DAYTON, Ohio — Now that March is here, that means a lot of basketball here in Ohio, especially in Dayton where OHSAA high school basketball games and March Madness games will be hosted. That means 35 games in just 20 days.
What You Need To Know
- UD Arena is home to not only the Flyers but also the OHSAA boys and girls state championships as well as the NCAA First Four
- The arena is hosting 35 games in 20 days
- That means the staff is in over-drive helping with extra tasks
- Staff at the arena said it’s worth all the work to host so many basketball games and showcase their arena on the national stage
The phones are ringing off the hook at UD Arena. Thousands of basketball fans will take over Dayton this month thanks to the OHSAA basketball tournament, the NCAA First Four, along with a Dayton Flyers men’s game.
Shelley Buehrle has worked at UD Arena for almost 20 years, and this is still the most exciting time for the job.
“It’s kind of fun, really!” Buehrle said. “Because it’s different. It’s not your everyday usual work. It’s new tasks that you don’t do regularly.”
For staff at UD Arena, it’s all about making things happen and creating a great experience for fans and teams.
“The University of Dayton Arena has always been a great venue for basketball,” said Scott DeBolt, the senior associate athletic director and executive director of UD Arena said. “We consider ourselves the epicenter of college basketball.”
After the past two years without the First Four and a capped audience for OHSAA boys and girls state championships last year, this year is a welcome change
“Not having the NCAA First Four for two years not only is it a disappointment for us but the economic impact in the area is huge,” DeBolt said.
“It’s fun to have normal numbers of people in the arena again because gosh, last year everything was limited,” Buehrle said.
And while the next few weeks are about to be jam-packed with as many basketball games as you could imagine, this team is up for the challenge.
“We live for March Madness,” DeBolt said. “It’s in our blood, it’s in our DNA and we just love putting on basketball games.”
The busiest stretch comes in just a couple of weeks when UD Arena hosts both the boys and girls OHSAA state finals as well as the NCAA First Four right in the middle. That’s 28 games in just 11 days.
