Corrigan Report a step in the right direction

Last December, President Simpson publicly acknowledged what everyone in the UB community has known for a long time; our Athletic Department needs help.

By hiring Gene Corrigan to assess our athletic program, Simpson took a pivotal step for UB Athletics.

Over the summer Corrigan's findings were published and, although some of his suggestions are more than obvious, overall his report is a strong plan of attack for creating winning UB teams.

Amongst the many suggestions that Corrigan makes in his assessment, three things in particular stand out. First, he urges the University to, "make a firm decision on AI and Football." Improving the football team is a no-brainer. No matter which University you look at, the same handful of sports continually define nationally recognized athletic programs. A dominant, or at least competitive, football team would not only create an exciting Saturday atmosphere for students, but also would also draw countless dollars and support from surrounding communities.

Second, Corrigan suggests that the school "consider a reduction of sports (teams), focusing on sports with the best opportunity for success," as well as consider the addition of sports that have "a potential for success" such as lacrosse or hockey.

This suggestion is a little less obvious and has a lot of people talking. No one wants to see programs cut, but let's face it; Buffalo is a football and hockey city. If the University wants to receive support from the city and its suburbs, it makes perfect sense to put money into those two sports, even if that means getting rid of some of our less popular teams.

Lastly, Corrigan suggested that the school hire an athletic director and eight weeks later Simpson announced the hiring of Warde Manuel.

Manuel has been at the University of Michigan for the last nine years and was a collegiate football player. Hiring him is certainly a step in the right direction.

All in all, Corrigan's report can be summed up rather easily, "pick your winners and cut your losses." If UB wants to be respected in the MAC, the school has to decide what sports are going to define our athletic program and what sports are wastes of money.

The administration needs to ask itself, "Are we a football school or a tennis school?"

Even though the Corrigan Report is a learning tool for the administration, it's also a lesson for us as students. The report is proof that President Simpson and the University are trying to improve our sports programs and we need to reciprocate by supporting our teams.

We need to show the school that we appreciate their efforts in trying to bring us wining programs, and that we want them to keep on trying.

Last year the men's basketball team received a level of student support that no team has ever experienced at this school. We need to start giving that kind of backing to the football team, as well as some of the sports that aren't necessarily considered mainstream.

I challenge all of you to take an interest in our sports teams this year, even if it's a sport you don't know much about. You never know, you may find yourself tailgating outside of UB Stadium, screaming at officials with that diehard Bulls fan who paints himself blue for every game or shouting "two" while Kyle Cerminara scores a match-winning takedown.