Athletic Director Danny White is leaving UB to accept the A.D. job at the University of Central Florida. After several media reports Tuesday that White had been hired, UCF officially announced White as its new athletic director Wednesday. Calls to White’s cell phone were not returned Tuesday.
The Bulls (1-1) fell to Old Dominion (2-0) 77-58 at the Ted Constant Convocation Center in Norfolk, Virginia in their first game of the Hall of Fame Classic. The Bulls shot just 30 percent from the field and committed 30 fouls.
The photo of Evans, who transferred to Arizona State to join former men’s basketball head coach Bobby Hurley, was replaced with the image of former Bulls forward Xavier Ford sometime Monday or during this past weekend. Ford graduated from UB last semester.
Athletic Director Danny White is one of three finalists for the AD opening at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and will interview for the job Monday in Chicago, according to a report from the Orlando Sentinel. The report said UCF President John Hitt will also interview DeWayne Peevy, Kentucky deputy director of athletics. White signed a five-year contract extension with UB last fall in order to show “commitment to the Buffalo community and this university,” he told The Spectrum at that time. White was the highest paid athletic director in the Mid-American Conference in the 2013-14 fiscal year with a pay of $301,625, according to USA Today.
A weekend recap of UB Athletics, as the basketball teams started its season and the volleyball team is headed to the MAC Tournament.
The Bulls (8-7-4, 2-2-1 MAC) lost to Akron (15-3-2, 4-0-1 MAC), the No. 3 team in the entire country, 1-0 at FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field in Akron, Ohio Sunday. It was their third MAC Tournament Championship Game appearance and first since 2007, where the Bulls also lost to Akron.
Despite a less-than-stellar offensive performance, the Bulls (1-0) picked up a season-opening 55-38 victory over LIU Brooklyn (0-1) on Saturday afternoon at Alumni Arena. Buffalo shot less than 40 percent from the field, but was relieved by a stellar defensive performance. The 38 points allowed are the fewest for Buffalo since Feb. 23, 2013.
The Bulls (1-0) routed Division-III Pittsburgh-Bradford (0-1) 109-49 in Alumni Arena to open the 2015-16 season Friday night. Buffalo shot more than 50 percent and had six players score double-digits in what was Oats’ first game and win as head coach.
The Bulls (8-6-4, 2-2-1 MAC) defeated Western Michigan (11-4-4, 3-1-1 MAC) 2-1 in overtime of the MAC Tournament Semifinals Friday to advance to the championship game against Akron for just the third time in program history. Buffalo got the game-tying goal from junior defender Daniel Cramarossa with about four minutes left in regulation before Cicerone, a junior forward, scored in overtime.
Overall prediction: 19-11 (11-7 MAC) It’s rather easy to be down on the Bulls this year.
But this is a new season for these two guards. They are playing without the veteran personnel they played with last year. They each have one more year of basketball knowledge to their names. Both were already named the starting guards for the Bulls. It’s now their team to lead into another postseason opportunity.
And now, after 18 years of being a student of the game, and just before he makes his debut as the head coach of the Buffalo men’s basketball team, Oats is ready to be the teacher.
Well, it was a good story while it lasted. That’s what I can’t help but think while looking at the Buffalo men’s basketball team.
Sharkey is one of the most prolific players in program history. She ranks fifth in program history in both career games (120) and free throws (305), 10th in rebounds (759) and 11th in blocks (98). Sharkey returns as an assistant coach to teach the young wave of new Bulls what it’s like to play in Buffalo.
The men’s basketball team, the reigning Mid-American Conference Champions, isn’t even nationally ranked in the top-100. That’s according to CBS Sports. And even Buffalo’s own conference’s media has picked it to finish no better than fourth – in the MAC East. But it’s nothing of concern for first-year head coach Nate Oats.
As soon as the Mid-American Conference Championship banner was revealed on the wall of Alumni Arena, something changed.
This is a young women’s basketball team, but let’s backtrack for a second. Buffalo is coming off its best season in program history, winning 19 games and making its first-ever Women’s National Invitational Tournament appearance.
Two true freshmen and a junior college transfer combined to score 55 points in the men’s basketball team’s first and only preseason game against Daemen College last week. And they are less than half of Buffalo’s new players this season. The Bulls’ roster is filled with new players after an offseason of turnover with the transfer of star point guard Shannon Evans, the expulsion of MAC Player of the Year Justin Moss and the graduation of impact seniors like Will Regan and Xavier Ford.
Legette-Jack wants to use the same mentality used to help raiser her to raise her Buffalo women’s basketball program.
Despite a Bulls’ (5-5, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) comeback, Northern Illinois showed why it is the superior team and claimed a 41-30 victory at UB Stadium Wednesday night. The loss puts an end to Buffalo’s three-game winning streak, as the Bulls will have to wait another week to try for its sixth victory to make them bowl eligible for just the third time since rejoining Division I in 1999.
Solutions by The State News
