The Bull Run Hype Index

This is a post to lay down some groundwork for something coming up on Bull Run tomorrow, keep an eye out

The guys sat around the water cooler the other day talking about how to rate the “hype” that UB athletics has generated over the years.

What we came up with is a combination of a strict “on the field/court” results equation and some other variables for specific milestones.

We call it the “Buffalo Athletics Hype Index”, and it will be used in some other posts in the coming weeks to describe the progress, and challenges, that the department faces if it really does want to become one of the consistently good G5 / mid major athletic departments that command an mount of respect in college athletics.

Just to note, 2018 is a “projected” result .

Definitions

Lull - A period where overall hype is lower than the previous local maximum which “broke” a lull) For example. 2008 “broke a lull”, by rating 12. So the next “lull” started when the department dropped below that level

End - The year when the hype is greater than the last local maximum.

1999-2003 Lull - Duration 4 years

Low Point- 1 (2000)

High Point - 3 (decent WBB season)

END - 9.5 points (MBB carried the dept)

As you can see, from 1999-2004 there was really only one moment that jumped out, that’s four years before something good happens. And that good was a solid MBB season with an invite to the NIT.

2005 - 2007 Lull - Duration 2 years

Low Point - 4 ( 2006)

High Point - 4.5 (2005)

END - 2008 (Football MAC Championship, Hoops Solid Season)

Then back down we go... Until 2008, three years later, when Gill won the MAC, UB went to a Bowl, and Mens BB had a very solid season.

2009 - 2012 Lull - Duration 3 years

Low Point - 4.5 (2010)

High Point - 7 (2012)

END - 2013 (Football Bowl, MBB win division)

Buffalo was two quarters away from winning the East division in football and basketball won the MAC East. Neither fully capitalized with hoops losing in Cleveland and the football team laying an egg in the Potato Bowl.

The nice thing here is when the lull was over UB kept going for a bit. 2016 built on the success of 2015 with football having an “ok” year which ended after UMass upset the Bulls to keep them from six wins.

But Both the Men and Women on the MAC basketball tournament, a huge coup for the department.

It was the first time that a new “high” was not followed by some sort of dip.

2016 Lull

Low Point - 9 (2016)

END - 2017

Basically the story here is that football fell off the Map. A 4-5 win season here might have kept UB from dipping below the previous high watermark in 2008.