BUFFALO, NY -University at Buffalo head coach Craig Cirbus has announced the signings of 16 players to the UB Bulls football program on Wednesday, February 5 - the National Letter of Intent Signing Day. The 16 players are comprised of six players from New York State and ten players from out of state, including seven from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, two from Michigan and one from Ontario. Two of the players are transfers from I-A football programs while the other 14 will be freshmen this fall.

The Bulls are coming off an 8-3 record in 1996, the most wins against a Division I schedule since 1959, and the first winning season in a decade at UB. For his efforts Cirbus was named the 1996 NCAA Division I-AA Independent Coach of the Year. The Bulls have two seasons left as an NCAA Division I-AA Independent before upgrading the football program to I-A by joining the Mid-American Conference in 1999.

"We are happy with the group of student-athletes that have chosen UB to continue their academic and athletic careers," said Cirbus. "I continue to be impressed by the excellent reputation and reception that UB receives in academic circles and feel that we are offering these student-athletes and their families an opportunity to be part of one of the most exciting eras in UB football history.

"We are happy that we have been able to continue to draw players not only from Western New York but also from football-rich areas like Western Pennsylvania and Detroit, and we look forward to the challenges that lie ahead of us with these young men. Furthermore, the ability to sign players from well represented Division I-A programs says a lot about the ever-increasing visibility and respect that UB is earning in athletic circles around the country," Cirbus added.

Cirbus also announced that quarterback Geoff Panteck, from Cleveland's St. Ignatius High School, will not be returning to UB to play football on advice from his doctors. Panteck suffered a second ACL tear in his knee last fall in his freshman season at UB and has decided to stay home and enroll at John Carroll University to concentrate on his academics.