Old Bull

The money is just not there. We have some wonderful donors who have given UB money for facilities upgrade but there are not enough of them. Second UB is in a pro city but a small market area. With interest in the Bills at an all time high we know UB is a second thought for most local football fans. Thirdly, do't look to the state of New York or SUNY for any bailouts. Some fans who live in a fantasy world believe that state support happens elsewhere but it doesn't Fourth the current administration at UB including the Division of Athletics is not forward looking nor creative. We are in a plateau. Men's basketball has a chance as it does not need the vast rescources that football needs (see UConn) but it does need to be in a competitve conference. Do any fans have good suggestions? Right now we need them.

Who let this guy on this website? He is not altogether there. I am all for free epression but the rants and raves border on hysteria.

I would agree.There are thousands of UB fans who just do not have the money to attend Bills games so a trip to Orchard Park is a special treat. I don't support taking more than one game a year in OP but it is another way to give the program recongnition.. I also agree that winning is the key here. Produce winning football against quality opponents will turn thing around.

I really don't understnd this logic. It is possible to have a great university and big time sports. The Big Ten is mostly that and that is where I come from. What I tried to convey is that most schools in the Big Ten grew with their athletic program decades ago. Students arrive at their school supporting sports as an integral part of their university experience. Many are legacy's and as alumni support the programs well. UB on the other hand emerged from a mid-sized private school with little or any public support and a SUNY system mostly hostile to athletics. I was around during the Kettter years and know he had no choice but to disband fooball. Decades later several Presidents came to UB knowing the the value of an intercollgiate program. Beginning with Nelson Townsend through Danny White , AD's with the vision to grow a program were hired. That vision now seems dimished nor is their an institutional ethos for continuation of that goal. It will be very hard to grow a program at UB. Community support is frankly an afterthought. The Bills occupy the attention of almoast everyone. Frankly many of the Bills Mafia types ever set foot in a college. We really do not need or want them. What we do want is a revewed commitment freom the toip down and some new partners by elevating to a better conference.

Do not make the stadium track the primary issue for poor football attendance. There are several other universities around the country with tracks. If fans want to see a college game they will indeed go track or not. Repeating this as the major reason for attendance turns into a self fulfilling prophecy. That said the major issue for UB is a community that has never latched on to UB and its sports program, particularly football. When we moved to to WNY over 50 years ago we found a Buffalo area that was very hostile to UB. It has never been "our school". Even upper middle class families paid for their kids to attend elsewhere. This has changed a bit with the growth of the campus and it's educational excellence but there are other endemic issues that hinder community and alumni support One major issue is the Mid-America conference. UB has outgrown the MAC as an institution but not it's sports competition. The MAC has attendance problems even among the older established schools. In other words I think UB needs to be seen in a different context to succeed. It would help if it could be perceived as a university on the rise as it is academically. This means seeking a new set of partners e.g Americani Conference. To move in this direction we need UB leadership to make intercollegiate athletics a priority for growth and an entrepreneural AD. Athletic supporters, alumni and students will folLow if we have some set goals and a way to get there. Bill Greiner and Steve Sample were there as was Ward Manuel and Danny White. As to fundingt issues, UB has the largest endowment of any public university not in a P5 conference. Funds can be set aside and/or earmarked for athletic development. During the recent campaign for UB I never saw anything that would inprove UB's athletic stature. Finally, someone recently said in jest lets have the Bills adopt the Bulls. A great idea and let this be seen openly. There are other communities where this is so e.g.Pittsburgh and to a degree Minneapolis. Play a game against a quality oppene3nt at the new stadium and have Bills support it. If one looks at future non-conference football opponents it is filled with multiple games against UCONN and UMASS two eastern public schools that are defintely not on the rise. We can do better than that! Comments to these opinions are welcome. Let's get the ball rolling!

Start thinking outside the box! I guarantee that if Steve Sample and Bill Greiner were around they would looking very hard at this opportunity in the AAC. Quit thinking about an eastern conference that is old school mentality. If I were the AD I would be contacting all donors and prospective ones to find out if they were willing to step up and help. Get an application in immediately to show we are ready and serious and willing to jump at it. Lets Go Buffalo. BTW where are the Pegulas. UB might share a new stadium one day! Can Danny White help? There is lots to do so lets find out NOW!

UB is now a major research university. It is the only AAU member of the MAC. It's enrollment of 30,000 plus is a little small for most of the B1G so that is why it is regarded closer to Iowa and Rutgers than to to Michigan or OSU. However, academically the B1G are our peers. The Akron's, Central Michigan's and Bowling Green's are fine regional colleges but hardly world class. We should aspire to be all we can be but UB is not going to get in the B1G. There are just too many obstacles and we are too far behind. We can and should work to make it to the American Athletic Conference with Temple,UConn, as well as up and coming institutions such as UCF and Houston. I went to a B1G institution as an undergraduate. The athletic tradition there goes back over a hundred years. The facilities which are magnificent were built and improved over a longtime. The donor base is huge and all of our alumni recall an athletic as well as an academic tradition. In the midwest this loyalty results in significant alumni giving not just from the wealthy grads but from nearly all alumni. There was and is tremendous pride in the university. There are many endowed chairs to honor former professors who contributed to their students professional and personal lives. When I came to Buffalo for graduate school I was shocked at how little the community cared about UB. Back then there was huge town /gown gap. UB's traditions were little noticed. Most of the blue collar Buffalo sports mentality still has not transferred to UB and may never will. However, UB through great stewardship has evolved into a B1G comparable university academically. There is a lot of catching up to do in other areas. UB is doing a lot better but this will take time and money. We need to get into a better conference soon and continue the winning tradition. Winning is so important because that is when people take notice. Our games get on national tv, people fill seats, student applications go up and the Buffalo News finally gives us some coverage. (Can you imagine the Chicago,Minneapolis and Indianapolis media not covering their nearby schools in a down year?). We can all help to give UB the recognition it needs to be a world class university. Talk up UB as the pride of our region. Attend UB events on campus not just sports. If you can not be there give away your tickets to someone who has never attended a game and of course open up your pocket books. Getting there will take work and action! Old Bull