The current Dayton Flyers football team will honor the 1966 team by wearing throwback logos on their helmets when they play San Diego at noon on Saturday, Oct. 24, at Welcome Stadium.
The old logo features an interlocking red U and D.
“They're really cool,” linebacker Joe Kingsbury said. “I’m really excited to wear those babies.”
The 1966 team finished 8-2 in coach John McVay’s second season. One year earlier, the Flyers were 1-8.
“Those guys are coming back in force,” Dayton coach Trevor Andrews said. “That group of guys is really close, and this is maybe one of the last times we're going to have a big group of them together on campus. We're looking forward to honoring those guys. Every time they get together, the stories get embellished a little bit more, but it'll be a fun weekend for those guys.”
Dayton will also honor members of the 2015 team, the last group to win a Pioneer Football League championship. Meanwhile, the chase for the 2026 championship continues.
Dayton (5-1, 2-1) kept its PFL hopes alive with a 19-9 victory against Butler on Saturday, Oct. 17, in Indianapolis. Kingsbury was named PFL Defensive Player of the Week after tying a career high with 12 tackles, including three tackles for a loss.
“I like the way the guys stuck with it,” Andrews said. “We try to play complementary football. That doesn't always work out with how games unfold.
“Probably the biggest thing was just getting started fast with the interception on the first play. Then we moved the ball down and missed a field goal, but we just kept chugging along, and it was great to go into halftime with that lead.
“In the third quarter, I was really proud of the guys. Butler took the wind coming out of halftime. We got the ball, and we had the ball for over 11 minutes in the third quarter when they had the wind, which was huge. And we closed it out. When you don't give up yards in a two-minute drill, that's always good.”
With five games to play, Dayton and Butler share third place with St. Thomas (5-2, 2-1).
Marist (4-3, 3-0) sits alone in first place. It’s a half game ahead of Presbyterian (4-3, 3-1).
Dayton does not play Marist, so it will need help to finish alone in first place or share the title. Dayton plays Presbyterian on the road in the final game of the regular season on Nov. 21.
San Diego (3-4, 2-2) has losses to St. Thomas and Butler and victories against Davidson (3-5, 1-3) and Valparaiso (3-4, 2-2).
Dayton fell into a 28-0 hole and lost 31-13 at San Diego last season. The Flyers have lost seven straight games in the series since a 15-12 victory at Welcome Stadium in 2015.
“It’s a great rivalry,” Andrews said. “You’ve got two teams that have each won 12 Pioneer Football League championships, and I don't think we're going to play them for a couple years. We rotate, so this will be the last one in a few years. It's one of those deals where with San Diego and Dayton, you throw the records out. It's going to be a battle.”