History of UB Athletics

A Look Back at UB's Logos: Men's sports at UB began in the year 1894 after the formation of the Athletic Association. Football was the University's first sport starting play the same year, and basketball began at the University in the 1915-16 season. From 1915 to 1930, the University teams were known as the Bisons, and the early logo was a caricature of a male American Bison, often outfitted in a UB jersey. However, in 1931 the University changed its mascot to the Bulls in order to distinguish UB from professional teams in the Queen City. Then, a sketch by artist Robert Riger appeared in the March 11, 1963 issue of Sports Illustrated, and the University requested and was granted permission to use the work as the official team mascot for its athletic teams. The "Fighting Bull" was unveiled as UB's trademark/mascot at the 56th annual Athletic Awards Banquet on April 18, 1963. In the mid-70s, the Riger bull and a bull's head were the official logos, and when UB became a member of the State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) in 1978-79, a sketch of a bull running across an outline of New York State that was originally used in 1970 was adopted again.

Women's sports at UB began in 1963-64 when the first modern varsity team, swimming and diving, was established. UB's women's team originally went by the nickname Lady Blues during the mid-70s but changed to the Royals (after the school colors) in 1977 as a result of a student contest conducted by the Spectrum, the student newspaper. The original logo was a crown with the initials UB incorporated into the points, and in 1978-79, the script Royals was substituted for the crown. In the summer of 1997, the women's teams changed to the Bulls to unite the men's and women's athletic programs.

The bullhead was introduced on November 26, 1996 to coincide with Buffalo's transition into Division I athletics. UB's current logo was introduced on July 18, 2006 as athletic director Warde Manuel stressed the importance of a new mark that distinguishes Buffalo as a national program.

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