Dayton tries to balance competing priorities in men’s basketball scheduling

That turned out to be the case. This schedule came out Thursday, 15 days later than last year.

Months of phone calls, text messages and emails to other programs paid off with a schedule that gives Dayton the chance to compete for a NCAA tournament at-large bid.

“I’m not bashful about asking people to play us,” Sullivan said. “Most schools have heard from me or people on our staff.”

Dayton played five Quad 1 non-conference regular-season games in each of the last two years. It’s unlikely this 13-game schedule will provide that many Quad 1 games, but it’s full of interesting matchups.

• Dayton plays four programs that have won NCAA championships: Cincinnati (1961 and 1962); Marquette (1977); Georgetown (1984); and Virginia (2019).

• Dayton will play as many as three Atlantic Coast Conference programs: Virginia; Florida State; and Miami (potentially on the second day of the ESPN Events Invitational).

• Dayton will play two Big East teams (Marquette and Georgetown) for the second straight year. Last year, Dayton beat Marquette and Connecticut.

• Dayton will play one Big 12 team (Cincinnati) and possibly another (Brigham Young) at the ESPN Events Invitational.

• Of all the teams on the schedule, no one won more games last season than Liberty (28-7). Also no team on Dayton’s schedule has more victories over the last 10 seasons than Liberty, which is 233-106.

All in all, it’s a schedule that gives Dayton more opportunities to record resume-boosting victories than most A-10 teams. Saint Louis, for example, will play one team from the top five conferences. Loyola Chicago, another top A-10 program, has announced 11 games but none against teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC or Big East.

Even past Dayton teams would envy this schedule. The 29-2 team of 2019-20 played its top five non-conference games away from UD Arena. The 2025-26 team will play Florida State and Liberty at home.

“Our goal is to strike the right balance among a lot of competing priorities,” Sullivan said. “Hopefully, that’s how it shakes out for us. It’s a balancing act. We’re constantly forecasting and rolling the dice, trying to align these priorities. We have to have a resume that appeals to the selection committee. That’s the most important thing. We want to deliver compelling, valuable matchups to our season-ticket holders. And we want to have matchups that are relevant for national television. Those are the priorities. Of course, we have to have home games to pay our bills.”

The schedule includes five Quad 3 or Quad 4 games at UD Arena: East Tennessee State (No. 146 in the NET last season); North Florida (No. 262); Bethune-Cookman (No. 277); Maryland, Baltimore County (No. 296); and Canisius (No. 357).

Conversations about playing Virginia started in the spring and continued throughout the summer.

“As long as there was an ember there, we kind of held on to hope,” Sullivan said. “We have some good relationships with their staff. You’ve just got to hang in the game as long as you can. You get a little nervous when it gets late, but you try to close it up at the end.”

Adding Virginia, Liberty and Florida State to the schedule was important because Dayton will play two games instead of the normal three at its November tournament.

“It’s tough to play three games in three days, or three games in four days,” Sullivan said, “but that’s where we were able to get really great matchups.”

Now the eight-team tournaments with three games in three days are in danger of disappearing. “They’re fading, and they’re fading fast,” Sullivan said.

Events such as the Players Era Festival, which will expand from 18 teams to 32 teams in 2026, generate revenue for athletes and pull teams away from events such as the Maui Invitational or the ESPN Events Invitational.

“It was not a minor detail this year that the Orlando tournament is two games versus three for us,” Sullivan said. “Each game is just an absolutely critical component. We’re trying to get a volume of Quad 1 and Quad 2 games. It’s tough when you lose that game because each one is really hard to get and really important.”

Dayton’s 2025-26 non-conference schedule

Oct. 19, 2 p.m.: Penn State at Dayton (exhibition).

Oct. 27: Bowling Green at Dayton (exhibition).

Nov. 3: Canisius at Dayton.

Nov. 8: University of Maryland, Baltimore County at Dayton.

Nov. 11: Dayton at Cincinnati.

Nov. 15: Bethune-Cookman at Dayton.

Nov. 19: Dayton at Marquette.

Nov. 22: North Carolina Central at Dayton.

Nov. 27, 7:30 p.m.: Dayton vs. Georgetown at ESPN Events Invitational, ESPN2.

Nov. 28, 7 p.m. or 9:30 p.m.: Dayton vs. Brigham Young or the University of Miami at ESPN Events Invitational, ESPN or ESPN2.

Dec. 2: East Tennessee State at Dayton.

Dec. 6: Dayton vs. Virginia in Charlotte.

Dec. 13: North Florida at Dayton.

Dec. 16: Florida State at Dayton.

Dec. 20: Liberty at Dayton.