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The University at Buffalo Bulls will kick off their 84th season of intercollegiate football this Saturday night when they host the Bald Eagles of Lock Haven University at UB Stadium.

The Bulls look to build off a memorable 8-3 campaign in 1996 which saw head coach Craig Cirbus earn NCAA I-AA Independent Coach of the Year honors. The Bulls haven't had back-to-back winning seasons since the 1983-84 teams finished 8-2 and 6-4 respectively.

This season also marks a special one in UB football history. This year marks the 20th Anniversary of the return of Bulls' football in 1977 after being dropped as an intercollegiate sport from 1971-76. Ironically, head coach Craig Cirbus was an offensive lineman on that '77 team which finished 0-3-1.

The Bulls are once again a I-AA Independent this season along with Austin Peay, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Charleston Southern, Davidson, Hofstra, Liberty, Morehead State, St. Mary's (CA), Samford, Southern Utah, South Florida and Western Kentucky.

The Bulls and Bald Eagles have met on two occasions in their history, with both teams winning on the other's home field.

UB took the first-ever meeting between the schools back in 1984 by a 21-9 score. That was the final game of the '84 campaign as the Bulls finished 6-4 that season under head coach Bill Dando.

Lock Haven got revenge a year later when they nipped the Bulls, 23-21, at old UB Stadium in the final game of the 1985 season.

Several Bulls were honored in national publications before the beginning of the 1997 season and the Bulls were ranked in two different polls. The Bulls were ranked 23rd by The Sporting News and were ranked 25th in The Sports Network pre-season poll.

Keith Hansen, Anthony Swan, Dan Curcione, Dan Poulsen and Mike Garofalo all earned pre-season recognition in a variety of magazines.

Swan, who enters his senior season just 575 yards shy of becoming the school's all-time leading rusher, was voted the seventh best running back in I-AA football by The Sporting News and earned pre-season All-Independent honors by The Sporting News.

Hansen, a senior noseguard, and Curcione, a sophomore linebacker, were named All-Independent performers by both The Sporting News and the Bob Griese Yearbook.

UB's receiving corps were judged the best in I-AA football by The Sporting News while Garofalo, a sophomore offensive guard, and Poulsen, a junior defensive end, earned berths on the National Scholar-Athlete team as named by College Football Preview.

Both coaches on Saturday evening are alumni of their respective schools.

Lock Haven head coach Nick Polk is in his second year at the helm of the Bald Eagles program and finished 1-10 at the Division II school his first season. He is a 1986 graduate of Lock Haven. The Bald Eagles play in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC).

UB head coach Craig Cirbus (Buffalo, '80) has turned around his alma mater's football fortunes in his first two seasons after spending 11 years on Joe Paterno's staff at Penn State.

Cirbus has an 11-11 career record at UB and was named the 1996 NCAA I-AA Independent Coach of the Year.

After an extremely competitive battle between three quarterbacks in training camp, University at Buffalo head coach Craig Cirbus announced after last Friday's final scrimmage that junior Chad Salisbury will start in the Bulls' season opener.

Salisbury, who transferred to UB in January from New Mexico State edged out sophomore Erik Rusin and redshirt freshman Billy Feldmaier for the starting job. Salisbury, who attended Frazier High School near Pittsburgh, started 10 games at New Mexico State last season and completed 172-of-341 passes (50.2%) for 2,291 yards and 11 touchdowns. He also ran for three scores.

In his final game at New Mexico State versus Boise State on Nov. 15, Salisbury completed 34-of-51 passes for 450 yards and two touchdowns while also running for two scores. Salisbury also completed 21-of-34 passes for 261 yards at Idaho on Nov. 8. He threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns at Utah State and 256 yards and a pair of scores versus Southern Utah. While with the Aggies, Salisbury faced some great competition, including starts versus Texas and at LSU. Cirbus cited that experience as one of the factors in the coaching staff's decision.

Salisbury was an All-State selection at Frazier HS where he played for his father Tom, throwing for 4,441 yards and 44 touchdowns and earning All-Western Pennsylvania honors both his junior and senior seasons. He led the Commodores to the conference championship in his junior season.

The Bald Eagles are coming off a 1-10 season in 1996 but return the majority of their defense in an effort to turn things around in '97.

The Bald Eagles will rely on senior quarterback Carlos Cleckley offensively to get things going. Cleckley completed 52% of his passes last season (164-of-317) for 1,566 yards and 10 touchdowns, while throwing 12 interceptions.

Cleckley's top returning receiver is tight end Jason Kundtz, who had 29 catches for 238 yards and a pair of touchdowns in '96. Split end Art Harris also made 26 catches for 270 yards (10.4 yards per catch) and also scored twice.

Free safety Ben Steinbacher leads the Bald Eagle defense after making 93 tackles and intercepting a pair of passes last season. LB Brad Caldwell also had 82 tackles last season while defensive end John Gerst had 48 tackles and led the team with 7.5 quarterback sacks.

The Bulls will no doubt be helped this season by the experience of three former I-A players who have transferred to Buffalo since last fall: Chad Salisbury (New Mexico State), Ted McDuffie (Temple) and Travis Blount (Virginia).

Salisbury, a junior, will start at quarterback for the Bulls. The 6-6, 254-pound Salisbury hails from Newell, PA and played two seasons at New Mexico State. McDuffie, the 1992 Buffalo News Player-of-the-Year, attended Grover Cleveland HS in Buffalo before starting two of his three seasons at free safety for Temple. McDuffie did not play football at all last season and is a senior.

Blount, meanwhile, is a redshirt freshman who joined the Bulls in August after transferring from Virginia. Blount played his high school ball with sophomore flanker Rychard Dykes at Corcoran HS near Syracuse. He will start at a cornerback position for the Bulls.

575...The number of yards Anthony Swan needs to pass Alan Bell ('92) on the all-time rushing chart.

97...the number of carries Swan needs to break the school record.

10...the number of touchdowns Swan needs to become the all-time leader in touchdowns scored by rushing.

44...the number of tackles senior defensive tackle Hardy Mitchell needs to reach 150 in his career.

10.5...the number of sacks senior noseguard Keith Hansen would need to tie Rich Dadabo and Vince Canosa for the all-time career lead.

34...the number of tackles Hansen needs to reach 150 in his career.

9..the number of touchdown catches Jamie Gasparre needs to tie Chris D'Amico for the all-time career record. Gasparre tied the school record with 10 last season.

27...the number of years that have elapsed since UB played a Division I-A school until Sept. 20 when the Bulls travel to Ohio University in a Mid-American Conference preview.

5...the number of wins Craig Cirbus needs to move into fifth-place all-time on the UB coaching list.

Not only do the Bulls have 22 players on their opening night roster from Buffalo-area schools, UB also boasts the top three career rushers in Western New York history.

Freshman David Schmidli (Ransomville, NY/Wilson) shattered the record of UB teammate David Hinson (Jamestown/Jamestown) last fall while Hinson broke the record of Bulls' free safety Ted McDuffie (Buffalo, NY/Grover Cleveland).

Not only did the Bulls lose 19 seniors last season, they also lost 15 of 24 starters (including special teams).

In addition, the Bulls roster currently has only 14 upperclassmen (11 seniors, 3 juniors) and 77 players who are either sophomores, redshirt freshmen or true freshmen. Among the seniors, only five (Anthony Swan, Jamie Gasparre, Hardy Mitchell, Keith Hansen and Steve Blake) were regular starters last season.

The Bulls were among the best in the nation last season in the turnover margin category and it was a big factor in an 8-3 season as UB was 7-1 when winning the turnover battle. The Bulls finished the season +15 last year.

The Sporting News recently named the UB receiving corps the best in the nation among I-AA programs, and its tough to argue with the numbers the Bulls return.

The Bulls return their top three receivers from last year -Jamie Gasparre (Yonkers, NY/Hackley HS), Kali Watkins (Rochester, NY/W. Irondequoit HS) and Drew Haddad (Cleveland, OH/St. Ignatius) - who combined to make 110 catches and score 16 touchdowns. That terrific trio is joined this season by sophomores Rychard Dykes (Syracuse, NY/Corcoran HS) and Enrico Pierre (Montreal, Que./Vieux-Montreal HS) who both seem poised to make contributions.

Gasparre, Watkins and Haddad averaged an eye-catching 16.3 yards per catch between the three of them.

Senior tailback Anthony Swan is poised to break several all-time UB records this season. Here is a look at the records he owns and the ones he's pursuing.

Anthony Swan's Assault on the Record Book

Records Currently Held

Most rushing attempts in a season: 244 during the 1996 season

Most games gaining 100 yards or more, season: 7 (tied with O.D. Underwood)

Most games gaining 100 yards or more, career: 12

Most games gaining over 200 yards, career: 2 (tied with O.D. Underwood)

Most touchdowns scoring by rushing, game: 5 vs. Fordham, Sept. 2, 1995

Records Within Reach

Most rushing attempts, career: Has 586, needs 97 to break record of 682 set by Alan Bell.

Most rushing yards, career: Has 2,448 yards, needs 575 to break record of 3,022 set by Alan Bell

Most touchdowns rushing, career: Has 20, needs 10 to break record of 29, set by Leeland Jones (1965-67).

Most points scored, career: Has 120, needs 55 to break record of 174 set by Leeland Jones (1965-67).

UB's starting offensive line has to rank among the youngest in the country in terms of experience. The Bulls will open the season with one senior, one junior, two sophomores and a redshirt freshman.

Among the five, only sophomores Mike Garofalo (Sharpsville, PA/Kennedy Christian) and Joe Hattendorf (Shillington, PA/Governor Mifflin) have ever started a game at UB. Center Harold Mesler (Morristown, NJ/Seton Hall Prep), left guard Tom Brown (Amherst, NY/Amherst Central) and right guard Dom Monacelli (Caledonia, NY/Caledonia-Mumford) will all be making their first career start this Saturday against Lock Haven.

Garofalo has been the busiest Bull in the off-season. The cousin of Western New York wrestling legend and restaurateur Ilio DiPaolo, Garofalo spent his winter on the mat with the Bulls' wrestling team where he earned a berth on the East Coast Conference All-Freshman team. In addition, the Management major sports an impressive 3.58 grade point average despite lettering in two varsity sports.

The Bulls have gone North of the border to round up some of their latest recruits.

The 1997 roster lists four players -Kulaa Bacheyie (LaSalle, Ontario), Enrico Pierre (Montreal, Quebec), Theron Walker (Pickering, Ontario) and Marvin Brereton (Missisauga, Ontario).