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Future of Alumni Arena


961819

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23 hours ago, dutchcountry7 said:

This is exactly the case.  Just like how he sold NYBI as a huge success when he went on interviews, despite it being a failure.  Now he markets UCF as the "Hometown Team" after learning from his failure.

And now there's a trail of successful programs in his wake. Seriously? You're going to complain about White doing a good job and climbing the ladder? Oh the horror!

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16 minutes ago, promotherobot said:

And now there's a trail of successful programs in his wake. Seriously? You're going to complain about White doing a good job and climbing the ladder? Oh the horror!

I agree. I don't understand the hate for Danny White. He hired some of the best coaches this school has ever seen, tried his best to market the school, and overall was a very successful AD here. He left the athletics programs in a better place than when he got here, and that is all you can really ask for. 

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13 hours ago, 121Merrimac said:

Tough to expect the same results when they have the same starting point.  Stager them by 5 years, and I’m on board.

Again, leadership needs to establish priority. (Or, as you say, create a plan)

Again a good topic with many varied opinions. Did anyone see the article on the 25 worst college footballs stadiums?? I know it is just subjective and an article by one person but there were many of the MAC schools along with UB that were on this list. Just interesting to read the reasons and some of the history behind why they were on this list. Go Bulls!!!!

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I think the whole point of this thread is to try to improve UB Athletics.  Changing Alumni Arena in any way is moot if we don't take care of priority #1 and that is keeping Nate, Jim, Bryan and Jamie here long term.  This is a great coaching staff, led by someone who is irreplaceable, in my opinion. We need to pony up now and make sure that we do everything in our power to show him that we're behind him and his vision. 

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6 hours ago, promotherobot said:

And now there's a trail of successful programs in his wake. Seriously? You're going to complain about White doing a good job and climbing the ladder? Oh the horror!

 

6 hours ago, SGBull said:

I agree. I don't understand the hate for Danny White. He hired some of the best coaches this school has ever seen, tried his best to market the school, and overall was a very successful AD here. He left the athletics programs in a better place than when he got here, and that is all you can really ask for. 

I think there is an agency issue. An AD can do what's best for him, what's best for someone else, or what's best for the department. The closer you align what is best for the AD to what is best for the department the better. 

But there are certain points where the agency issue may have reared up, "comprehensive master plan" vs "attainable master plan" feels like one. ADDW was a basketball guy with a plan to build a basketball powerhouse, and you'd assume a plan to ramp up facilities and coach pay to maintain his powerhouse for the long haul. But then he didn't unveil or execute said plan. Because why would he? If his Hurley hire worked, he wouldn't be here much longer, so why bother, plus he was still working on his PhD at Ole Miss at the time, only so much time in the day.

Right now, another such issue exists, Nate Oats. If perchance (and this is just me thought exercising, not judging any current AD) our AD wants to be the AD at Missouri, and Missouri says, bring Oats and the job is yours, it would be in our AD's best interest to not sign Oats, not lock him down and not update facilities.

If our AD wants to be a P5 AD, and feels like keeping Oats would be a gold star on his resume, then we'd be pretty well aligned. If our AD, puts the program into massive debt to do so, and then leaves before that debt has to be paid, that would be a little less-well aligned.

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  • 2 weeks later...

My main idea for starting this whole topic was to talk about renovating Alumni Arena. Not to build an entirely new arena, but instead to make it a bowl format, something similar to Mississippi State or Bradley University (I know, I’m surprised they have that nice of an arena too).

They could make it a bowl with the lowest 100 level being retractable to allow for the necessary space for events such as graduation, additionally, the seating opposite from the side that goes up to the press box is currently able to be expanded back to have a similar seating style to the other side. The wall would be moved back for this, it would obviously cost a lot of money, and keeping our coaching staff here is the priority, but it would be a good first step towards making it into a feasible arena as the program (hopefully) becomes a p5 program.

Additionally, since I’m being optimistic and hopeful, it would be amazing if a dedicated basketball practice facility could be built where the current police headquarters is. It would go a long way to make an impact on the prospects that we are just barely missing out on. If this practice facility could have dorms for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams (similar to Kansas) as well as player lounges and other things that are present at P5 schools, that would be huge. The practice facility could be built close enough to the newly expanded/ soon to be expanded Alumni Arena to have a bridge/walkway connecting it to the arena to make it easy and quick for players to get back to their housing after games as well as easier and less of a burden for them to make it in to the courts if they decide they want to work on their shot at 3am on a snowy day.

The police headquarters could be built in between the bookstore and Ellicott in that large open grass space, which would make more sense as that would make them centrally located on campus.

This would by no means be a quick process, but if the program continues in the direction they’re going and wants to continue it’s current growth, these changes would become almost necessary.

Thoughts?

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16 hours ago, 961819 said:

My main idea for starting this whole topic was to talk about renovating Alumni Arena. Not to build an entirely new arena, but instead to make it a bowl format, something similar to Mississippi State or Bradley University (I know, I’m surprised they have that nice of an arena too).

They could make it a bowl with the lowest 100 level being retractable to allow for the necessary space for events such as graduation, additionally, the seating opposite from the side that goes up to the press box is currently able to be expanded back to have a similar seating style to the other side. The wall would be moved back for this, it would obviously cost a lot of money, and keeping our coaching staff here is the priority, but it would be a good first step towards making it into a feasible arena as the program (hopefully) becomes a p5 program.

Additionally, since I’m being optimistic and hopeful, it would be amazing if a dedicated basketball practice facility could be built where the current police headquarters is. It would go a long way to make an impact on the prospects that we are just barely missing out on. If this practice facility could have dorms for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams (similar to Kansas) as well as player lounges and other things that are present at P5 schools, that would be huge. The practice facility could be built close enough to the newly expanded/ soon to be expanded Alumni Arena to have a bridge/walkway connecting it to the arena to make it easy and quick for players to get back to their housing after games as well as easier and less of a burden for them to make it in to the courts if they decide they want to work on their shot at 3am on a snowy day.

The police headquarters could be built in between the bookstore and Ellicott in that large open grass space, which would make more sense as that would make them centrally located on campus.

This would by no means be a quick process, but if the program continues in the direction they’re going and wants to continue it’s current growth, these changes would become almost necessary.

Thoughts?

I like it! You have clearly thought about all of this already. If the seats are able to be retractable in the dome shape. I think it is a great idea. 

The only change I have is where the police station would go. The grassy area between Greiner and Bookstore they are looking to build a new wellness center. I do agree that the police station should be centrally located though

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5 hours ago, BullsFan14 said:

I like it! You have clearly thought about all of this already. If the seats are able to be retractable in the dome shape. I think it is a great idea. 

The only change I have is where the police station would go. The grassy area between Greiner and Bookstore they are looking to build a new wellness center. I do agree that the police station should be centrally located though

I didn’t know that! But thank you, both of my parents went to UB and raised me as a fan, they’ve been season ticket holders for as long as I can remember and I’ve only missed a small handful of home games. I also go there now so I’ve had way too much time to think about how I would change the campus to make it less of a wind tunnel 

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37 minutes ago, 961819 said:

I didn’t know that! But thank you, both of my parents went to UB and raised me as a fan, they’ve been season ticket holders for as long as I can remember and I’ve only missed a small handful of home games. I also go there now so I’ve had way too much time to think about how I would change the campus to make it less of a wind tunnel 

Well, enjoy your time while you are there. You are witnessing history right now. I would certainly hope that Alnutt has a plan in the works for master plan for Athletics.

Also, since you are legacy I would take a look at the Willie Evans Legacy Scholarship: https://buffalo.academicworks.com/opportunities/741. Not sure your situation but wanted to make you aware!

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7 hours ago, promotherobot said:

Wouldn't the easiest fix be to build some seating in the corners? I can't see how you can reconfigure Alumni another way without major expense.

That would be easier but I stated in my (obnoxiously) lengthy response above that the design I described would undoubtedly cost a good bit of money. Again the priority is holding on to the coaching staff and a dedicated practice facility but my plan would be a long term gradual change. Coach retention and the practice facility would be steps one and two, adding permanent seating in the corners would be step three. Next step would be moving the wall back to add an identical seating section (200 and 300 level) to the other side (the indoor running track can be kept and made into a tunnel under the new seating). The last (and optional) step, if the games still keep selling out and are standing room only, would be to expand behind the baskets, but again, it’s purely based off of necessity and if our games get the full support of buffalo, which is starting to come around and warm up to the program. Think of like a Notre Dame football stadium scenario: As the program grew and became more and more of a big deal, they expanded the stadium to accommodate the attendance influx. 

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I still don't think a) we need more seats and b) we can put in more seats without additional restrooms. There's no way the 5-6 urinals and the 2nd floor, 10ish on the main floor and limited amount in the basement would be up to code for additional seating. Let's just pack the house we've got for more than a few games in a row before we start blowing walls out and adding seats. While it's nice to dream, let's take this one step at a time first.

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Alumni is a fine game atmosphere. What we need is a dedicated practice/training facility. One with modern amenities. Weight room, training room, locker rooms, practice courts and film room. That’s where the student athletes spend most their time. That’s what we can sell on the recruiting trail. There’s nothing wrong with Alumni for 2 hours a game. We need the ancillary stuff that make players want to come here.

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1 hour ago, DooleyBull06 said:

Alumni is a fine game atmosphere. What we need is a dedicated practice/training facility. One with modern amenities. Weight room, training room, locker rooms, practice courts and film room. That’s where the student athletes spend most their time. That’s what we can sell on the recruiting trail. There’s nothing wrong with Alumni for 2 hours a game. We need the ancillary stuff that make players want to come here.

Agree. The dedicated practice/training facility should be the 1st priority and if we have continued success Alumni can be discussed. Look how long it took us the get the Fieldhouse to match the other MAC teams. Go Bulls!!!!

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6 hours ago, skrabukes said:

I still don't think a) we need more seats and b) we can put in more seats without additional restrooms. There's no way the 5-6 urinals and the 2nd floor, 10ish on the main floor and limited amount in the basement would be up to code for additional seating. Let's just pack the house we've got for more than a few games in a row before we start blowing walls out and adding seats. While it's nice to dream, let's take this one step at a time first.

 

6 hours ago, DooleyBull06 said:

Alumni is a fine game atmosphere. What we need is a dedicated practice/training facility. One with modern amenities. Weight room, training room, locker rooms, practice courts and film room. That’s where the student athletes spend most their time. That’s what we can sell on the recruiting trail. There’s nothing wrong with Alumni for 2 hours a game. We need the ancillary stuff that make players want to come here.

 

5 hours ago, John said:

Agree. The dedicated practice/training facility should be the 1st priority and if we have continued success Alumni can be discussed. Look how long it took us the get the Fieldhouse to match the other MAC teams. Go Bulls!!!!

I agree with all this but I also said all this in my previous responses. The coaching staff and their contract adjustments definitely comes first, then the practice facility without any doubt in my mind, and lastly Alumni because if those first two happen then you’d have to think the quality of recruits we’d be bringing in would bring more seasons like this one. Especially if we stay in the MAC, which I’d be fine with because switching to a P5 conference would be cool and all but we would lose our “Gonzaga of the East” label. It’s just good business to not cap your revenue when demand is higher than supply. Currently this season the demand for seating has been amazing and I hope it continues. It goes further than this, I could go in depth and say some of the on-court activities during timeouts could use some work to make it more entertaining all around to make the game truly as attractive as our local professional sports teams. The football team coming out and dancing with the dazzlers was a great idea, the crowd loved it, and I hope that something similar happens during the Bowling Green game for when Raymond Hawkins visits.

Additionally, being a student at UB currently the parking situation is absolutely ridiculous and laughable, students get tickets every day for parking in the Flint village for their classes because they’re the only open spots left. I don’t think another plain old parking lot would cover this, a parking garage? Maybe, but that’s just adding on to the already expensive bill for my grand plan, but if the arena expands, the parking has to change.

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5 hours ago, 961819 said:

 

Additionally, being a student at UB currently the parking situation is absolutely ridiculous and laughable, students get tickets every day for parking in the Flint village for their classes because they’re the only open spots left. I don’t think another plain old parking lot would cover this, a parking garage? Maybe, but that’s just adding on to the already expensive bill for my grand plan, but if the arena expands, the parking has to change.

Parking at UB games is free for all. I don't understand why I hear many people complain about parking and traffic. I assuredly have no problem with the parking or the traffic, especially considering the price. UB bball has been the best deal in town, especially the last few years. Free tix and parking for students. 160 bucks for mens and womens season tix (and no charge for parking), thats like 6 bucks a game, for a ranked team and a sweet 16 team. Even those,  myself included, who pay the additional donation to sit in the center, are getting a crazy good deal. I guarantee that no other school in the country is that affordable for that type of quality product. Everyone should be happy about everything and thankful, in my opinion. 

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7 hours ago, 961819 said:

Additionally, being a student at UB currently the parking situation is absolutely ridiculous and laughable, students get tickets every day for parking in the Flint village for their classes because they’re the only open spots left. I don’t think another plain old parking lot would cover this, a parking garage? Maybe, but that’s just adding on to the already expensive bill for my grand plan, but if the arena expands, the parking has to change.

Flint Village is never the only parking lot available. Center for Tomorrow always has parking. There are lots in Ellicott that have parking. The stadium lot has parking, as does the Govonor’s E lot. There has been exactly one time that I remember every spot on campus being full and that was freshman move in day 2013 when Obama came to town. Shitshow doesn’t even begin to describe it.  The football game later that year when we hosted ranked Baylor on a Friday didn’t even fill up the lots.

Unlike many universities, UB is covered in parking spaces, which makes people think that they have to get a spot that is close to their classes. In reality, many schools have less parking (and less centralized parking) so you have to take a shuttle from your parking spot to campus. If you think of the CFT lot as a lot where there’s always parking and just factor that 10-15 minute shuttle wait into your commute, you’ll never complain about parking again.  If for some crazy reason CFT ever gets full, you can park on the street on Amherst Manor Rd, or in the Northtown Center lot.  It’s a 10-15 minute walk to the spine (I used to do that walk every day for 2+ years).

UB is full of smart students that will do great things after graduating. However, every time that I see somebody complain about how they spent an hour looking for parking I wonder if the admissions standards are too low.

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10 hours ago, rma said:

Flint Village is never the only parking lot available. Center for Tomorrow always has parking. There are lots in Ellicott that have parking. The stadium lot has parking, as does the Govonor’s E lot. There has been exactly one time that I remember every spot on campus being full and that was freshman move in day 2013 when Obama came to town. Shitshow doesn’t even begin to describe it.  The football game later that year when we hosted ranked Baylor on a Friday didn’t even fill up the lots.

Unlike many universities, UB is covered in parking spaces, which makes people think that they have to get a spot that is close to their classes. In reality, many schools have less parking (and less centralized parking) so you have to take a shuttle from your parking spot to campus. If you think of the CFT lot as a lot where there’s always parking and just factor that 10-15 minute shuttle wait into your commute, you’ll never complain about parking again.  If for some crazy reason CFT ever gets full, you can park on the street on Amherst Manor Rd, or in the Northtown Center lot.  It’s a 10-15 minute walk to the spine (I used to do that walk every day for 2+ years).

UB is full of smart students that will do great things after graduating. However, every time that I see somebody complain about how they spent an hour looking for parking I wonder if the admissions standards are too low.

I'm on career University #5 and UB is far and away the best and cheapest parking school I have been at. As an always late commuter student however, you play the game between risk "looking" for a good spot close or take the far spot and walk (and then see 12 open spots closer)" As we're in the digital age, an automatic mobile spot counter would be a great solution, as I'm driving up, if I could see on my phone that my preferred lot has only a few spots open, or many spots open, I can make an informed decision that can save me minutes.

Oh and I guess my commute to school at UB was 5 mins, so 10 mins looking for parking or walking to class feels like an eternity, the other 4 I probably had an hour commute at each, so 10 mins looking for parking is a write off. Finally, I've been staff at the other 4 institutions and they dont have the reserved staff lot, I want that sweet sweet reserved Faculty staff parking at UB.

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12 hours ago, skrabukes said:

Parking at UB games is free for all. I don't understand why I hear many people complain about parking and traffic. I assuredly have no problem with the parking or the traffic, especially considering the price. UB bball has been the best deal in town, especially the last few years. Free tix and parking for students. 160 bucks for mens and womens season tix (and no charge for parking), thats like 6 bucks a game, for a ranked team and a sweet 16 team. Even those,  myself included, who pay the additional donation to sit in the center, are getting a crazy good deal. I guarantee that no other school in the country is that affordable for that type of quality product. Everyone should be happy about everything and thankful, in my opinion. 

Do agree that parking can and has become a problem but only the last couple years when the crowds have increased tremendously. I appreciate comments back on this site that some of you tell us about other lots that are available. Not sure how many know about the free shuttle from the football parking lot before the games. We took advantage of that and we asked the driver if they do that for any other lots. He said he did not think so. Do agree this is the best sporting entertainment value in town . Go Bulls!!!!

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