Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Anthony Grant is currently in the middle of his ninth season as the head coach of Dayton’s men’s basketball team, and all signs point to the Flyers missing the NCAA Tournament under a skipper who has technically only led them to March Madness a single time. Some students decided to band together and use shirts to call for a change during a game, but the protest was reportedly cut short by school officials.
Dayton has spent a long time attempting to recapture the success the Flyers had during Don Donoher’s 25 years as the coach of the men’s basketball program. They’ve been a fairly competitive team over the past few decades (they made it to the Elite Eight with Archie Miller in 2014), but they’ve had trouble when it comes to sustained success.
Anthony Grant has been at the helm since 2017 to fill the void that formed after Miller headed to Indiana for what ended up being an ill-fated four-year stint with the Hoosiers. The 2024 season marks the only one where Dayton punched its ticket to March Madness under his watch (they lost in the second round), although the Flyers had a 25-2 record in 2020 before the tournament was canceled due to the pandemic.
That second campaign also marked the only time they’ve finished at the top of the Atlantic 10 during Grant’s tenure, and he’s been unable to win the conference tournament championship that’s eluded the program since 2023.
Things have been firmly trending in the wrong direction since the Flyers got off to a 14-4 start this year, and some fans who’ve gotten fed up with the skipper drew the ire of school officials when they tried to make their feelings known on Tuesday.
Some fans in Dayton’s student sections had to remove the shirts that called for Anthony Grant to be fired
Dayton started out 5-0 in conference play, but a loss to La Salle on January 21st marked the start of a four-game losing streak that also featured defeats at the hands of St. Joseph’s, URI, and a St. Louis team that looks like the school to beat in the A10 this season.
The Flyers were 7.5-point favorites to bring the skid to an end against St. Bonaventure on Tuesday night, and six spectators who were posted up in the student section used the contest as a chance to express their displeasure with Grant by donning shirts that spelled out “FIRE AG.”
However, multiple people who were in attendance say the protest didn’t last for very long, as they were bullied into removing the shirts after being approached by security at UD Arena.
Can confirm, UD security made these dudes change. https://t.co/WwXN9J2XCC pic.twitter.com/12LiqihFu8
— Sully (@sullymygoodname) February 4, 2026
Dayton did end up getting a win with a 72-20 victory over the Bonnies, and they’re currently sitting at 15-8 and 6-4 in conference play.