The Buffalo Bulls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo, commonly called the University at Buffalo (UB) and sometimes called SUNY Buffalo, is a public research university with campuses in Buffalo and Amherst, New York. The university was founded in 18 ...

(UB) in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. The Bulls compete in the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

(NCAA) at the Division I level as a member of

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I collegiate athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Nine of the t ...

(MAC) East Division, having joined the conference in 1998. Buffalo sponsors teams in seven men's and nine women's NCAA sanctioned sports. The football team competes in the

Football Bowl Subdivision The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). As ...

(FBS), the highest level for

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...

. The mascot of UB athletic teams is

Victor E. Bull Victor E. Bull is the mascot for the Buffalo Bulls, the athletic teams of the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York.Buffalo's medical school began tying its

diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offici ...

s using blue ribbons. Later, its pharmacy school began tying its diplomas using white ribbons to distinguish itself from the medical school. Those colors were adopted as Buffalo's official colors as the university grew and added more departments. Internally, Buffalo refers to its shade of

royal blue Royal blue is a deep and vivid shade of blue. It is said to have been created by clothiers in Rode, Somerset, a consortium of whom won a competition to make a dress for Queen Charlotte, consort of King George III. Brightness The '' Oxford E ...

as "UB Blue" and its shade of white as " Hayes Hall White." Buffalo's athletic history predates the foundation of the NCAA. In 1894, a group of

medical students A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, or part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS, MB ...

at what was then known as the university ''of'' Buffalo formed the University of Buffalo Athletic Association and organized its first

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an all-s ...

. A

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

team also represented Buffalo since at least 1894, according to an article in the ''

Buffalo Evening News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...

'' from October 1895 which mentioned that the previous year's team would be reorganized. Before the close of the century, a

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

and

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

team were also formed. In 1903, the school's athletics program was canceled due to lack of funding. In 1905, during the period of inactivity, a men's basketball team began play, although it was not officially sponsored by the school. Buffalo's intercollegiate sports program returned in 1915. Buffalo's sports teams were known as the Buffalo Bison until the 1930s, at which point they changed their name to the Bulls to avoid confusion with several professional sports teams of the same name. However, in 1960, the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

began play in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

. Their similar names would lead to decades of brand confusion. In 1997, Buffalo's women's teams changed their names to the Bulls from the Buffalo Royals. Buffalo joined the

State University of New York Athletic Conference The State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) is an NCAA Division III athletics conference consisting of schools in the State University of New York system. It was chartered in 1958 as the New York State Intercollegiate Athletic ...

(SUNYAC) in the 1978–79 academic year. In 1986, the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY, , ) is a system of public colleges and universities in the State of New York. It is one of the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States. Led by ...

approved university president Steven Sample's request to elevate the school's sports from

NCAA Division III NCAA Division III (D-III) is a division of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States. D-III consists of athletic programs at colleges and universities that choose not to offer athletic scholarships to their ...

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...

within an estimated 5–7 years. At the time, the expectation was that UB would play football in NCAA Division I-AA. The school joined Division I-AA in 1993 and

Division I-A The NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), formerly known as Division I-A, is the highest level of college football in the United States. The FBS consists of the largest schools in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). ...

in 1999. In 1997, Buffalo introduced Victor E. Bull, its new mascot, a student in a blue, anthropomorphic bull costume. The mascot was named by a student write-in contest in the school's newspaper, '' The Spectrum''. He replaced a brown, anthropomorphic bull named "Woody Bully." In 2013, under Athletic Director

Danny White Wilford Daniel White (born February 9, 1952) is a former quarterback and punter for the Dallas Cowboys and an American football coach in the Arena Football League. He has been the color commentator for Cowboys games on Compass Media Networks' ...

, Buffalo rebranded in such a way as to "expand and enhance the visibility of UB’s athletic teams in New York State and nationwide." The rebranding capitalized on its status in the

system and included wordmarks featuring the formal "State University of New York at Buffalo" name in which "New York" was emphasized in more prominent letters. The basketball court at Alumni Arena and turf at

UB Stadium UB Stadium is a stadium in Amherst, New York on the campus of the University at Buffalo. It is primarily used for football, soccer, and track and field events, and is the home field of the Buffalo Bulls. It opened on September 4, 1993, with a ga ...

also featured silhouettes of New York State. In April 2016, following the departure of Danny White, the school announced it would revert to Buffalo-focused branding. Following the 2016–17 academic year, Buffalo eliminated its

, men's soccer, men's swimming and diving and women's rowing programs. The university, then under the direction of president Satish K. Tripathi and athletic director

Allen Greene Claude Allen Greene IV, (born April 10, 1977) is the former director of athletics for Auburn University from 2018 to 2022. He previously served as athletic director for the University at Buffalo, and as assistant athletic director for the Universi ...

, estimated the measure would save the school $2 million while maintaining the number of teams at sixteen, the minimum amount necessary to maintain membership in Division I.

National championships

Individual

Team

Sports sponsored

Basketball

Men's basketball

The Buffalo Bulls men's basketball team has been a member of Division I since the mid-1990s after dropping to the Division III level for the 1977–1978 season. UB vs Ohio 2006

In their 2004–2005 campaign, led by senior guard Turner Battle (who was hired as a Buffalo assistant coach in 2007), the Bulls went on a run to the Mid-American Conference Championship game, beating Western Michigan in the semifinals at

Gund Arena Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is a multi-purpose arena in Cleveland, Ohio. The building is the home of the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL). It also ser ...

in Cleveland. In the MAC final, despite leading by 17 at the half, the Bulls lost in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subse ...

on a tip-in by Leon Williams with 0.5 seconds remaining. The Bulls failed to clinch the automatic bid to the

2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 2005 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 65 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 15, 2005, and ended with the champions ...

, and were not chosen by the selection committee on Selection Sunday. They then went to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT). During that season, the Bulls were led by Coach Reggie Witherspoon, and ended the season with a school record of 23 wins. Article access requires subscription. The 2014–15 Bulls team, under second-year coach Bobby Hurley, won its first conference championship and clinched its first trip to the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as NCAA March Madness and commonly called March Madness, is a single-elimination tournament played each spring in the United States, currently featuring 68 college basketball teams fro ...

in the school's history. The 2015–16 team, under rookie coach Nate Oats, repeated as MAC championships, making their second trip in a row to the NCAA tournament. In

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, the program made the NCAA tournament for the third time in four years and upset no. 4 seed

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

in the First Round, marking its first win in a Division I tournament game in school history. In the following season the team was ranked in the Associated Press' top-25 poll for the first time ever after beating fourteenth-ranked

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the ...

in West Virginia. Sam Pellom played in the NBA with the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Southeast Division. The team plays its home games at ...

and

Milwaukee Bucks The Milwaukee Bucks are an American professional basketball team based in Milwaukee. The Bucks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division. The team was founded in 196 ...

. He also played for the

Washington Generals The Washington Generals are an American basketball team who play exhibition games against the Harlem Globetrotters. The team has also played under several different aliases in their history as the Globetrotters' perennial opponents. Function ...

in a game against the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of ...

before making it to the NBA. In

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

, Blue Collar U, a team consisting mainly of UB alumni, won

The Basketball Tournament The Basketball Tournament (TBT) is an open-application, single-elimination tournament played each summer in the United States. The 2022 edition features 64 teams with a $1 million winner-take-all prize, broadcast by ESPN. TBT was founded in 20 ...

, a summer professional full-court tournament with a $1 million winner-take-all purse. Former Bulls star C. J. Massinburg was named tournament MVP.

Women's basketball

Felisha Legette-Jack Felisha Legette-Jack (born September 4, 1966) is the current head coach of the Syracuse University's women basketball team. She previously served as the head coach at the University at Buffalo, Indiana University, and Hofstra University's women ...

was hired as the women's basketball head coach on June 14, 2012, making her the first coaching hire made by Athletic Director

. In 2016 the women's basketball team won the MAC tournament and made their first trip to the NCAA tournament in program history. In 2018, the team made another trip to the NCAA tournament, beating

South Florida South Florida is the southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the other two are Central Florida and North Florida. South Florida is the southernmost part of ...

in the first round and

Florida State Florida State University (FSU) is a public research university in Tallahassee, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida. Founded in 1851, it is located on the oldest continuous site of higher education in the sta ...

in the second round, reaching the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in program history.

Cross country

Men's cross country

In November 2013, Zach Ahart won the MAC men's individual championship race with a time of 24:47.60. He was the first MAC cross country champion in school history. , no Buffalo men's runner had matched that feat.

Women's cross country

In 2012, UB hosted the MAC championships. They were also scheduled to host the NCAA Regional meet in the 2017 season.UB cross country weekly release: Women take home 4th at Princeton Invitational; Men come in 13th
''State University of New York: Buffalo'', Buffalo, NY: University at Buffalo Athletics, 21 October 2013, Retrieved 13 March 2014.

Football

The Buffalo Bulls football team is a member of the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, having joined in 1998. In 2003, the Bulls were 6–39 since going to Division I-A. At that time, they were ranked 117, and were coached by

Jim Hofher Jim Hofher (born October 12, 1957) is an American football coach and former player. He served as the head football coach at Cornell University from 1990 to 1997 and at the University at Buffalo from 2001 to 2005, compiling a career college footb ...

. The Bulls averaged just under 11,250 fans per game in 2003. Five years later, in 2008, the Buffalo Bulls routed the previously ranked and unbeaten Ball State Cardinals 42–24, capturing their first Mid-American Conference Championship. In that game, two fumbles were returned for touchdowns. The final game of the 2008 campaign was against the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from H ...

in the

2009 International Bowl The 2009 International Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game between the Connecticut Huskies (UConn) and the Buffalo Bulls at Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada, on January 3, 2009. The game was the final contest of the 2008 NCAA Divis ...

Coach trying to get Buffalo fired up for UConn
''McClatchy - Tribune Business News'', Washington, DC: McClatchy - Tribune Business News, 28 September 2012, Doyle, P., Retrieved 11 March 2014. on January 3, 2009, at the

Rogers Centre Rogers Centre (originally SkyDome) is a multi-purpose retractable roof stadium in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at the base of the CN Tower near the northern shore of Lake Ontario. Opened in 1989 on the former Railway Lands, ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. In that game, the Bulls lost with a score of 38–20.

Selected notable NFL players

Khalil Mack Khalil Delshon Mack (; born February 22, 1991) is an American football outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Buffalo, and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders with th ...

John Stofa John Carl Stofa (June 29, 1942 – April 23, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Early life John Stofa was born in Johnstown, Penns ...

Ed Ellis Edward Key Ellis (born October 13, 1975 in Hamden, Connecticut) is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots, the Washington Redskins, the San Diego Chargers, and the New Y ...

Ramon Guzman Ramon L. Guzman (born September 28, 1982) is a former gridiron football linebacker. He played for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. He was signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent In professional s ...

* Drew Haddad * Gerry Philbin *

Jamey Richard Jamey Richard (born October 9, 1984) is a former American football center. He was drafted by the Indianapolis Colts in the seventh round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University at Buffalo. He was named Male Student-Ath ...

Trevor Scott Trevor John Scott (born August 30, 1984) is a former American football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Buffalo and was drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the sixth round of the 2008 N ...

James Starks James Darell Starks (born February 25, 1986) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Buffalo and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. He was a member of their Super B ...

Naaman Roosevelt Naaman I. Roosevelt (born December 24, 1987) is a former football wide receiver and currently an Offensive Assistant for the Saskatchewan Roughriders. He played college football at University at Buffalo. He has been a member of the Buffalo Bills ...

Drew Willy Drew Willy (born November 13, 1986) is a former American professional Canadian football quarterback. He was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Buffalo. Willy has also been a member o ...

* Mike Newton * Josh Thomas *

Steven Means Steven Means (born September 16, 1990) is an American football outside linebacker for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He played coll ...

Branden Oliver Branden Oliver (born May 7, 1991) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Buffalo and signed with the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He played i ...

Kristjan Sokoli Kristjan Sokoli (born September 24, 1991) is an Albanian-born professional American football center for the Houston Gamblers of the United States Football League (USFL). He was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in the sixth round of the 2015 NFL ...

In 2014, outside linebacker

was drafted by the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Ra ...

fifth overall in the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New ...

making him the highest selected Bulls player ever. Previously, the highest selected player was Gerry Philbin in

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...

. Mack holds the all-time NCAA record for forced fumbles and is also tied for career tackles for loss in the NCAA. In 2015, Mack became the first first-team All-Pro in NFL history to be elected in two different positions in the same year, as a defensive end and outside linebacker. Mack was named the

NFL Defensive Player of the Year Several organizations give out NFL Defensive Player of the Year awards that are listed in the ''NFL Record and Fact Book'' and ''Total Football II: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League''. The Associated Press (AP) has been givi ...

for the 2016 season.

Soccer

The UB women's soccer team won a regular season MAC title in 2000. In 2014, a program record was set with fourteen straight victories including their first conference championship in a game over Western Michigan. Buffalo also earned its first berth in the

NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Tournament The NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship, sometimes known as the Women's College Cup, is an American college soccer tournament conducted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), and determines the Division I women's natio ...

. In 2020, the MAC elected to discontinue the Mid-American Conference Women's Soccer Tournament in order to save money and instead send the leading team in each division to a conference championship game. As a result, in 2021, Buffalo was not given a chance to play for the conference championship despite finishing with the most wins (a 6–1–1 record) and the highest

rating percentage index The rating percentage index, commonly known as the RPI, is a quantity used to rank sports teams based upon a team's wins and losses and its strength of schedule. It is one of the sports rating systems by which NCAA basketball, baseball, softball ...

in the MAC East.

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

finished first in the MAC East with a record of only 5–1; because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bowling Green's season was put on pause and they played two fewer games than Buffalo and four fewer games than some other MAC teams. The Bulls team was outraged by the outcome. The men's soccer program was discontinued in 2017.

Softball

, the Bulls softball program has a record of 317–704–1 in Division I and 131–288–1 in conference games. In 2014, Buffalo made it to the finals of the MAC softball tournament but was shut out by

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

Swimming and diving

Kristen Maines was hired as the women's head coach on August 23, 2012. The men's swimming and diving program was discontinued in 2017. Buffalo's women's swimming and diving won its first conference championship in 2021. A program-record ten swimmers earned all-conference honors.

Tennis

Men's tennis

The current Men's tennis coach is Lee Nickell who was appointed in June 2009. As head coach the Bulls have posted winning records in five of their six seasons. He has achieved a 69–54 overall record. Nickel has been selected as MAC Coach of the Year twice, the first during his first season as the Bulls head coach in 2009 and also in 2015 when the Bulls advanced to NCAA tournament for the first time in history.

Women's tennis

The UB women's tennis team reached the MAC Championship from 2005 to 2008, losing to Western Michigan during the first two efforts. In 2008, the Bulls secured their first MAC title, defeating Western Michigan, 4–3. The Bulls then went on to their first NCAA tournament, where they played the eventual NCAA Champion,

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

.Women's tennis: UB going to first NCAA tournament
''The Journal Register'', Medina, NY: The Journal Register, 28 April 2008, Bronstein, J., Retrieved 11 March 2014.Buffalo captures MAC women's tennis championships
, ''MAC'', Mid-American Conference, 27 April 2008, University at Buffalo Athletic Media Relations, Retrieved 11 March 2014.

Track and field

Men's track and field

Men's track and field includes an outdoor and indoor season.Buffalo competes in MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships
''SB Nation: Bull Run'', Vox Media, Inc., 5 March 2014, Riordan, T., Retrieved 11 March 2014. In 2015 UB's men track and field star, Jonathan Jones, became the first national champion in any sport in UB's Division I history when he won the shot put at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.

Women's track and field

Women's track and field includes an outdoor and an indoor season. Some women participate in both indoor and outdoor track and field.

Volleyball

In 2010, the UB women's volleyball team opened their season with a 3–0 win against Youngstown State University at the West Virginia University Mountaineer Classic.Volleyball sweeps season opener against Youngstown State, 3-0: Kristin Bignell leads a balanced offense with nine kills
, ''Buffalo Bulls: News archive: Volleyball'', Buffalo, NY: University at Buffalo Athletics, 28 August 2010, Retrieved 11 March 2014. In that win, the Lady Bulls won three straight sets with scores of 26–24, 25–20, and 25–16 after a slow start in the first set. Several UB players in the game scored more than 7 kills each, with Kristin Bignell making 9 kills. Lizaiha Garcia has played professionally and for the

Puerto Rico women's national volleyball team The Puerto Rico women's national volleyball team is one of the more consistent teams of the NORCECA zone, Puerto Rico has taken one silver and two bronzes on the NORCECA Women's Volleyball Championship, one silver and three bronzes at the Pan-A ...

.Bulls in the pros
, ''State University of New York: Buffalo'', Buffalo, NY: University at Buffalo Athletics, 2014, Retrieved 11 March 2014. Dana Musil, the daughter of former

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

defenseman Frank Musil and former tennis pro Andrea Holíková, sister of future NHL defenseman David Musil and niece of former

NHL All-Star The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with ma ...

Bobby Holik Bobby or Bobbie may refer to: People * Bobby (given name), a list of names * Bobby (actress), from Bangladesh * Bobby (rapper) (born 1995), from South Korea * Bobby (screenwriter) (born 1983), Indian screenwriter * Bobby, old slang for a constab ...

, played volleyball for the Bulls.

Wrestling

In 1978, Buffalo won the NCAA Division III Wrestling Championship. In 1995, the entire 1977–78 team was inducted into the school's athletics hall of fame. , it is the school's only national champion team in any NCAA sport. In 1999, Buffalo's first year in the MAC, John Eschenfelder won the conference's individual championship in the heavyweight division. Two years later he became the first Bulls wrestler to win multiple individual MAC wrestling championships. In 2004,

Kyle Cerminara Kyle Cerminara is an American freestyle wrestler and mixed martial artist. He is a native of Lewiston, New York and attended high school at Lewiston-Porter Central School District. Cerminara attended college at the University at Buffalo and was n ...

became the first UB wrestler to be named an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. He graduated in 2006 as the school's all-time leader in wins with 137. At the 2011 MAC Wrestling Tournament, Buffalo led all teams with four individual championships, a program record, but placed third nonetheless. John-Martin Cannon became the first UB wrestler named the Outstanding Wrestler of the Tournament and the school sent a record five wrestlers to the

NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships The NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships have been held annually since 1928, except for a hiatus in 1943–45 during World War II and in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In 1928 and from 1931–1933, there was only an unofficial team t ...

Formerly sponsored sports

Baseball

The Bulls baseball program was revived in 2000 and joined the MAC in 2001. It was coached by Bill Breene and later by Ron Torgalski. It compiled a final record of 304–568–1 after its revival and failed to qualify for the MAC baseball tournament once in its seventeen seasons in the conference. The program was eliminated during the 2017 season.

Men's ice hockey

Buffalo's men's ice hockey team was one of the earliest teams to represent the university, having begun play in 1895–96. It was abandoned and revived multiple times in the 20th century before ultimately becoming an official varsity sport in 1969–70. In 1970–71, Bulls coach,

Afro-Canadian Black Canadians (also known as Caribbean-Canadians or Afro-Canadians) are people of full or partial sub-Saharan African descent who are citizens or permanent residents of Canada. The majority of Black Canadians are of Caribbean origin, though ...

Ed Wright, became the first black coach in the history of

college ice hockey College ice hockey is played principally in the United States and Canada, though leagues exist outside North America. In the United States, competitive "college hockey" refers to ice hockey played between colleges and universities within the g ...

. In 1977–78, Buffalo became a charter member of the New York Collegiate Hockey Association but left for the SUNYAC a year later. In the spring of 1987, the school withdrew its sponsorship of ice hockey and it became a club sport.

Women's rowing

The women's rowing program was founded in 1997. The Bulls rowing team competed in the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's NCAA Division I, Division I whose full members are located in East Coast ...

(CAA). The Bulls won the CAA title in rowing in 2010 by one point against Northeastern,Campus watch: UB rowing leaps ahead with title
''McClatchy - Tribune Business News'', Washington, DC: McClatchy - Tribune Business News, 5 May 2010, Moritz, A., Retrieved 11 March 2014. and finished a close second in 2011. UB formerly hosted the annual Harvey Cup. The Cup was named in recognition and in memory of former Associate Athletic Director and Senior Administrator Nan Harvey, who died in September 2003 after battling cancer for more than three years. The Cup was held by

Eastern Michigan Eastern Michigan University (EMU, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern), is a public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Founded in 1849 as Michigan State Normal School, the school was the fourth normal school established in the United Sta ...

from its inception until 2006 when the Bulls first claimed the Cup. Buffalo then won the Harvey Cup in 2006 through 2014, a run of 9 straight years. At the time of the program's elimination in 2017, Buffalo was the only school in its conference that sponsored women's rowing.

Men's soccer

Buffalo's men's soccer program was established in 1971. Former goalkeeper

Bobby Shuttleworth Robert "Bobby" Shuttleworth (born May 13, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player who played as a goalkeeper for multiple teams in MLS and USL Championship. Early life Shuttleworth grew up in Buffalo, New York, and while attendi ...

signed with the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

in 2009.Revolution re-signs goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth: Revs extend fifth-year keeper with new contract
''Revolutionsoccer.net'', Foxborough, MA: MLS Network, 11 April 2014, Retrieved 9 March 2014. In 2010, Martin John, a full back, successfully passed a trial at

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

, earning a one-year contract.Buffalo Bulls: News archive: Men's soccer: Former Bull Martin John signs with Cardiff City: John was in the starting lineup for his first match with the Bluebirds
, ''State University of New York at Buffalo Athletics'', Buffalo, NY: University at Buffalo Athletics, 11 August 2010, Retrieved 11 March 2014. In 2017, Russell Cicerone became the first Buffalo player to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft. Buffalo finished with a record of 12–4–3 in its final season, one of its best seasons on record. At the time of the program's elimination in 2017, only four other full MAC members sponsored men's soccer.

Men's swimming and diving

The men's swimming program was founded in 1948. In 2011, Buffalo won its first MAC championship and became the only school other than

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

to win the conference championship since 1979. Just prior to the program's elimination, Buffalo swimmer Mason Miller was named the MAC Men's Swimmer of the Year. However, the sport was only sponsored by three other MAC schools in the 2016–17 academic year when it was eliminated.

Co-ed cheerleading

UB Bulls Football Cheerleaders at UB, October 1991

Cheerleading at UB includes a co-ed cheerleading team for men's football and basketball.University at Buffalo Cheerleading
''Facebook'', Menlo Park, CA: Facebook, 2014, Retrieved 11 March 2014.University at Buffalo Cheerleading: About
''Facebook'', Menlo Park, CA: Facebook, 2014, Retrieved 11 March 2014. The squad originally included women only. In the past 20 years, the cheerleading team has placed in the top ten, nationally, on at least seven occasions, including being named the national champion in 1994 and runner-up in 1995.

Notable non-varsity sports

Rugby

Founded in 1966, the university at Buffalo Rugby Football Club competes in Division 1 of the New York State Rugby Conference. In the fall of 2007 the UBRFC started a Division 3 team playing in the Excelsior West Division of the New York State Rugby Conference. UB rugby has won four championships of the NYSRC Upstate Division 1 Tournament. The UBRFC Mad Turtles play all of their home games at the "Rugby Pitch" located at the Ellicott Complex on the UB's North Campus.

True Blue

As of 2007, the official

student organization A student is a person enrolled in a school or other educational institution. In the United Kingdom and most commonwealth countries, a "student" attends a secondary school or higher (e.g., college or university); those in primary or elementary ...

that supports Buffalo athletics is True Blue. The prominent faces of the organization include a group of at least ten students who paint themselves to spell out, "GO BULLS" for every home football game, and selected basketball games for both men and women. With more than 6,000 members, True Blue is the largest organization on campus. True Blue also organizes selected road trips to support the Bulls. On September 3, 2011, True Blue took three buses full of students to

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

, for the season opening game against the University of Pittsburgh. True Blue is run by an executive board of four members, and a Board of Directors of 10 members. They organize tailgate parties, road trips, events, and programs; and they help promote sports spirit and tradition throughout the university. The organization hopes to become "the most feared student section in the MAC." True Blue has been featured on major television networks such as

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

, CBS, and

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

Marching and pep bands

UB Pep Band with Conductor Norm Alexander at UB Homecoming Football Game, October 1991

The

Thunder of the East The Thunder of the East is the marching band of the University at Buffalo in the State University of New York system.

is the student

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, o ...

. UB also maintains a student pep band, known as the Blue Noise Pep Band. Fight songs of the bands include "Victory March," "Go for a Touchdown," and "Buffalo Fight Song."

Block B Letter Winners Association

The mission of the Block B Letter Winners Association at UB is to connect former student-athletes and sustain UB's athletic tradition.Block B Letter Winners Association
, ''Blue and White Fund'', Buffalo, NY: Blue and White Fund/University at Buffalo, 2014, Retrieved 11 March 2014. The Association is open to all former UB student-athletes, coaches, managers, trainers, and cheerleaders who have participated and/or served in athletics for at least one year. As of 2014, there is a membership fee of $75 that is required to join the Association; and many benefits of membership are offered.

Athletics Hall of Fame

The UB Athletics Hall of Fame is sponsored by the UB Alumni Association.UB Athletics Hall of Fame
''University at Buffalo Alumni Association'', Buffalo, NY: University at Buffalo, 2014, Retrieved 11 March 2014. One member of the Hall of Fame is UB's late president, Bill Greiner,UB Alumni Association: William R. Greiner
''UB - University at Buffalo'', Buffalo, NY, 2013, Accessdate=8 December 2013.99 for 99: #28: Steven Sample and William Greiner push UB to Division I
''SB Nation: Bull Run'', Vox Media, Inc., 22 November 2012, Mostiller, C., Retrieved 10 December 2013. who brought the university back to Division I status.

References

External links

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