the first 20-win season in four seasons for coach Matt McKillop.
In other NIT action, North Carolina Wilmington (27-6) won 68-67 at Yale on Tuesday. If Dayton wins at Bradley on Wednesday, Dayton will play at Wilmington on Saturday or Sunday.
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