March 16, 2008

The University of Dayton Flyers are one of the 32 teams selected to participate in the 2008 NIT championship tournament field.

Dayton earned the No. 3 seed in the Midwest Region and will host the No. 6 seed Cleveland State Vikings from UD Arena on Wednesday, March 19 beginning at 6 p.m. ET.

The game will be televised by ESPNU, carried through WHIO Radio and be available over the Internet with Gametracker and a live audio stream from DaytonFlyers.com.

The Flyers, 21-10 overall and 14-3 at home, defeated six teams that went to the 2008 NCAA Tournament. Dayton is led on offense by the guard combo of senior Brian Roberts (18.4 points per game) and sophomore Marcus Johnson (10.2 points per game).

This will be Dayton's 21st appearance in the postseason NIT. UD's last appearance came during the 2001-02 season.

Dayton won the NIT in 1962 and 1968, were the runner-up five times and showcases a 33-19 all-time record. The Flyers are also 8-4 in the NIT at UD Arena.

Cleveland State enters the NIT 21-12 overall after losing 20 games last season. The Vikings will be making their first postseason appearance since advancing to the second round of the 1988 National Invitation Tournament. The Vikings are led by the junior tandem of J'Nathan Bullock and Cedric Jackson each earning a spot on the All-Horizon League teams, Bullock being named to the first team and Jackson to the second team.

NIT TICKET INFORMATION
All tickets will be reserved seats and cost $20 for lower arena, $10 for upper arena and $4 for UD students.

Season-ticket holders will be able to purchase tickets according to their seating donation level on a first-come, first-served basis beginning Monday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. ET and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. ET in UD Arena's Boesch Lounge. Phone orders also will be taken by calling (937) 229-4433 for UD Season Ticket Holders during those times. Parking passes will be distributed based on current parking assignments.

The general public can purchase tickets through Ticketmaster.com at anytime or in person in the Boesch Lounge on Wednesday only starting at 9 a.m. ET.

UD students need a valid ID and can purchase tickets all three days in the Boesch Lounge.