As the Athletic Director for UB's athletic department, Warde Manuel expects his teams to live up to his goal: 10 titles in four years. Despite the fact that most teams have finished play for their 2007-08 season and none have finished with a Mid-American Conference title, Manuel is pleased with the teams' improvements this season, but is not yet satisfied with the results.
"We haven't won a championship yet...I'm not happy about it. What's important to me is that I see that student athletes and the coaches are not happy about it," Manuel said.
The team with the biggest improvement this season was the football team, who had a record of 2-10 in head coach Turner Gill's first year, and improved to 5-7 this season. The Bulls accomplished many firsts, including their first winning home record since joining the MAC, on their way to a tie for the MAC-East championship.
Gill's work over the past two seasons earned him consideration to be the head coach of his alma mater, Nebraska. In the end Gill was beat out by former LSU defensive coordinator Bo Pelini. Manuel believes the publicity given to Gill and UB during this courtship will help recruiting for all sports in the future.
"I think it has a lot of positives, obviously it gets his name and the name of the university out there and so I think more coaches and more prospective student athletes know who we are across the country...I think it has a positive effect on our student athletes, people here in Western New York, the students in the community that he stayed, as someone that was highly sought after," Manuel said.
While the football team rose to new heights, the men's basketball team dipped to lows that hadn't been seen in several years. The Bulls suffered through a 10-win season, and fell in the first round of the MAC tournament. While the team's season was disappointing to many, there were moments throughout the year, including a 50 point victory over Bowling Green on senior day, which allowed for optimism for next year.
"We didn't have the success that coach or the team wanted, nor did I. There's nobody more disappointed than coach Witherspoon, the staff and the team," Manuel said. "The expectations are that we will get better. There were some positives throughout the season, particularly at the end. The good part about is I don't think the team ever gave up."
With the losses came the drop in attendance. While Manuel wants to see fans support the teams whether they are winning or losing, he understands that fans want to support winners.
"It is easier to market winning," Manuel said. "...In a lot of cases, having experienced it particularly in basketball at Michigan, when the team was successful you saw more people come, you saw season tickets increase, and when they weren't you didn't see people there."
One thing Manual is clear about is that there is more to college athletics than football and men's basketball. The women's swimming team won three dual meets this season, after not winning any in the previous three years. The men's soccer team lost in a shootout at the end of the MAC tournament, allowing Akron to win the championship.
"I've said since I got here 'I don't put one sport in front of the other.' If we're going to have sports, we're going to aim for winning championships," Manuel said "...Obviously the society places more on football and men's basketball in particular. But from my standpoint, it doesn't matter whether it's men's basketball or volleyball or any other sport that struggles. We're going to get behind them. We're going to support the coaches. We're going to figure out what they need...I never want to be a person who just...simply focused on football and basketball."
One way that Buffalo looks to improve is by beginning the process of building an indoor practice facility. At this time the football team practices at the Buffalo Bills' indoor practice facility, while other teams are left to practice in places not as accommodating. The baseball and softball teams, in particular, have problems practicing indoors due to low ceilings and poor substitutions for the on-field practice.
"I'd love to say that this proposal is cutting edge, but we're behind in many ways with even out counterparts in the MAC. I think six or seven institutions in the MAC have an indoor facility...it's definitely necessary if you want to participate at this level to train and prepare."
Manuel has had a successful career both on the field and in the front office. Now he wants Buffalo to win championships so that his players can whiteness the same joy and excitement that he has already felt.
"I've won championships and I want to win championships now. But I want to win championships for those kids because I know what it feels like. I know the hard work it takes....and I'm in it because this I want to see them do it," Manuel said. "I can't win any more championships myself, I can't play the game, I can't do the things on the field...I can't do it any longer, so I've got to live through them. Because I know how great it feels, I want them to experience it."
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
