Describing Buffalo's 2012-13 athletic season in one word is a daunting task. It's much simpler to reflect on a key position throughout the Bulls' major sports - head coaches.
The year included a questionable head coach extension and a firing three others, a successful rookie campaign and a Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year.
A new contract for head football coach Jeff Quinn was a decision some in the community questioned. Then, four months later, first-year athletic director Danny White fired 14-year head basketball coach Reggie Witherspoon, a decision that piled on to the question marks surrounding the new young AD. White also fired wrestling coach Jim Beichner and softball coach Jen Teague.
Despite disappointments in football and men's basketball, other sports shined. Women's basketball head coach Felisha Legette-Jack and baseball coach Ron Torgalski proved to lead teams worthy of attention.
Legette-Jack took the reins of a struggling team and helped it advance to the quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament in her first season. Torgalski's Bulls recorded their most wins in school history (33) as he earned MAC Coach of the Year.
Here's a rundown of four of the most noteworthy UB teams last year.
Football
Controversy began in November when White extended Quinn's contract through the 2017 season.
Quinn entered his third year with the program in 2012, which is often the make-it-or-break-it year when it comes to college football. The Bulls opened the season with two impressive games. They put a scare into nationally ranked Georgia, running back into the tunnel at Sanford Stadium at halftime trailing by only eight points. One week later, they followed up the performance with an eight-touchdown onslaught and a 56-34 victory over Morgan State.
All signs pointed in the right direction for Quinn and the Bulls before an injury to star running back Branden Oliver in week four shook everything up.
The injury cost Oliver the next four games and the offense halted in his absence. After scoring 79 points in its first two games, Buffalo scored just 64 in its next five - resulting in five losses.
The lack of production led to an outcry from media and fans for freshman quarterback and Buffalo native Joe Licata to start under center. Quinn gave Licata meaningful playing time for the first time against Toledo in week nine in the third quarter, as the Bulls trailed 25-14. Licata led the offense to one scoring drive, but the Bulls lost their sixth-straight, 25-20.
Quinn chose to stick with Licata the next week and it resulted in the end of Buffalo's losing streak. The Bulls went on to win three straight, their first winning streak in the Quinn era, before dropping the last game of the season.
After Quinn capped off three years as head coach at 9-27, White liked the fight the Bulls put together at the end of the season and decided to stick with the coach - showing his trust with the five-year extension.
This fall is pivotal for Quinn and the Bulls. This year's team is arguably the most talented of all time. UB has possibly the best offensive and defensive players in program history on the roster in Oliver and senior linebacker Khalil Mack. Additionally, the Bulls return 17 of 22 starters from last season.
Men's basketball
Buffalo's basketball team had high expectations following one of its most successful seasons in program history, finishing second in the MAC in 2011-12. Despite the losses of conference Player of the Year Mitchell Watt and sharpshooter Zach Filzen, the Bulls hoped to accomplish what they couldn't the year before - a MAC title.
Graduate Tony Watson and senior forward Javon McCrea both showed hints of greatness. Watson had a magical three-game stretch in February, in which he scored 69 points and shot 15 of 24 from beyond the arc. McCrea was dominant all season, averaging 18 points and 7.9 rebounds and totaling 89 blocked shots.
The team struggled to win consistently but had one defining moment. The Bulls defeated No. 24 ranked Akron 81-67 at Alumni Arena - the first victory over a ranked opponent in school history - and snapped the nation's longest win streak at 19.
After a loss in the final minute to Kent State in the third round of the MAC Tournament, Witherspoon was informed he had coached his last game at Buffalo.
Many were shocked and even angered by White's decision, but his hire of the NCAA's all-time leading assists-man, Bobby Hurley, silenced many of the critics. Hurley is a Duke great who played for legendary coach Mike Krzyzewski and won two national championships.
Women's basketball
Legette-Jack took over a program that went .500 in MAC play only twice in the previous nine seasons, but she proved ready to change the losing culture.
While battling injuries throughout the season, most notably one to Rachael Gregory, who was the team's leading scorer through its first 16 games, the young squad pulled together to finish with an 8-8 MAC record and a home game in the first round of the MAC Tournament. After defeating Northern Illinois, the team traveled to Cleveland, where it first met up with Miami Ohio.
The Bulls pulled off an 82-70 upset over the RedHawks, but their season ended the next day.
They pushed an Akron team - which defeated them by margins of 18 and 17 in the regular season - to the final minute in an 83-79 loss.
Baseball
Despite entering the season picked to come in second-to-last in the MAC, the Bulls finished in second place and won at least two of three games in all nine conference series. Buffalo's 19 conference victories were its most since joining the conference in 2001 and the success transferred into individual hardware with graduated outfielder Jason Kanzler and Torgalski winning MAC Player and Coach of the Year, respectively.
The Bulls, however, were upset in the MAC Tournament, falling 4-1 to Toledo.
While baseball made history in the spring of 2013, the rest of the athletic department looks to duplicate its success in the fall.
Email: sports@ubspectrum.com
Photo: Courtesy of UB Athletics
