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I largely agree with on Hodgson this except for the season ticket holder quip. Listen, if you, or other STH are so damn fickle in your support that you would cancel your tickets because the coach you like wasn't hired...we can't count on your support anyway, so good riddance.

Because it's UB's lot in life, to be a stepping stone program. And as long as we're all being honest about it that's fine. But Oats was really spinning yarns about staying until that "dream job" opened up. And I assumed "dream job" meant a blue blood program or UW or Marquette, someplace near his home. And even then, I understand. You don't sneeze at $2.4MM/yr and the chance to run a P5 program. But is ghosting the school, fans and players the way to go about it? Like ButlerAlumDad said, you can leave with class or you can leave like you are escaping a hostage situation. I thought better of him.

I actually haven’t been on here much since we lost to TT. That and then the oats news just really put me in a slump. I’m sorry people want to move on taking about just a new coach but I kinda wanna get my feelings out on the whole situation. Maybe it’ll make me feel better. I don’t really blame oats for tripling his salary. I’m just really upset about him saying he wanted to build something here. I know that’s just how this business works but damnit I just wish we could get someone here that was actually sincere about that. I’m so terrified of us dropping back to insignificance and the odds are seriously against us. Yea it’s just business but it really screws us over. We are going to lose recruits and I’m not going to be surprised one bit if we lose graves/segu/Williams. We just need to hope and pray the new coach can do what Oats did and kept the ball rolling here in buffalo. Im also pretty upset that there’s still been no statement from oats to us about anything and it all seemed so abrupt. I just can’t inagine that if he had any feelings towards buffalo that he would make this kind of decision in a matter of like 2 days. Seems like bama was really interested in him. You really think they wouldn’t wait a little bit? He’s already off offering people we had offered and he hasn’t even said goodbye. It’s a little bit of a slap in the face. The contract extension is good for us and maybe that was his parting gift to us but it’s still a sucky situation and we are going to be lucky if this doesn’t cause a massive downward spiral. I really just thought we were finally building an athletics culture here and now we’re screwed and likely back to square one. I’m thankful of the amazing last couple of years we had but I don’t want to just be a flash in the pan. Remember when Loyola-Chicago said that? Yea that didn’t age well... I’m not really someone who knows what possible candidates there are out there I just want someone who will stay.. Hurley was great breaking the barrier and getting us in the tourney but there was no doubt from the start we would be a stepping stone so it almost hurt less. It hurt that he took our players but little did we know, that wouldn’t make a difference. I didn’t like how whiney he was even when he was with buffalo and we saw he still throws stupid hissy fits on the sideline at ASU so I’m not sad at all about him moving on. Oats hurts more though. Liked him much more as a person and a coach and I really want to build something here. I guess shame on me for thinking he was sincere. Although one of the current assistants might be our best bet to retain players and recruits I just feel like they would jump ship immediately after any success. If I was AD I’d be most interested in the person most sincere about staying. Not sure if Leipold has had any offers but we know he stayed at whitewater for forever and I’m under the impression it was tough getting him away. That’s the kind of person I want.

I want a thread free of bashing Oats, and crying about the situation... where we can just talk about the upcoming coaching search. I'd ask @admin for assistance in moderating this thread to keep it positive. Negativity can go to one of the existing threads.

John, if you and your family got your hopes up after the extension was signed you have nobody to blame but yourself. Oats signed a well deserved contract extension with a pay upgrade. He acknowledged, as he did last year, that he would consider dream job offers. Apparently a $10 million guarantee over 5 years at a school with more money devoted to basketball than UB could dream of devoting, and playing in a conference where top schools DO compete for national championships fit the bill. Loyalty? Guess what. Schools aren't "loyal" to coaches, either. This is a two way transaction. Schools terminate contracts routinely before completion. It doesn't matter what the circumstances are for the coach- injuries, transfers, competing against schools paying for recruits, etc. Lastly, John, please indulge me in an exercise. This week, please return home from work and announce to your wife and family that you have received a 25% raise. Happy days are here! You are understandably grateful to your employer, so much so that you make plans to further your career with this company. Wait two weeks. Return to your wife, and announce that you received an offer to perform the same job with the same title at another company which would pay you three times even your new salary! They would provide you with two company cars. Further, they have resources that would allow you to perform your duties to a higher level than you ever imagined. Now, explain to your wife that you have declined the latest offer. You see, John, you possess loyalty and integrity. Not to your wife and children. Heavens, no. They will suffer for your public display of honor. You are the hero in your own Frank Capra movie. It seems that someone who contracts with your current employer really admires your work. You've never met him, but he has watched you from afar. He and his family have become enamored with you. You simply couldn't walk away and break his heart. Your wife will understand, as will your children. I'm sorry we won't be hearing from you for a while. It sounds as though you and your wife will be busy in counseling attempting to repair your marriage after your latest folly. Best of luck, John. No good deed goes unpunished.

Well since we last spoke we had a 32 win season, won our conference AGAIN, won a tourney game AGAIN and then... oh crap you’re right all hell broke loose 😂

When sources leak info you have to consider who benefits from the leak. If sources are saying Hawkins is going to Bama bc Hodgson hasn’t been hired at UB consider who benefits from that leak. Hodgson. It could be true it could also be his camp trying to inflate his worth. Also as far as Tunney...he endorsed Hodgson, ok so if Hodgson is hired does that mean we are gonna see a big donation for perhaps a new facility as a result? As far as recruiting Nate sure doesn’t seem like he needs Hodgson. He is slated to meet with 5 star recruit Trendon Watford. So really is Hodgson that big time of a recruiter that he can hold UB hostage? Furthermore if Oats is already recruiting a 6’8 power forward in Watford will Hawkins get much run in his freshman year as he could if he came here? Or is Hawkins just blinded by the big lights? Lots of moving parts. We just need a coach then a plan to move forward. There are over 450 transfers out there...I’m sure whoever comes in as coach can replace whoever we lose player wise as a result of their hiring.

Is it just me or does this Hawkins thing really seem shady? From what I read here anyway, Hodgson is trying to hold UB hostage via an 18 year old kid. I mean, he's not Lebron. Yes, we should want him, but I'm more concerned about the shady-ness of someone who is supposedly currently employed by UB. I completely don't understand how contracts work in this business. Additionally, if I'm in charge and I'm approached in this manner by a current employee who is looking for advancement, trying to strong-arm me isn't the way I'd like to be moved into a decision. Personally, I don't work that way, and I don't think UB should either.

I’m mostly concerned with Graves, Jordan, Segu, and Jeenathan. Hopefully Alnutt ur talking to them about how they feel about things

Hodgson is also in Tuscaloosa dangling a Hawkins commitment (to us or Alabama) in our AD's face so I'm not sure how good of a culture fit this is moving forward. We need a sustained, positive culture for this program. Maybe I'm wrong but as much as I initially wanted continuity and to play "save the recruits" at all costs, it just doesn't feel right anymore.

My disappointment in Oats comes from all the 'sticking around/Gonzaga' talk followed by him evaporating without a word to anyone. Him leaving for a bigger program, outside of what I mentioned, I'm fine with. Like I said before, we are a stepping stone program and will likely always be one for a number of reasons. But we've already come a long way. Just being in Cleveland talking with alums, many who were walking on a cloud, who rediscovered their pride in UB because of our success. That was incredible and I think the administration understands the value athletic success brings. So let's keep building on what we achieved. Might have to take a step back to reload. But let's send another coach to the bigs. (Just tell him, or her, to lay off the Gonzaga talk.)

IMO there are two proven models of success for a Mid-Major hoops program. 1. Get absolutely amazing for a couple/few years in a row and parlay that into a jump to a bigger conference (Wichita State, Butler, Davidson) 2. Become Gonzaga. There are no other models that I've seen that result in serious long term success. All other programs fall victim to the same mid-major issues around sustained success.

Not true. There has never been any discussion about dropping football or lowering football other than from people on message boards.

Also the whole SUNY not allowing us to be a flagship pisses me off so much. I’m so sick of them holding us back so all the other schools who don’t even have division 1A football can get a share. Idiotic

No. Wrong. Without the extension his buyout is WAY less. I’m sorry but I’d rather the team have an extra 300k to work with than protect some fans hurt feelings.

You missed quite a bit. Congrats to your team on coming oh so close to joining us in the tournament.

I think a lot of the negativity stems from us being more used to the bottom 25 than the top 25. Post Reggie, it was like who is really gonna come to UB and be an upgrade. Answer was a hungry ex-Duke star, and a really good undiscovered high school coach. Post Oats, who wouldn't want to come to UB. 6k fans, media attention, proven ability to build a "Gonzaga of the East" OR "Get your resume right for the P5"

I'm sure he'll pick Alabama for their educational programs or how much he liked it when he visited. Oh yeah, he couldn't care less about #1 and never visited there.

That was funny, and fairly worth thinking about. No matter what, I don't know that Nate and his family would've been hurting too badly with $800k+ per year however, so the example isn't quite as exact as one who has a "normal job" and is just getting by or getting by comfortably, but it is one way to think about it. With the money that gets thrown around, it's nothing that 99.9999% of people would get to experience or have the option to choose from a great and comfortable job A that pays nearly a million dollars or a potentially great but more white knuckled job B that pays 2.5 million.

I think fan hype is being projected into people calling him self-absorbed. He’s a highly touted recruit I don’t mind him having some fun with the announcement (which he scheduled to honor his father). We’re not used to recruits of this level that host announcements, I don’t think this one is particularly over the top 🤷🏻‍♂️

Just about every person on this board has expected since they became a UB fan that Buffalo would continue to be a middle of the road MAC school for the foreseeable future. MAYBE, decades down the line they would find a way to move up a conference or two. Our dream was always to just win a dang conference title or two and be one of the best programs in the conference consistently. In the last 5 years the men have won 4 conferences titles, won two games in the NCAA tournament vs. Arizona and ASU. Beat Syracuse in Syracuse. Beat WVU in Morgantown. Had a 32 win season with only 4 losses. Essentially went pole to pole in the AP and Coaches Top 25. Finished the season ranked #15 in the NET. In the last 5 years the women have won 2 conference titles and have been to 3 NCAA tournaments (1 as an at-large!). They have won 3 tournament games and made the Sweet Sixteen last year. They played the closest game UCONN has ever played in the round of 32 in literally a decade or two. The finished last season ranked in the top 25 and may again this year. Tell me with a straight face, that you ever thought those things would happen with Buffalo basketball. Not, "Oh I knew they were capable one day", but you legitimately though, yes, this should, and will happen. If you say you saw this coming, you're likely a liar. For me and I know many others, we obviously want to build on this success and make it more than a flash in the pan, but this was also our "one before I die moment". To me, this insane run UB has been on it damn near as important to me as a Bills Super Bowl or Sabres Cup win would be. There is your positivitiy. It's hard to have any for the future right now, but make a good hire, and it can happen. Let's see. But by looking too far forward we overlook what we just experienced.

Bobby Hurley and Nate Oats had tremendous success at Buffalo (Oats far greater, of course). This success, in my opinion, was driven in part by the same ambition that resulted in the departure of these coaches. We shouldn't be upset- that ambition first carried our program to greater heights than it had every seen. Instead of praying for four days in Cleveland each year we dare to take on the powers of the sport, seemingly any time and any place. We've taken our lumps, but dealt some out as well. The program is in greater shape now than ever before as a result of the results delivered over the prior 6 years. That attitude was part of the allure of these coaches. They were outsiders who expected more from the players they recruited. The demanded more from the administration. Each left to pursue greater resources offered at larger institutions in bigger conferences while getting paid a salary that we can't match. Each used us to advance his career; each left us in a better position than they inherited and built the Buffalo brand. The perfect transactional relationship, one of mutual benefit. I'd like our next coach to match this level of ambition. I don't want someone who is just happy to be in Buffalo. I don't give a damn about stability, and I certainly don't care if our next coach is from Buffalo. Why limit our possibilities? I don't want anyone who might settle for mediocrity. I want someone who is hungry. I want a coach who wants to compete for championships. Because the only way this program continues to move forward is if the coach demands improvement and wills success into existence. I want a builder, and I don't care if they don't finish the job or instead hand over the reigns again in 3-4 years. Next man up. Recruit your players, implement your system, impose your will. Defense like Chris Beard? Great. Offensive juggernaut like Oats? Fine. I don't care. Win basketball games, and do it clean. Onwards and upwards. As an aside, someone on this board suggested that Bob McKillop was a shining example of loyalty with the implication that he is the type of coach we should aspire for. He has advanced beyond the round of 64 once in 30 years at Davidson. Davidson is an outstanding program, but no thank you if you wish that as our ceiling. I loved Reggie Witherspoon. He was a Buffalo guy, ran a clean program, recruited the region. I was happy competing for MAC titles and hoping we might break through for a tournament appearance at some point. I was devastated when he was fired. I was wrong. Credit to AD DW for having the stones to expect more. As Buffalonians we sometimes forget- we don't have to settle.

I'm sorry, but this is a very bad, selfish, out of touch opinion. In no world are the emotions of the fans that live and die with a sports team that exists purely for fun and entertainment EVER...EVER worth more than the actual real world earnings of an human being providing for their family and their future. What you just said is essentially that your "fandom" is worth more than another human's actual financial life. That's absurd, and I'd encourage you to take a step back and think about that.

Bucky? Is that you? In all seriousness though, the school understands fully what big time athletics can do for its public profile and enrollment. President Tripathi has said as much himself

We cant worry about finding the coach is going to stay here for the next 20 years. Let's just find the best fit for our current situation and hope hes successful enough to want to be hired by a power 5 school.

This is the positivity I needed right now

I think winning on the court needs to come first. People need to see success to start going to games and donating money. We saw a huge uptick in attendance this year. We must’ve profited a good chunk more than previous years. Next comes donors but that takes time. I can promise you all that if I ever become a millionaire I’ll become a huge donor to UB but alas I’m nowhere close right now. I feel like general school support has really taken off. Heck even back when I was in school 5 or so years ago UB athletics was a complete joke. People would actually make fun of you for going to games. With a new culture of kids going to UB to watch sports and those who have seen the success you can only hope they eventually become donors. It just takes a lot of time and we are at a critical point right now. We’ve had some nice success over a couple of years and this year basketball and football overall were pretty great. It’s amazing how quickly we could fall back to insignificance. Football wins 2 games next year and basketball has a losing season and we are back to step one. I’m not saying we need to have the same level of success as this year but we need football to have a winning season and therefore a bowl berth and basketball needs at least a winning season. Thinking about how difficult that’s going to be with all we lose next year terrifies me. We need sustained success.

I think the positives will become more evident once a new staff gets put into place. It may bring some negatives as well, but at least we all will know where we stand.

It’s comical to me that some people seem upset that another job was taken 2 weeks after signing a new contract. Even without the new contract, the new job would only be 54 weeks after the last contract. It feels like everyone would be fine with that... to me neither met the full contract, so this is no worse than if he left, without the recent re-sign.

I don’t like thinking about a buyout in terms of the next coaches’ salary. That revenue stream had better already exist. I prefer thinking of the buyout like 10% of the down payment toward the practice facility.

I have a theory that Hodgson posts on here and that his drinking buddies are active on here pushing for him too. Again, just a theory.

I hope Oats gets a disease that causes his ass to itch uncontrollably 24/7, and scratching it only makes it itch more

I’m hoping that these past few years have made the administration realize how beneficial having competitive sports teams is and they will start to put more money into the programs. With the new football facility and how much they were willing to pay oats, I think we are trending in the right direction. Hopefully some of the alumni with real money will be willing to make a large donation.

Bulls fans uprising against the NYS government? I’m down if you are