Buffalo Bulls
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The University at Buffalo offers 20 Division I intercollegiate sports that compete at the highest level of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The 20 sports are: football, baseball, softball, women's volleyball, men's and women's basketball, wrestling, men's and women's swimming, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's cross country, men's and women's soccer, women's rowing and men's and women's indoor and outdoor track and field. The University at Buffalo competes in the prestigious Mid-American Conference (MAC) in all of those sports except for women's rowing, which is not sponsored by the conference.
UB plays its home football games and track and field events at UB Stadium (capacity 29,020), opened in 1993 in conjunction with the World University Games, and its basketball, wrestling and volleyball events at Alumni Arena, which has a capacity of 6,100 following renovations during the summer of 2004. The Alumni Arena Natatorium is home to the Bulls' swimming teams, the soccer teams use the RAC (Recreation and Athletic Complex) Soccer Field and UB Stadium, while the tennis teams use the world-class University Tennis Center. The women's softball team competes at Nan Harvey Field adjacent to UB Stadium while the baseball team plays across the street at Amherst Audubon Field.
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[edit] Halftime protest at 1970 Holy Cross game
Unrest on campus during the Vietnam War era was especially magnified by one major incident that took place at a UB football game televised by ABC. This was the October 31, 1970 football game against Holy Cross. Throughout the fall semester, the campus was getting ready for what was being termed a “moratorium,” a march through Niagara Square, followed by heading over to Rotary Field that afternoon for the game for more protesting. The protestors were intent on making themselves seen and heard all across the United States. The game would also showcase a halftime show, featuring the UB “Pride of the East” marching band.
Since the beginning of the summer, there had been a flurry of controversy over the content of the halftime show. The administration handed the duty of filling the halftime show over to the Student Association, under the assumption that they would create a peaceful moratorium. Among some of the more unfeasible proposals suggested were a movie to be shown on student life and a re-enactment of guerrilla warfare in Vietnam. With no ideas agreed on, the Student Association turned over the entire halftime show to the marching band three weeks before the game. This performance would be used as an entrance into a national band competition, so the band was eager to perform well, and to perform an edgy show to catch the eye of the judges.
However, they would need to get their program approved by ABC due to network rules. No halftime shows with political implications were allowed. A new script was written, but the only part that changed was the narration, which would not be heard anyway, since ABC did not have their microphones turned on at halftime. The situation garnered national coverage in an article by Paul Zimmerman of the New York Post. None of this press had anything to do with the upcoming game however, and everything to do with the halftime controversy.
The day started off without a hitch. The morning demonstration at Niagara Square proved to be quite peaceful. The protestors than made their way to Rotary Field for the UB-Holy Cross football game. The first half came and went without scoring, as many in attendance anticipated the halftime show. However, the only people who saw the show were those in attendance and the network censors. ABC decided to black out the marching band’s performance and showed traffic traveling on Main Street and Bailey Avenue outside of the stadium instead. The band’s performance went on as scheduled, going into formations resembling peace signs, polluting smokestacks, a missile, and the initials “MLK” honoring Martin Luther King Jr. Among the songs played were “Give Peace a Chance,” “On the Eve of Destruction,” and “Ohio,” a song honoring those killed at Kent State in May 1970.
About 100 demonstrators however realized that the ABC cameras were not focusing on the middle of the field showing the halftime show. They saw that the cameras were pointed at the street and became irate. After the marching band’s show ended, they stormed the field in protest, shouting obscenities directed at ABC and “Power to the People.” A sign that said “Buffalo Welcomes ABC” was torn down. The game was delayed several minutes as the rowdy demonstrators ran amok until finally being escorted off of the field by police.
Afterwards, one demonstrator said that they should have held an armed demonstration. The demonstrators left immediately after being escorted from the field, and did not watch the second half of the game. The social climate at UB collided with the football team on that day.
[edit] Football
[edit] Football's return in 1977
The modern era of UB football began on October 8, 1977. After a gap of seven years, UB football returned with a bang. Under Head Coach Bill Dando, the Bulls took to the field on that rainy Saturday afternoon against the Tigers of the Rochester Institute of Technology. Although the Bulls did not receive the opening kickoff they did run the first play from scrimmage that day.
RIT fumbled the opening kickoff and the Bulls recovered the ball on the RIT 41. On the first play from scrimmage in seven seasons Mark Gabriel scampered 41 yards off left tackle for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead for the Bulls. RIT would score to tie the game. The rain eventually became monsoon-like. UB’s only other scoring chance of the day fell short when Rich Phillips slipped while trying to kick a game winning filed goal in the second half on a field that could best be described at that time as a quagmire. The game ended in a tie. Although it was UB’s first game back it was also the last tie game in the history of the school.
The Bulls finished their first season with a record of 0-3-1 after losses to Canisius, at Brockport and the Coast Guard Academy. In attendance at the Canisus game was O.J. Simpson and two of his teammates with NFL's Buffalo Bills. The Bulls gained their first win of the modern era the following fall when they beat Brockport 35-31 on a late pass from quarterback Jimmy Rodriquez to Gary Quatrani. That play was similar to the first play from scrimmage that afternoon that also went for a touchdown when the speedster Quatrani was hidden by lining up as a tight end.
[edit] Football in Modern Era
In the modern era, which began as a Division III program in 1977, the Bulls have been run by six coaches. The first coach who led the Bulls for 13 seasons was Bill Dando. He was followed by Sam Sanders (2 seasons) and James Ward (3 seasons). In 1993 the Bulls upgraded the program to a Division I-AA program under Coach Ward. Following Coach Ward was Craig Cirbus, who returned to his alma mater for the 1995 season after a long tenure as an assistant to legendary Penn State Coach Joe Paterno. Under Cirbus, the Bulls moved up to the Division I-A level in 1999. Cirbus was replaced in 2001 by Jim Hofher. Hofher lead the Bulls for five seasons. He was replaced by legendary Nebraska quarterback Turner Gill for the 2006 season.
When Gill was hired he gave UB the distinction of being the only Division I-A school in the country with an African American Athletic Director, head football coach and head men’s basketball coach.[1] Even more interesting is the fact that none of three African Americans at UB are the first African Americans to hold those positions. The first African American AD at UB was Nelson Townsend and the position is currently held by Warde Manuel. James Ward was the first African American head football coach at UB in the early 1990s. Reggie Witherspoon was preceded as head men’s basketball coach by Leo Richardson in the early to mid-1970s and interim head coach Ken Pope in the early 1980s.
All UB football home games are broadcasted for free on the WGR website at www.wgr550.com
[edit] UB as a leader in civil rights
This followed the tradition of UB being in forefront of civil rights in the college athletics. Leeland Jones, Jr. was the first African American to play in a college football game south of the Mason Dixon line in 1941. [2] In 1958 the Bulls turned down an invitation to the 1958 Tangerine Bowl in Orlando when the organizers of the game would not allow the Bulls to play their three African American players because of a local law prohibiting integrated sporting events in Orlando. [3]
[edit] UB Soccer
In 2005, the Buffalo Bulls men's soccer team had its best season to date. The team compiled a 14-3-2 record, closing the regular season out with 8 straight victories. The Bulls reached the Mid-American Conference championship game where they were eliminated by the Akron Zips in penalty kicks.
[edit] UB Cross Country
In 2005, the Buffalo Bulls men's cross country team finished 11th at NCAA northeast D1 Regionals, behind Yale (10th).
