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I'm thinking that there's a better chance of seeing the Bills and UB working on behind the scenes type things.  Something along the lines of more access to practice facilities during inclement weather and access to better conditioning facilities.  This could help with recruiting as well.

I do not see any synergy between UB and the Bills.  They compete against each other.

Russ Brandon certainly doesn't see UB as a threat.  If anything he sees an opportunity to enhance the program while getting more dates in RWS.  I've heard him mention UB football several times in interviews. 

PTR

I do not see any synergy between UB and the Bills.  They compete against each other.

Russ Brandon certainly doesn't see UB as a threat.  If anything he sees an opportunity to enhance the program while getting more dates in RWS.  I've heard him mention UB football several times in interviews. 

PTR

I agree with Chubby,  the Bills may allow UB access to field house and a place to continue the pro day.  That is all I see. 

We've benefitted from the great relationship with the Bills in many ways. Pro-day and practices at their fieldhouse when we've requested, including whole spring practices in past years. Hofher held B+W game at the Ralph one year which really sucked. The coaching staffs have always communicated with each other, topped off by Inge impressing the Bills enough to hire him. They have a small sponsorship deal with our AD and each year they donate signed Bills items when the school or AD have benefit auctions. Jeremy Jacobs knows some of the Bills' higher-ups and his company controls RWS concessions, so he would have an interest in UB playing any games there.     

The only real threats to growth are obviously certain media exposure and revenues. Whenever we get the program rolling in W's, WGR still wouldn't talk us up, because guys like Schopp talk about what he wants to. The B-News folks do well. Local tv sports are just ok, not going in depth so much with players like they do the pro teams. The new WBBZ does better when they bring in Paul Peck to talk about us. If the Bills leave, all the local media who relied on Bills/AFC EAST talk and scoops for a paycheck, will want to get cozier with us.

Attendance would be there for when we get the program rolling because we have the local demographic advantages few MAC teams have. But we can't wring blood from a stone when it comes to local sponsorships and media rights. The area is stagnant in population and slow-growth in GDP which is why the Bills are forced to regionalize. They've tapped most all they can here, and the Sabres/Bandits and Bisons draw their much smaller shares. There's not enough around for us to pump $1o-15 Mil into our AD budget through ad deals and facility-naming opportunity sales. If the Bills leave we'd find ourselves the top level of area football, and greater external revenues.

Some interesting tweets this morning from from the Muto Suite about the Bills and field houses.

https://twitter.com/UBDannyWhite

Danny seems to utilize social media a lot more than Warde.

Maybe he can pull of a few surprises now that Warde built the solid foundation.

Maybe what Danny is thinking for UB stadium, and cannot be nearly as $$.

https://www.nmnathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=10000&ATCLID=204876624

We've benefitted from the great relationship with the Bills in many ways. Pro-day and practices at their fieldhouse when we've requested, including whole spring practices in past years. Hofher held B+W game at the Ralph one year which really sucked. The coaching staffs have always communicated with each other, topped off by Inge impressing the Bills enough to hire him. They have a small sponsorship deal with our AD and each year they donate signed Bills items when the school or AD have benefit auctions. Jeremy Jacobs knows some of the Bills' higher-ups and his company controls RWS concessions, so he would have an interest in UB playing any games there.      

The only real threats to growth are obviously certain media exposure and revenues. Whenever we get the program rolling in W's, WGR still wouldn't talk us up, because guys like Schopp talk about what he wants to. The B-News folks do well. Local tv sports are just ok, not going in depth so much with players like they do the pro teams. The new WBBZ does better when they bring in Paul Peck to talk about us. If the Bills leave, all the local media who relied on Bills/AFC EAST talk and scoops for a paycheck, will want to get cozier with us.

Attendance would be there for when we get the program rolling because we have the local demographic advantages few MAC teams have. But we can't wring blood from a stone when it comes to local sponsorships and media rights. The area is stagnant in population and slow-growth in GDP which is why the Bills are forced to regionalize. They've tapped most all they can here, and the Sabres/Bandits and Bisons draw their much smaller shares. There's not enough around for us to pump $1o-15 Mil into our AD budget through ad deals and facility-naming opportunity sales. If the Bills leave we'd find ourselves the top level of area football, and greater external revenues.

Again I will say this again there are no guarantees the Buffalo Bulls would be the top level of football if the Buffalo Bills left Buffalo or talked about anymore then they currently are in the Buffalo media in my opinion. Think about this if the Buffalo Bills left after the current 7 to 10 year lease is up, with the money going into Ralph Wilson Stadium with this lease and the county owning the stadium it would benefit the county to find some kind of tennant in my opinion to replace the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium in my opinion. The Buffalo Bulls are investing in staying at UB Stadium plus for MAC football, Ralph Wilson Stadium is too big in my opinion.

That is where I think CFL in Buffalo would come in with someone locally owning the Buffalo CFL team in my opinion if the Buffalo Bills were to ever leave Buffalo. The CFL cap is only like $4.2 million last time I checked and the CFL has 2 of it's 9 teams community owned something Buffalo can't do in the NFL just Green Bay Packers in my opinion. The CFL in Buffalo would work in Buffalo like IL baseball works in Buffalo in my opinion. The weather would be better for Buffalo in the CFL then the NFL because the low drawing december cold winter games in the NFL wouldn't be a problem in the CFL because the CFL Grey Cup Championship Game is during the last weekend of november which would work because Buffalo is a hockey town and lacrosse town like canada so I could see the seasons just blending together well in my opinion with adding a CFL team to Buffalo potentially if the Buffalo Bills were to ever leave Buffalo for some reason in my opinion.

Current Ralph Wilson Stadium would need just to remove some of the endzone seats to expand the endzones to the 20 yards instead of 10 yards but it is very do able and very likely in my opinion if the Buffalo Bills were to leave using whatever buyout money the county and state gets back to make the adjustments for the potential Buffalo CFL franchise that are needed, but I don't think the Buffalo Bills NFL will leave Buffalo for what it is worth. But UB has no control over what a private business person does and what works against UB also is that Buffalo is a pro town first in my opinion where coaches get fired and players get traded that doesn't happen much on the MAC level coaches getting fired in my opinion. Also what works against UB is the no alcohol sales rule for college football at UB Stadium also working against UB getting an adult crowd like the Buffalo Bisons IL and Buffalo Bandits NLL teams currently get in my opinion. Plus see with a CFL Buffalo team, Buffalo could potentially get CFL players like a Buffalo Bandits John Tavares type that has been in Buffalo for 22 years playing, so the CFL Buffalo team brings players that would play in and live in the Buffalo market potentially for 10 to 20 years you can't do that with college sports except the coaches and most fans want them fired if the team loses in my opinion that also works against college sports in Buffalo in my opinion.

Also keep in mind UB had the Buffalo football market all to themselves in the 1950's and did nothing with that at all even with a winning a top level Buffalo Bulls team in 1958 Lambert Cup on the Ed Sullivan TV Show and all in my opinion. Even back then with no Buffalo Bills NFL or Buffalo Sabres NHL the Buffalo Bulls still couldn't get market or media share over the Buffalo Baseball Bisons IL, Buffalo Hockey Bisons AHL and Little Three Basketball Canisius, Niagara and St. Bonaventure in my opinion. Why you think that if the Buffalo Bills left things would be different today for the Buffalo Bulls is a mystery to me in my opinion? If the Buffalo Bills left all that would mean is the Buffalo Sabres would be talked about 24/7/365 by the Buffalo media in my opinion.

I am a huge fan of the Buffalo Bulls fan in both football and basketball but the Buffalo Sabres/Buffalo Bandits and Buffalo Bisons would still get most the Buffalo market and media share in my opinion if the Buffalo Bills NFL team left Buffalo and it would have very little bareing on the Buffalo Bulls athletic program, most businesses already advertise with UB now, that also advertise with other Buffalo sports teams, so I don't see them get anything much out of the Buffalo Bills leaving Buffalo in my opinion even if the Buffalo Bulls were Big Ten Conference there would be issues in my opinion with selling college sports with the type of rules that limit Buffalo buying in like coaches that seem to stay forever even when the on field product is poor and selling Big Ten UB basketball in a Buffalo Sabres hockey market if the Buffalo Braves NBA couldn't do it why does some think UB college basketball even in potentially the Big Ten Conference can in my opinion?

Buffalo isn't Syracuse and never will be in my opinion. Syracuse is a poor IL baseball city today if it was up to me as a Buffalo Bisons fan, I would move the Syracuse Chiefs to Montreal to become the Montreal Royals IL again for the betterment of the IL because not many in Syracuse care about the Syracuse Chiefs which shows an example of the difference between a college sports market like Syracuse and a pro sports market like Buffalo in my opinion. If Buffalo was like Syracuse, Buffalo would have bought into college football in the 1950's when the NFL said no to Buffalo when the AAFC and NFL merged some teams from the AAFC in my opinion. Nothing changed in those 11 years but the year for Buffalo Bulls football like today in my opinion when it comes to all the Buffalo sports market buy in, I just don't ever see that happening because of the Buffalo Bills leaving Buffalo in my opinion. The Buffalo Bulls have to worry about there own team not about the Buffalo Bills ever leaving in my opinion. Let's Go Buffalo

[NBC]

Oh boy where to begin.

CFL>UB? Likely not by much, if at all. Of course there would be talk of it but Canadian FB would still be viewed as minor league in Buffalo. Yes hockey and lax (both field and box) are loved...because those are sports played here at all age levels. No one plays Canadian rules here. With the short-lived CFL USA teams all but Baltimore never had had an NFL team so it was novelty...for a minute.

A Buffalo CFL wouldn't have a national rights deal in America so one of the local stations would have to show their games. That would mean squat for tv revenue. Being FBS, UB will always be part of a national broadcast deal. Whether MAC or a higher league, we'd have more tv revenue and far more exposure. That's a key reason why we are seen as 'Buffalo's 3rd franchise' above the Bisons and Bandits, though you don't seem aware of that.

CFL, UFL, Arena 1, whatever lesser league, would not set off fireworks with a Bills fanbase that had seen the best players in the world for decades. If the Bills see blackouts, can't even draw over 50K, a string of bad CFL seasons would draw what we draw. CFL would be starting from scratch here. UB? If we decide in May to invest to grow our program to AAU levels we have the built-in audience of over 100K locals with connections to the university, who can watch a game they recognize, AND fans can watch us around the country. Also, there is no such 'no alcohol sales' rule in college football. There are teams that sell at their stadiums.

Also keep in mind UB had the Buffalo football market all to themselves in the 1950's and did nothing with that..... Why you think that if the Buffalo Bills left things would be different today for the Buffalo Bulls is a mystery to me in my opinion?

Right, if the world had stood still for six decades. In '58 UB was a private school of 11k students, not even 70K living alums, and not even playing University Division football. 'Little 3' basketball ruled the winters. Buffalo had ~540K people. Army was a national power. So, little similar to today.

I am a huge fan of the Buffalo Bulls fan in both football and basketball but the Buffalo Sabres/Buffalo Bandits and Buffalo Bisons would still get most the Buffalo market and media share in my opinion.

The Bandits are such a small operation they were a throw-in in the Sabres deal. Players are part-timers and the NLL only has a few games shown on CBS Sports Net. They are essentially similar to a high-major basketball team but without the national recognition or millions in media revenues. The Bisons aren't the same franchise that once drew 1M fans and have no broadcasts outside WNY. Neither draw the local ratings even UB basketball regular-season games pull, and don't have the national draw from ESPN networks the MAC affords UB.

And, the Sabres are not all-mighty on the level of the Bills. The Bills will likely sell for 10X what Pegula paid for the Sabres/Bandits/FNC rights. Key Bills games have drawn local ratings of 40-45, low 30's when seasons are poor. The Sabres?

NBC, the national TV broadcaster, reported the [Sabres season opener]at First Niagara Center, won by Buffalo 5-2, had a rating of 22.3, while the Sabres said the game had a rating of 20.1 with a 34 share, or 34 percent of homes using TV.....In the Buffalo market, that translates to approximately 127,000 households. Ratings for the telecast peaked at a 25.5, or 161,000 households, during the final 15 minutes of the game.....Either way, it was a record audience for a Sabres’ game, with the lone exception the 2008 Winter Classic.
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"The University at Buffalo’s loss to UConn on Saturday afternoon in the International Bowl was a local ratings hit. The game on ESPN2 averaged a 16.5 rating, representing 16.5 percent of Western New York homes [116,000 households]......Time Warner Cable reported that the game drew the largest local cable broadcast audience in four years"

So the Sabres' big return: 19,070 at home, average of 127,000 local households on NBC
UB's first taste of big game: ~30,000 UB fans in Toronto, average of 116,000 local households on ESPN2

What does that say about our potential if we choose to start investing in a 'big-time program'?

...most businesses already advertise with UB now

No need to make guesses when the truth is out there:

$206,733 from “corporate sponsorships, licensing, sales of advertisements, trademarks and royalties”

[NBC]

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"The University at Buffalo’s loss to UConn on Saturday afternoon in the International Bowl was a local ratings hit. The game on ESPN2 averaged a 16.5 rating, representing 16.5 percent of Western New York homes [116,000 households]......Time Warner Cable reported that the game drew the largest local cable broadcast audience in four years"

So the Sabres' big return: 19,070 at home, average of 127,000 local households on NBC
UB's first taste of big game: ~30,000 in Toronto, average of 116,000 local households on ESPN2

What does that say about our potential if we choose to start investing in a 'big-time program'?

My father (UB alum) was stunned when he saw UB in the Int'l Bowl (we never followed college sports, but he knew how badly UB sucked). I didn't know at the time that it would be the school I'd go to 3 years later.

We had a party that night of around 14 people to watch the game. So at least 14 from the Boston market were cheering for the Bulls.

15-20 million facility in the works in Central New York

http://sujuiceonline.com/2013/02/11/orange-watch-syracuse-football-indoor-practice-venue-is-coming/

Surprised how simple that facility will allegedly be. Just like ones popping up among MAC schools. We could build that for the funds we have in hand: Truly FB only, no track, no locker facilities. But that leads to SU's indoor program continuing as road warriors. The track and the funded tennis facility for our future facility are needed in our case since there is no 400m track within an hour of Buffalo. Section 6 schools want this built as badly as we do for that reason, and hosting invitationals/sectionals/state meets will be just as big a recruiting draw as the indoor field will be for outdoor sports.

Surprised how simple that facility will allegedly be. Just like ones popping up among MAC schools. We could build that for the funds we have in hand: Truly FB only, no track, no locker facilities. But that leads to SU's indoor program continuing as road warriors. The track and the funded tennis facility for our future facility are needed in our case since there is no 400m track within an hour of Buffalo. Section 6 schools want this built as badly as we do for that reason, and hosting invitationals/sectionals/state meets will be just as big a recruiting draw as the indoor field will be for outdoor sports.

If they put the track in the indoor facility can it be removed from the stadium?

If they put the track in the indoor facility can it be removed from the stadium?

White has said removing the track is part of his plans for the stadium, the only other one disclosed being the enclosed suite additions. The new outdoor track home would either mean a new facility though there are no plans for that within UB2020. Minor refurbishments to Kunz Stadium would work or major improvements to Kunz if they want to invest in additions like lockerooms, which was mentioned in UB2020.

I know people do a lot of complaining about the track but I don't often see people mention how little it's actually used for meets/events (that being said, I didn't read this particular thread).

It was last used for competition in 2009-2010:
http://www.buffalobulls.com/sports/track/2009-10/schedule
There was nothing scheduled for 2010-2011:
http://www.buffalobulls.com/sports/track/2010-11/schedule
The only scheduled event for 2011-2012 was cancelled:
http://www.buffalobulls.com/sports/track/2011-12/schedule
And it's gonna be vacant again during 2012-2013:
http://www.buffalobulls.com/sports/track/2012-13/schedule

I get that I'm preaching to the choir here. Everyone wants it gone. But I'm not sure if people realize how useless it is even to the team that supposedly uses it.