Xavier, Dayton will play in charity exhibition game at UD Arena in October

The Xavier Musketeers will play in a charity exhibition game against the University of Dayton at UD Arena on Sunday, Oct. 20, the school announced Monday.

The matchup will cap the second year of community engagement events championing adolescent and young adult mental health and suicide prevention. All net proceeds from ticket sales will benefit Jay's Light, the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation and other charities within the Dayton and Cincinnati area. CareSource sponsors the event.

Dayton head coach Anthony Grant and his wife, Chris, strive to "bring purpose to the pain" from their family's tragedy by helping mothers, fathers, teens and young adults find the resources to help. Their daughter, Jay, died in 2022 as a result of mental illness.

"Every day we are moved and inspired by generosity and support from others. At the top of that list is CareSource. CareSource has been our lead partner from day one and joined our cause on supporting mental health in immeasurable ways. Their impact on our community has been extraordinary. I also want to express my heartfelt thanks to Sean Miller and Xavier for their sincere interest in this event," Grant said in a statement. "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."

Xavier has not played at UD Arena since a loss to NC State in the First Four of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Former conference foes, Xavier and Dayton have not played since a neutral-site Musketeers' win in the AdvoCare Invitational Championship game in November 2015.

"Raising awareness and increasing access to mental health services needs to be a priority nationwide," Xavier head coach Sean Miller said. "We are excited to partner with the University of Dayton and CareSource on this initiative to shed light on this issue that impacts lives in Southwest Ohio and across our entire country."

Tickets for the charity exhibition contest will be offered as part of the Dayton season ticket package, with single-game tickets announced on sale as available. Events and programming leading up to the game will be announced in the fall.