Saturday, March 06, 1999
UK to play Dayton in Cincinnati
BY MICHAEL PERRY and NEIL SCHMIDT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
ATLANTA — Kentucky and Dayton will meet next season for the first time in 32 years, as the Wildcats allowed ESPN2 to dictate a made-for-TV matchup for their annual Cincinnati appearance.
With that making two consecutive seasons of facing a regional opponent at the Firstar Center (formerly The Crown), UK has opened the possibility of playing more such foes.
Asked about future Firstar Center matchups against Xavier, Cincinnati and Miami University, UK Senior Associate Athletic Director Larry Ivy said, “That'd be very much of a possibility.”
UK will face Dayton in Cincinnati Nov. 29. In the midst of its 10-year contract with Fir star Center, UK will — for the first time — allow about 25 percent of the seats to be sold to UD fans.
“Dave Brown of ESPN called and wanted to set up a game for us against a team from that area,” Ivy said. “They asked if we'd love to play Dayton. We haven't played in awhile, and they've got a great basketball tradition.”
The schools have met just four times, with UK leading 3-1. They last met in December 1967.
“Apparently Kentucky has mentioned we're a very attractive opponent with the way that our fans follow the team,” UD Athletic Director Ted Kissel said. “It's their game, but we will get four to five thousand seats, so we'll have good representation in the arena.”
Ivy said the offering of tickets to UD was Firstar Center's idea.
UK played Wright State, another Dayton team, earlier this season. The Wildcats are 5-0 all-time in Firstar Center.
Kissel said Friday he received a phone call about three weeks ago from Atlantic 10 Conference Commissioner Linda Bruno, who said she had been told by ESPN officials that they were looking for an opponent for Kentucky for a nationally televised game.
The deal, he said, was finished a week ago.
“It's a great game for our fans and our program,” Kissel said. “It'd be one thing if you had 100 tickets. What made it so appealing is that a lot of the Flyer faithful will get to watch that game in person.”
Kissel said, however, it would not be a part of the school's season-ticket package.
This game was an opportunity Dayton could not pass up.
“We're trying to not only elevate our schedule, but raise the profile of our program,” Kissel said.
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