Buffalo drama /alleged sabotage

[Antitroll2828]

This article came out this morning about the terrible state of Buffalo wrestling with multiple wrestlers coming out and saying the administration is purposely doing it to ditch the program , guys training on water logged moldy mats , just shady and terrible if this stuff is true 

https://www.ubspectrum.com/article/2024/04/wrestling-team-complaints-2024?fbclid=IwAR2BA9HFm_UcsYDtjAxWa2hl8x8eN1YWUMF2BEOBEPcS3k22vvd05NkLwH8_aem_Afxh_8FeTSc6O-Tjqw7TxTGaUYR9onYzGKtyObxNo8wcs0UcbA9ntEqAhlS92pe0OLk

[1032004]

Thanks for sharing.  That’s disappointing.  I was hoping the firing of the coach meant they actually wanted to improve the team.  But they might want to get rid of it instead.

[jchapman]

The comments from the athletic director's office lead me to believe the wrestlers' stories.

[Antitroll2828]

18 minutes ago, jchapman said:

The comments from the athletic director's office lead me to believe the wrestlers' stories.

100 percent agree 

[Greenwave]

Damn this will really hurt recruiting of wrestlers and staff.  
as the coaching hire drags on it will get worse.

[Winners Circle]

2 minutes ago, Greenwave said:

Damn this will really hurt recruiting of wrestlers and staff.  
as the coaching hire drags on it will get worse.

100%. Unfortunately sounds like we're on the fast track to UB dropping. 

[gimpeltf]

Interesting that the AD said nothing was reported. ADs either at least occasionally visit or they don't. Neither answer is a good one for something like this.

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

“I do feel that the future is going to be very bright for our wrestling program,” he (AD) said.

Hopefully they’re not looking for an excuse to cut it, but an excuse to better the program. 

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

Also, they are saying they will announce the new coach in the coming weeks. Hopefully the AD and Stutzman didn’t get along, and not the AD hates wrestling. 

[Greenwave]

Feels like the bomb will be coming out of the blue, AD has no idea of concerns.   Will they follow EMU as next MAC program to drop wrestling.

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

23 minutes ago, Greenwave said:

Feels like the bomb will be coming out of the blue, AD has no idea of concerns.   Will they follow EMU as next MAC program to drop wrestling.

2 hours ago, Winners Circle said:

100%. Unfortunately sounds like we're on the fast track to UB dropping. 

Why do we think this when they posted the job, mentioned a new hire being announced, and mentioned looking towards the future?

[Idaho]

As a side note, with the water logged mats and a steamy hot room, did they have those little silver fish bugs that we had in our sauna? Man those guys were quick buggers. 

[Alces Alces Gigas]

I had a buddy that took over a JC back in the 90s.   Great coach but not the most aware of the games tat admin play and the admin knew it.   Hire him, drop the program with little or no  organized resistance as the coach was not local and had little ties to the  local wrestling power brokers.    

 

That's why they might hire a new coach 

[Greenwave]

If they do that it should lead to the wrath of all wrestling community and supporters.  Why set a coach and wrestlers like that.

 

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

After more digging, Buffalo currently sponsors 6 men’s sports and 8 women’s sports. This is the exact minimum of men’s teams a university can have to be considered D1.

 

“Division 1 schools must sponsor seven men's and seven women's sports at a minimum, or six men's sports and eight women's sports at a minimum.”

 

Buffalo is trapped with wrestling, unless they want to add another men’s sport to cut wrestling or drop to d2 or whatever that process would look like. 

[Greenwave]

Would they drop to D2, AD and CoAd have no ties to wrestling or building sports program's.   He raised a lot of money for Memphis for basketball but that’s when CAL was there and then was let go.

[FanOfPurdueWrestling]

35 minutes ago, Greenwave said:

Would they drop to D2, AD and CoAd have no ties to wrestling or building sports program's.   He raised a lot of money for Memphis for basketball but that’s when CAL was there and then was let go.

I can’t imagine any program being willing to drop to d2, probably not a great look for a school. 

[SetonHallPirate]

4 hours ago, FanOfPurdueWrestling said:

After more digging, Buffalo currently sponsors 6 men’s sports and 8 women’s sports. This is the exact minimum of men’s teams a university can have to be considered D1.

 

“Division 1 schools must sponsor seven men's and seven women's sports at a minimum, or six men's sports and eight women's sports at a minimum.”

 

Buffalo is trapped with wrestling, unless they want to add another men’s sport to cut wrestling or drop to d2 or whatever that process would look like. 

Right answer, but two wrongs do make a right in this case. The minimum number of sports for an FBS school is 16, but Buffalo is right at that minimum, because indoor and outdoor track and field count separately for both men and women.

That said, there’s nothing stopping them from adding a sport, and then dropping wrestling, such as a certain school in Norfolk that shall remain nameless did…

[Idaho]

11 hours ago, SetonHallPirate said:

Right answer, but two wrongs do make a right in this case. The minimum number of sports for an FBS school is 16, but Buffalo is right at that minimum, because indoor and outdoor track and field count separately for both men and women.

That said, there’s nothing stopping them from adding a sport, and then dropping wrestling, such as a certain school in Norfolk that shall remain nameless did…

Unfortunately, they could easily add mens swimming and diving since they already have women's and it's a conference sport. A cheap sport to add compared to adding baseball. Another men's sport they do not have that the conference sponsors is mens' golf.  If you are an AD I can imagine dealing with golf would be much easier than dealing with wrestling.  Luckily they are searching for a coach - so they say - which is a good sign for the near future. 

Edited April 17 by Idaho

[Jason Bryant]

Unfortunately, they could easily add mens swimming and diving since they already have women's and it's a conference sport. A cheap sport to add compared to adding baseball. Another men's sport they do not have that the conference sponsors is mens' golf.  If you are an AD I can imagine dealing with golf would be much easier than dealing with wrestling.  Luckily they are searching for a coach - so they say - which is a good sign for the near future. 

Swimming might be cheap to add when you already have a facility, but it’s not a cheap sport to maintain. Numerous ADs have told me they’d rather have a low-maintenance small roster team than a comparable roster size with a pool to manage. As we also know with D1 accounting practices, the math doesn’t always work like it should.

[ionel]

1 hour ago, Idaho said:

Unfortunately, they could easily add mens swimming and diving since they already have women's and it's a conference sport. A cheap sport to add compared to adding baseball. Another men's sport they do not have that the conference sponsors is mens' golf.  If you are an AD I can imagine dealing with golf would be much easier than dealing with wrestling.  Luckily they are searching for a coach - so they say - which is a good sign for the near future. 

Soccer would be easier and make more sense.

[jchapman]

27 minutes ago, Jason Bryant said:

Swimming might be cheap to add when you already have a facility, but it’s not a cheap sport to maintain. Numerous ADs have told me they’d rather have a low-maintenance small roster team than a comparable roster size with a pool to manage. As we also know with D1 accounting practices, the math doesn’t always work like it should.

They cut men's swimming and diving in 2017, and still maintain a pool for their women's team.  This sounds like a case of "math doesn't always work like it should."  Probably want to have the fewest teams allowable while "balancing" Title IX.

[jchapman]

1 minute ago, ionel said:

Soccer would be easier and make more sense.

They dropped Men's soccer in 2017 after a very successful season, and had a player drafted in the MLS that year.  I don't see them wanting to re-start one so soon.

[ionel]

1 minute ago, jchapman said:

They dropped Men's soccer in 2017 after a very successful season, and had a player drafted in the MLS that year.  I don't see them wanting to re-start one so soon.

hmm ... maybe men's equestrian ... 

[SetonHallPirate]

I was thinking more like women's golf.