Sportsfan

On 4/4/2022 at 2:26 PM, BrooklynBull said:

The original plan was for a very large facility on the other side of the stadium  That was scrapped because there was not enough interest to build what they wanted to build.  The current club was a scaled back club.  It is sort of like the tennis court issues.

With the alumni base of UB and endowment value, interesting that the athletic department has had minimum success outside of the Murchie family to have significant investments (greater than $1M) in facilities.  Could it be the MAC just doesn't excite a lot of alumni that have the wealth to invest, or the athletic department hasn't presented enough of a long term vision, or the university leadership is satisfied with the current status quo.  

21 hours ago, rma said:

New York State is set to give $20 million to a D1 FBS university for stadium renovations, upgrading one of the worst college football venues in D1 FBS.

 

Details here

Is it common for states to provide funding to private schools?

On 4/6/2022 at 9:14 PM, UBbulls8 said:

Last and final comment!!! When my son put his name in the Portal the 1st time he had over 20 offers including all but 2 power 5 program's… It’s was a very difficult(Extremely)decision and the two major factors pulling out was MO plus Buffalo isn’t just a program it’s HOME! However his DREAM is top level and playing in mid-major especially after watching what happened with (Koback) Toledo RB—- No invite to combine despite getting MVP in HULA BOWL( 4.39/40 and 38.9 vert. better than every RB but 2) made him rethink…It’s funny to me that ppl. think it’s okay for a coach to do what’s in his best interest but when a player does it a problem…. Primi Madonna GTFOH ask any of his teammates…having a chance to play for a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP is every high school player’s dream!!!! IF SOMEONE WALKED IN MO’S OFFICE WITH A OFFER TO BE THE HEAD COACH @ MICHIGAN HE WOULD BE GONE IN A HEARTBEAT!!!!! By the way he also have 8 more… ACC SEC BIG TEN AND  Pac 10 that not listed…. 

I for one support players rights and their ability to leave whenever they want, but I have no idea what these comments mean, comparing the monetary value of what the coaches get ($$$ millions) moving to a Power 5 school verse what a player gets (free education) at both schools as the only tangible monetary value.

NFL combine invite potential...no monetary value, as all players go to Pro Days and have personal workouts.  The NFL finds players.  The combine is mainly a TV event for the NFL and ESPN.  Note:  MAC had 7 players at 2022 Combine.

NLI...monetary value for most players ($500 per year).

It would be more accurate if players said:  I want a bigger stage, more fans at games, better facilities, bigger bowls games, etc. , as I agree that stage, fans, etc. is an excellent reason to move on if you have the ability. 

6 hours ago, MuchMany said:

Definitely. I think we need one combo guard and one or two Maceo/Jeenathan style wing guards who can shoot. Ideally in mid-major basketball, you're running three "guards" at once and I'd like to see us get back to that. Toledo smoked us with lineups that at times had four guards on the floor.

Also, I think Ceaser is really, really good and will play top-5 minutes as a freshman. We shall see.

The current roster with recruits will be a 10-12 win team at best.  Impact freshmen at mid-majors don't happen, or they would be in a Power 5 conference.

Unless the coaches can bring in 2-3 portal transfers from D1 programs, next year will be a complete rebuilding year.

The theme of my original post was that the current athletic department is very low key about facility expectations.  This is in contract to the January 2014 release of the Master Plan (see link below).  Per Brooklyn Bull, even if Alnutt presented at a recent event, it was not to the level communication of Danny White and his ability to market a vision, regardless of the probability of it happening....8 years and counting....maybe it was a 20 year vision (except for baseball)

https://issuu.com/buffalobulls/docs/athletics_master_plan-final_8eaecd0cdf47d8

2 hours ago, BrooklynBull said:

What exactly of White's master plan has been accomplished?  The field house does not count as that was in the works prior to Manuel being the AD.  The only thing that was possibly done were the new tennis courts, but White's tennis center is not even close to breaking ground.

Nothing/we agree...exactly what I noted, that White's vision (Strategic Plan) came with no funding, which isn't a plan at all. 

Would appear the the current administration doesn't follow the same approach, as they are not promising or communicating to the fan base anything related to a Strategic Plan, but to do small tactical projects as funding is provided (i.e, fueling state, locker rooms, etc.)

1 minute ago, skrabukes said:

Probably needed the turf field and that school's facility is very nice.

Unfortunate for UB softball that a High School can have a better softball field than a D1 University.  

The impact is that now the athlete is aligned to all other employees of a university and the majority will make their decision yearly on the criteria below: 

1. Employee - how much $ can I make via NLI and do I like my coaches and the team culture
2. Athlete - how much am I playing, in front of how many people, quality of facilities, chance of playing in NCAA tournament / CFP / Big Bowl Games
3. Student - a degree is a degree
4. Teammate - everyone look out for themselves (see 1 & 2 above)
5. University - location (weather, near home, etc)

Additions?

On 3/31/2022 at 3:16 PM, promotherobot said:

On a nice day UB stadium is fine. On a brutally cold November MACtion Tuesday it's unbearable.

Agree....but visually, it looks more like a larger High School Stadium than a D1 FBS stadium with the track and little video capabilities.

It would appear that the current athletic administration is not interested in presenting visions of facility grandeur and not delivering like Danny White's Master Facilities Plan.   

12 hours ago, DooleyBull06 said:

I would think no news is good news. She is under contract. An extension with a large buyout would be nice. But no news is good news

In my view the probability of FLJ not going to her "dream" job in the ACC for more money in her home town and alma mater is about zero.  I find it hard to come up with a reason she would stay if she was offered the job, and find it hard to believe that the AD would go after someone else, but he does need to go thru the process.

I think Mark Alnutt has plenty of great options to backfill the program with, as FLJ has turned it into a top 75 D1 program.  

After watching a number of games in the NCAA Tournament, the majority of the teams (both men and women) winning play excellent on the ball defense with their guards.

The UB women guard were excellent on defense, the UB men were below average, and not due to effort, but due to size (Segu) and athleticism (Jack). 

It looks as if championships are still built with defense and end of game execution. 

This is a good video recorded and release right below Covid19.

6 hours ago, Tee4three said:

Same

I don't think there are high expectations or any at all really

At this point I'm just here now for the craziness of March and hoping it helps the bulls.

If not it's onto next season and the hope a new season brings 

While always possible, a run is very unlikely.  This team has a few players (Mballa, Williams and Segu) that have some offensive talent...but as a team, they are very average....maybe Jim will try a different lineup to try to improve the 1:1 matchups, because with the current rotation, they have demonstrated in 5 loses that they cannot play with the good teams.

Would assume at some point the administration presents a athletic facilities vision so that they can rally donations...but in terms of need that have been mentioned:

1. Performance Center (i.e., weight room)
2. Stadium Scoreboard
3. Soccer field
4. Stadium Improvements (remove track, new endzone stands, stadium entrances, etc.)
5. Track & Field Complex
6. Alumni arena improvements

If you want a comparison, the top schools in the MAC for facilities.

Toledo - https://utrockets.com/facilities

Ohio - https://ohiobobcats.com/facilities

On 2/7/2022 at 11:07 AM, BrooklynBull said:

The push to name the flagships campuses was because it is to help with getting research dollars and to expand support education.  It was not done for athletics.

Also UB has a better chance of getting the necessary support from the community than Stony Brook.  Stony Brook is not even a blip on the radar in the area.  UB is much more than a blip on the Western New York radar.

That would be unfortunate if athletics is not an integral part of the Governor/State/SUNY vision for flagship status.  In either chicken/egg $$ sequence (state/donors), the investment/funding to have a key alumni marketing program (athletics) not included in the equation would be shortsighted.

In a good sign, Mark Alnutt did mention he would provide the vision for the UB athletic department in the near future, so maybe that will be the foundation that the next 10 -15  years are framed off of for UB supporters to get aligned with, or maybe the vision is to be forever associated with the MAC, verse Big 12, ACC, Big 10.

On 1/5/2022 at 4:29 PM, BrooklynBull said:

Today UB was named the co-flagship university within the SUNY System along with Stony Brook.  Both are the only AAU institutions in the system.

Would have preferred being the only one, but this is better than not having the designation.

http://www.buffalo.edu/home/story-repository.host.html/content/shared/university/news/news-center-releases/2022/01/007.detail.html

Does this result in additional investment into athletics....the only way the Bulls align their sports teams with the the flagships of other states is with help from the NY state and investments in facilities and operating budgets.  The MAC is a nice regional conference, but not where the flagship university of NY should be participating in.  With NLI, Transfer Portal, etc., teams can get really good really fast with $$$.

9 minutes ago, RecoveringHillbilly said:

The spring roster is up, with a grain of salt of course, as rosters are still fluid. We can see several more walk-ons aren't back in 2022 as well, so there are only 86 on the current roster for spring camp. Hartnett and 5 other scholarship guys for fall camp, so an additional 15-20 rides/walk-ons added before fall camp. Mo is right.. Not done yet!

So cool that our heart and soul MLB is back as a Grad student! LB corps isn't deep with Patterson, Dolac, Tate tops at this time. So they either grab more transfers or plan to run out a lot of nickel packages.

With the portal, I think recruiting and roster management won't stop for the 2022 until camp starts....probability of transfers after spring ball will increase the open slots....roster management is becoming and art with day to day free agency.

42 minutes ago, UBminicre said:

Agreed for the casual local fan and broad community. But when we talk about students and alumni I do not think it’s the same per se. Universities must build a culture that includes sports if you want to have long lasting connectivity. Everyone should be interested in UB winning (even without attending). This takes decades, maybe even centuries to build. But it’s an investment that must be made if we want any buzz for good or bad. The problem today, is that 95% of UB students and alumni don’t even know what division we are in or when we are playing. Never mind attending. We need to get to a point where a non sports-fan UB students/alumni at least in conversation would be positive towards the possibility of UB sports as opposed to not knowing it even exists. 

Very good insight...my humble observation is that the culture within college sport (AD/Coaches/Players) has changed dramatically over the past 10 - 15 years, and will for a large group continue to move to a "me first" approach due to NLI, massive salaries, transfer portal, conference realignments, social media, etc.....how many more..."First I would like to Thank God, my parents, coaches, teammates, etc., but after deep reflection I have decided to enter my name in the Transfer Portal"...will we need to see as fans...I see the fan/student/alumni treating colleges sports more like pro sports....win and I will pay attention, lose and I will not waste my time or money....check out some of the pro teams venues that are losing...empty.....there is also a decision by UB/SUNY leadership if a recent announcement of flagship status will result in additional investments in athletics, or if they are satisfied with being in a low funded/low profile D1 conference (MAC) with non flagship state colleges.

18 hours ago, UBminicre said:

Even if in session, only a few hundred students would show up. We just gotta face it, there is 0 sports culture at Buffalo. When they win, they put fans in seats but don’t expect anyone to show up during down years, including the students. 

This type of situation with attendance is not unique to UB or even college.  Sports is entertainment, and why would anyone want to go see a bad product and pay money....the role of the AD, coaches and players is to put on a quality show...currently, that is not happening in either football or men's basketball...and BTW, Hurley and Oates were also entertaining during the game, post game, interviews, etc.

The Ohio post game quote about " incredibility disappointed in the effort" was striking.  Facing the top rated team in the MAC, at home, and after a loss, and  not have effort.

I would say at this point in time, the athletic department is missing "energy", and it is has the potential to trickle into the fan base.  Maybe a result of the pandemic, budgets, or other reasons...but for 1 of 2 official "Flagship" SUNY universities, the potential is there.  

9 hours ago, UBminicre said:

5 int and 3 tds on season… am I missing something here? 

Would assume a PWO..

4 minutes ago, Kevin said:

Segu as a leader can't turn the ball over 5 times a game like this 

As you watch this team, there are so many weaknesses that good teams expose, they are at best a 4-5 MAC Team.

Graves is sorely missed for his defense, driving, ball handling and physical presence.  

Total FBS Scholarships Available = 11,050 (130*85)

Number of FBS starting positions =3,250 (25 *130)- includes 1 LS, 1 Kicker, 1 Punter

# of FBS Scholarship players currently in Transfer portal = 925

Probability of getting a FBS offer = 25%-30%

Number of active players in NFL = 1,696

The teams the portal really helps are the top programs, as they no longer will have a rebuilding year, as they can plug in a free agent into any roster hole they may have in any particular year.

The rest of the schools are playing merry-go-round with 2 and 3 star recruits.  

Most of the coaches will figure how to best manage the player movements (like the NFL).

41 minutes ago, zigo230 said:

To be honest, i didn’t think he sounded all that good in press conferences.  Too often i’d hear canned cliches and “coach speak”.  Not enough honesty and transparency for my taste….at least in the portions of press conferences i listened to.

I hope things are different behind the scenes and he connects with the athletes better than it seems from the outside. They did get worse as the season went on. That’s a fact. 

Agree....the first couple pressers were good, but after that he was very scripted and really didn't say anything with insight.   Let's give him some time, as this is really the first job he has had where he had to speak to the media...regarding player attrition, it is a bit odd that 4 starters on the offense (which, BTW wasn't very good explosive at all during the season), go to the portal.  The most alarming item is the lack of #'s (scholarship) on the offensive line with spring ball only 2 months away.  

I have always wondered what "culture" he is referring to when he refers to "Building a Culture".   UB had a winning culture that played hard and smart under Lance.

Seems college is quickly moving to the NFL model with yearly roster turnover....year 1 with a new staff is not surprising, but the low numbers on OL will need to be filled quickly for Spring Ball.