President John B. Simpson's retirement announcement nearly two weeks ago rocked the university to its core.
Ever since, people have been clamoring for answers to questions regarding the decision, and wondering what ramifications there will be at Buffalo.
Flying under the radar in the aftermath of the Simpson announcement, however, was Monday's breaking news that UB Athletic Director Warde Manuel was one of three finalists for the same job at the University of Maryland. Former Army A.D. Kevin Anderson eventually wa
s given the job, but the possible departure of Manuel from UB was a scary thought.
Unfortunately, UB can no longer hide talent behind the appearance of a losing tradition. The eventual reality of Manuel moving on to bigger and better things is just something Bulls fans will have to come to grips with.
Fans were dealt a similar blow at the end of last year when former head football coach Turner Gill took a Big 12 coaching job at Kansas. It is only natural that people move up the ladder in their field, but it doesn't make the reality any easier to deal with.
Buffalo is merely a stepping stone.
The football program was lifeless and hopeless when Manuel arrived in August 2005. As the laughingstock of the college football world, the Bulls annually served as the cellar-dweller of the Mid-American Conference and no end seemed to be in sight.
Within 12 months on the job, Manuel had already begun the transformation of the athletic program. Manuel knew that hiring Gill would be the perfect fit in the football program to reverse the culture of losing at UB. His vision for the school went far beyond any previous plan.
The crowning achievement for Manuel came in 2008 when the football team captured the school's first ever MAC Championship. The win garnered national attention and UB finally gained recognition for something other than academics.
But Manuel's achievements have gone beyond the football program as he has turned around other athletic programs.
Before the 2009 season, Manuel hired Todd Kress to coach the volleyball team. For a program in the dumps for so many years, the hiring could rank as the best hire of his career.
Before Kress came to Buffalo, the volleyball team struggled to compete in the MAC. In just his first year, the Bulls turned in their best season since joining the conference and even captured the school's first ever MAC Tournament victory.
The volleyball team is even better this year and Kress has been instrumental in the change. His recruiting class was sensational and the team is a legitimate threat to win the MAC this season – a notion that would have been laughable two short years ago.
As heartbreaking it was to see Gill leave, Manuel hired current head football coach, Jeff Quinn, in what appears to be another job well done. Just one game into his first season, Quinn has rallied Bulls fans and his players have never seemed so energenic and focused on the game of football.
In the end, UB will probably have to say goodbye to a great leader and someone who changed the landscape of UB sports forever. But what he accomplished in his time at UB will be appreciated for a long time to come.
