UB's Peers

[dutchcountry7]

Who do you think are UB's peers?

Would have to be a reasonable match of football program and academics.

Is UB just kind of an oddball?  What programs would be considered like UB?

[bull_trojan]

I'd say Rutgers, UConn, UMass, Temple

[RecoveringHillbilly]

UB's stated academic peers are Rutgers, Iowa, and UC Irvine. So The State University of New Jersey should be it. Maybe one day.

Miami is our closest in the MAC, but they have their rivalry with Bobcats and Bearcats. Stony Brook would be it if they were FBS or MAC. If we got into the ACC with UMass, UConn, and Temple, UConn would cry but we'd have some untra fun divisional rivalries.

[promotherobot]

As a conference I think we fit in the American quite well.

[dutchcountry7]

Just now, promotherobot said:

As a conference I think we fit in the American quite well.

I know that is likely the conference people want to be in.

 

But I am more curious as to what schools around the country--no matter conferences--people think are a good measure of peers.  It could be five or six schools from five or six different conferences.  I am just curious what schools people see as being similar in athletics and/or athletics.

[promotherobot]

2 minutes ago, dutchcountry7 said:

I know that is likely the conference people want to be in.

 

But I am more curious as to what schools around the country--no matter conferences--people think are a good measure of peers.  It could be five or six schools from five or six different conferences.  I am just curious what schools people see as being similar in athletics and/or athletics.

It's hard for me to answer. Like you said, we are sort of an oddball. We have the academic stature of a major state university with a flimsy athletic tradition.

[UB92]

From an academic standpoint, we look a lot like B1G.  Large, flagship school that have very strong engineering programs.  OSU, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, etc.

But we are light years behind in athletics.  But that doesn't mean we have to stay that way.  

Right now, I would say we look like UMass.  We look like no other MAC school in my opinion.  

[ChicagoBull]

On 12/6/2018 at 2:29 PM, RecoveringHillbilly said:

UB's stated academic peers are Rutgers, Iowa, and UC Irvine. So The State University of New Jersey should be it. Maybe one day.

Miami is our closest in the MAC, but they have their rivalry with Bobcats and Bearcats. Stony Brook would be it if they were FBS or MAC. If we got into the ACC with UMass, UConn, and Temple, UConn would cry but we'd have some untra fun divisional rivalries.

Seriously?  Rutgers, Iowa, and UC Irvine?  Why those?  Especially Iowa?  Has anyone from Buffalo even been to Iowa?  Maybe they meant Ohio.  

[BrooklynBull]

8 hours ago, ChicagoBull said:

Seriously?  Rutgers, Iowa, and UC Irvine?  Why those?  Especially Iowa?  Has anyone from Buffalo even been to Iowa?  Maybe they meant Ohio.  

I have been to Iowa twice.  Once UB football and a bar mitzvah.

[Old Bull]

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