Feb. 18, 2008

FLYER PRIDE LEADS TO UNPRECIDENTED SUCCESS
THE FOUR PILLARS OF A WINNER

By Tyler Blue '08

The 2007-2008 school year has been a golden one for University of Dayton athletics, with teams winning at unprecedented rates. So far, the combined winning percentage of the volleyball, football, men's and women's soccer and men's and women's basketball team is an astonishing 80% percent--the best in school history.

Flyer Faithful, that's a number to be proud of.

UD student-athletes, of course, are the most visible part of the school's athletics division. But just as only a small portion of an iceberg juts above the ocean, they are surrounded by a mostly unseen support system of coaches, assistants and administrators who work tirelessly to ensure that the athletes can compete at the highest possible level.

This two-part series is a journey inside the inner-workings of the university's athletics department as it is dissected. UD Vice-President and Director of Athletics Ted Kissell calls the department's focus an inverted pyramid - student-athletes at the top, narrowing down to the coaching staffs and even further down to the support staff and administration. From the student-athletes to the coaches to the administrators -- discover what it is that makes UD sports so special.