University of Dayton men’s basketball to play Ohio State in charity exhibition game

DAYTON — The University of Dayton men’s basketball team will play Ohio State University in a charity exhibition game to support mental health and suicide prevention.

The exhibition game between UD and OSU caps off a multi-day community engagement event bringing awareness to adolescent and young adult mental health and suicide prevention.

The Dayton Flyers and Ohio State Buckeyes will play each other at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22 at UD Arena.

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All proceeds from the game and surrounding events will go towards the Ohio Suicide Prevention Foundation and the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Ohio.

UD held a town hall on Thursday, Oct. 19, and Friday, Oct. 20 which focused on helping individuals and families navigate finding the right mental health care for themselves and their loved ones.

Head Basketball Coach Anthony Grant and his wife Chris lost their daughter Jay at the age of 20 as a result of mental illness. They hope to bring awareness and help those who may be struggling.

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“The game is a collaborative effort to help raise awareness, generate conversation, and increase access to mental health services in Ohio and throughout the country,” Grant said.

Ohio State Coach Chris Holtmann expressed Ohio State’s excitement about taking part in the event.

“Anthony’s willingness to share his family’s story in hopes of helping others is inspirational and we appreciate him including Ohio State in this event,” Holtmann said.

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The exhibition game has sold out but will be streamed on ESPN+.

“We can’t think of a better way to support Coach Grant and his family than helping to put together this event to reduce the stigma around mental health and suicide prevention,” UD Vice-President and Director of Athletics Neil Sullivan added. “We are looking forward to sharing resources with the community and hopefully helping many other families.”

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