Football Hits Rock Bottom

Saturday's loss at Ohio marked a new nadir for UB's football program. The 0-4 Bulls were shut out by one of the only teams they had a chance to beat this year. It's that time of the season when Bulls fans are pulling out their schedules and trying to figure out if the perennially overmatched team has a chance to win a single game. And it's that time when skeptics of UB's expensive football program are scratching their heads about the move to Division I and the Mid-American Conference.

It's too late to question these decisions, which were made six years ago. Football's die has been cast at UB. Furthermore, as the basketball team has proven, a good Division I program can be a great asset to the UB community. The fact remains, however, that UB is pouring millions of dollars into a failed football program.

It's time for UB officials to shake things up. A permanent athletic director must be hired as soon as possible so long-term decisions can be made about the team's ineffective management. After the season, Coach Jim Hofher and his assistants must be fired. A totally new group of personnel must be brought in to bring a new direction to the moribund team.

An absence was created in the athletic director seat when Robert Arkeilpane left in May 2003. William Maher has been serving as an interim director until President Simpson chooses a new director. Maher is in effect a lame duck, unable to make sweeping decisions that could help the ailing team. It is understandable that Simpson has pressing issues to deal with given he is settling into his new role. But he should make this decision a priority.

The administrative personnel in the football program must be re-evaluated for their effectiveness. At first, the UB community was willing to accept that the struggle for success in Division I would be an uphill battle. Instead, though, the team has been on a downhill slide. In the 2001 season, their third year in the MAC, they won three games. They won just one game in each of the last two seasons. So far this year they are winless. Those in positions of power must be held accountable.

Recruitment is a hard task without the added albatross of a losing program. Because it has had no success at the Division I level, UB's only bait for recruits is to tell them that the football program is on the rise. But that mantra gets more hollow after every losing season. If the team cleans house and brings in new administrators and coaches, it can convince recruits that it has renewed its commitment to winning.

Division I football is an important asset to any university if it ranks better than the last in the nation. UB Bulls football as it stands now is a drain on the finances, patience and spirit of our university. The program must be reinvigorated to improve student and athlete morale and to draw positive attention to an otherwise successful sports program at an otherwise top-notch university.