Dayton men’s basketball to host Xavier in charity exhibition game

The University of Dayton men’s basketball team will host Xavier University in a charity exhibition game.

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The two schools will meet to support adolescent and young mental health and suicide prevention.

UD and CareSource announced it on Monday and the game will cap off a second year of community engagement events, according to a UD spokesperson.

“It’s an honor to partner with Coach Grant, Coach Miller, and others who share a passion for this work,” said Scott Markovich, executive vice president market and products at CareSource. “We’re excited for the game and continuously grateful to have the privilege to support our communities’ health and well-being.”

The game will be played on October 20.

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Coach Anthony Grant and his wife Chris have helped to “bring purpose to the pain” from their family’s tragedy by helping mothers, fathers, teens, and young adults find resources to help. Their daughter Jay died in 2022 at the age of 20 as a result of mental illness.

They established Jay’s Light ; a foundation dedicated to shining light on mental health.

“Every day we are moved and inspired by generosity and support from others,” said Coach Grant. “I also want to express my heartfelt thanks to Sean Miller and Xavier for their sincere interest in this event. For longtime rivals to join forces on this game as an effort to help raise awareness, generate conversation, and increase access to mental health services in Ohio and beyond, speaks volumes to the importance of this issue.”

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Xavier will make its first appearance at the UD Arena since March 2014 when they played in the First Four.

Events and programming leading up to the game will be announced later.

The game time has not yet been announced.