Wow...stunning to say the least. Give Buffalo credit for stepping up, but just wow. Sounds like he wants to build the Gonzaga of the MAC. We have a lot of work to do to catch up to what Oats has established...especially recruiting wise.

https://www.wivb.com/sports/oats-signs-new-contract-with-...

True...would love to know the buyout. But he's locked in for at least one more year I would think.

This great to see. I hope they get a 4 seed, win at least two games, and show the world that the right person can build a solid program at places that aren't called Calumet Farms. Very tactical move. If I'm a player there, I just found another gallon of gas in my tank.

4 seed? Stop it.

It depends... do they legit deserve a 4 or 5? Certainly. Will they? Not a prayer. The committee will give them the lowest justifiable seed.

They are projected as a consensus 6 seed right now: http://www.bracketmatrix.com /

I'd be surprised if they got any higher than a 5, but that's still very impressive.

They are looking at a 6 or 7 seed which I feel is fair. How far they go all depends on their draw.

Great for Buffalo. Not so great for the State of Ohio based MAC schools. They can't pay $800K for basketball coaches in the current climate.

As and aside, I wonder what Buffalo's real attendance has been this year. Are they drawing well?

It helps that UB went into the dome this winter and beat Syracuse.

This is a great offer to Oats from the university but let's be honest, if a program from a Power 5 conference comes calling with 5 mill a year and the buyout money, Oats is gonzo. He will have a solid team next year but he loses some of the best players the MAC has seen in the past few years in Harris, Perkins and Massinburg. Throw in a few more seniors who have played for four years and it will leave a huge void. I love Oats and I want him to stay for the sake of our conference but he was a breath of fresh air that will be gone sooner than later, trust me. Then we will be stuck with MAC lifers who accomplish between 15 and 20 wins and maybe compete for an NCAA berth in Montgomery, Kowalczyk, Sendy, Keno, Hawk and now Groce.

It might make beating them difficult in most years in the near future. However, IMO, this league has 12 pretty solid programs and as good as it is at keeping every team competitive it has been shockingly bad in comparison at getting teams to the top 40 level. This unbelievable high parity, strong at the bottom and weak at the top power structure that the conference has somehow been able to sustain for 20 years has kept the MAC off the national radar and cooked its reputation. In the long run this might be just the thing the MAC needs.

Ohio was the 11th best MAC team. Ohio beat three conference champions. Ohio lost to a top 20 team by three. Ohio is an above average Division 1 team. Ohio would have been the second worst team in exactly six conferences. Nobody cares that your second worst team would kick the living crap out of every other second from last team except for the B10, ACC, B12, SEC, & BE.

The bottom of the league is, and has been, beyond as good as it needs to be. What it needs to increase its exposure, revenue, and reputation is to have teams in the top 25, start getting at least two teams in the tournament sometimes, and start winning more NCAA tournament games.

Yeah

I think its Oats stays for one year at max

Why is it a "stunner"?