What happened on Saturday night at UB Stadium was an atrocity on all fronts. Here John Norman and Jim Byrne let their opinions be heard.
John Norman:
The problem with UB football is rooted in the way UB moved to Division I-A, and can't be fixed any time soon. Look at the other schools that have moved to D I-A: Marshall, UConn and Troy State. Those schools all had well-established athletic programs at either the Division I-AA level or in the big time, attention grabbing sports like men's basketball. UB had neither of those, and as a result we have no name to build on. Until we establish a name for ourselves, be it through basketball or football, UB won't be able to climb out of the D I-A basement. We won't be able to attract blue-chip recruits because we don't have a national athletic presence. Very few marquee prospects come from the New York area - it's a fact - and it's a real challenge getting great players to come here, even for a "big time" school like Syracuse.
For now, the coaching staff needs to do a better job evaluating the talent that is available. I don't think we'll be able to beat a team like Iowa for many years. But, there's no reason a Division I-AA non-scholarship team should beat a team with all the scholarships we give out. Any way you put it, with the resources available, we should be able to get better athletes than a school like Colgate or Lehigh. It is up to the coaching staff to find these athletes and bring them here.
Jim Byrne:
As much of a joke that the game itself was, the biggest joke was played on the students of the University at Buffalo.
I chose to sit in the stands as opposed to the press box for my final home opener as a student at Buffalo, and I could not have made a bigger mistake.
My friends and I went to go sit in what was formerly the student section, but were promptly removed in about five minutes for doing absolutely nothing. The kids in front of us were all UB students and were cheering loudly and vehemently for their team. No profanity, no lewdness, just cheering. Then some punk down on the field called security on us and had us booted because we were sitting in the Colgate section. I couldn't believe it. Kicked out for cheering our own team.
So they sent us to the new student section, the one behind the end zone, behind Shaggy's stage, behind pretty much everything in the entire University. Probably the worst seats in the house.
Do they honestly think that people will want to come back? After where we were seated, what we saw on the field, and how we were treated like second-class citizens to the Colgate fans, I'd pretty much say that the student's willingness to return is dead in the water.
For all the begging, pleading and crying that UB does to get its students to the game, in the end all they end up doing is slapping them in the face and making them wonder why they even bother showing up.
I tried to help by writing a column on Friday urging students to go to the game. But I got kicked out for cheering on my school. Why even bother now?
The guy in the front row of the "student section" said it best with his sign that he brought to the game. "Worst Seats Ever ... Thanks UB."
