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UB
athletes looking like champs
By
Joseph DiPuma
UB Athletics Director
 t's
official. UB athletics is on the rebound. Baseball had
21 wins last year, breaking the university's previous
record of 14 wins, set in 1973, and rolling up the first
winning season in 25 years. The women's soccer team
was ranked seventh most-improved team in the country
this past year. Men's basketball made the conference
playoffs and had the most wins in five years. (Once
again the away games have hit the airways on 89.5 FM,
WPKN.) Women's basketball had the leading scorers and
rebounder in the conference. Women's gymnastics went
to the national championships for the second year in
a row, as two of our gymnasts earned Academic All-American
honors. There's great momentum, and the enthusiasm is
high!
In sports, as in life, you aim high.
That's why the winning attitudes of our coaches and
student-athletes are catching attention here at the
university, and among the ranks of the UB fans and alumni.
You can see the turnaround in our growth. Two years
ago when we started our rebuilding plan, we went from
a program where several student-athletes played in a
number of sports just to field a team. That's not the
case any longer. In two years, we have increased the
number of student-athletes by 50 percent. This year
we hope to get that number up to 140 student-athletes,
which will maximize the population in all of our nine
intercollegiate sports. Additionally, we've increased
the participation in our intramural program by 100 percent,
which is spreading the interest in athletics to all
of our UB students.
Staying with our Division II philosophy,
we just successfully completed our inaugural year in
the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference (NYCAC).
Our conference rivals, the 11 other colleges and universities,
are located to the south of us, which gives us excellent
exposure to our prime recruiting areas. New student-athletes
this year represent more than 20 percent of the new
undergraduate students coming to UB. This is a reflection
of the hard work, determination and dedication of our
coaching staff, which has resulted in the recruitment
of quality student-athletes who are successful both
on the field and in the classroom.
We have seen the ranks of student-athletes
increase and we're fielding winning teams. But we have
some way to go. In order to get our athletic program
to the next level - that is, to further enhance and
support our existing programs, as well as by adding
on additional sport teams - the university has agreed
that all donations for the athletic program will go
directly to the program. Remember that any contribution
you make will help enhance "the college experience"
and give new opportunities to our students that do not
currently exist. Additionally, for those of you who
are interested, I am looking for volunteers to assist
us with fund-raising events. Together we can continue
to build our athletic programs and be proud of our Purple
Knight tradition. If you are in the area, please take
the opportunity to come to an event and meet our coaches
and talented student-athletes. We would like to get
to know you! Thank you for your support.
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