UB announced Tuesday that the women's sports teams are now going to be referred to as the Lady Bulls. Men's teams will still be known as the Bulls, but according to Paul Vecchio, assistant athletic director, there needed to be some separation between the two sexes.
Just like at Tennessee, LSU, UNLV, Baylor and Texas Tech, Buffalo will be the next school to have the term "lady" in front of their team name.
"We thought it would be a good opportunity for the women to have their own identity," said Warde Manuel, athletic director. "We believe women's sports are just as great as the men, so we gave them an honor that they deserve."
Women's basketball head coach Linda Hill-MacDonald is excited that the women's athletic programs are finally being recognized on campus.
"It feels good for women's athletics to get their own team name," Hill-MacDonald said. "The women teams work just as hard as the men do and should be given some credit for the effort that they put forth in all of their games and practices."
A bull is a male animal, so putting the word lady in front is symbolic for women's teams. Fans and rival teams can no longer accuse them of being or acting like men.
According to Vecchio, the teams will be called the Lady Bulls, however the fan-group True Blue has decided as a whole that they are going to refer to them as the Buffalo Cows. A lady bull is, in fact, a cow.
No other school is referred to as the cows. Buffalo will stand out and draw more attention to the school's athletic department.
"After talking with True Blue, I accept the organization's decision to call the Lady Bulls the Cows," Manuel said. "If it helps our school draw some interest, I am always in favor for that. They have my support 100 percent."
With the new team name, the athletic department and student life are hoping more students will come out and support the teams and are preparing many activities for games.
"We are making T-shirts with a cow on the front of the shirt, and the words 'MOO!' on the back," said Ben Vucic, student relations coordinator. "There will also be try-outs to see who can be Buffalo's first cowbell student to help cheer on the teams at all home games. Like the Saturday Night Live skit, one lucky student will be the Buffalo cowbell player. This is a great opportunity for anybody to have here at UB."
Vecchio agrees that the honor would be great for any cowbell student.
"The first person to do anything is always pretty special," Vecchio said. "There is a lot of history whenever a milestone is accomplished and the new cowbell student will be remembered for starting something new in athletics at Buffalo."
The cowbell students' main purpose will be to distract the other team by firing up the crowd at games by slamming their cowbell as loud as they can. These students will be given access to all areas of Alumni Arena, UB Stadium, the Natatorium, Nan Harvey Field, and the Ellicott Courts.
When a referee makes a bad call during a game, fans will no longer boo them, but moo as one big symphony at a concert. The same term could be directed towards players of the other team.
"It can't be considered offensive because that is the new team's name," Manuel said. "There is no offensive attack towards the opponents, just a loud chant by the crowd to stir some excitement at the event."
Buffalo has also announced that the official drink at all women sporting events is no longer going to be Pepsi, but milk. The school has reached an agreement with Dairy Farmers of America to sell 12-ounce bottles of milk at all home games.
Women teams will have new colors. Instead of the traditional blue and white, they are now going to be black and white.
"We are trying to make the women's teams as different as possible from the men," Manuel said. "It's going to feel like a new dynasty and we are excited for the teams to be starting this."
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Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
