In addition, it was announced that the university has signed contracts with two football powerhouses‹Syracuse University, which consistently is among the nation's top-20 football teams, and the University of Virginia, a strong Atlantic Coast Conference contender‹that will initiate rivalries between the universities beginning in 1999 and 2000.

The upgrades in UB's stadium, football opponents and marketing efforts all are part of the Division of Athletics' move to the MAC and National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I-A play.

"Intercollegiate competition at this level will renew UB's proud leadership role in our community's tradition of athletic excellence, and bring a new realm of sports excitement to the region," said President William R. Greiner.

In an interview with the Reporter, Athletics Director Nelson Townsend said it is to UB's advantage to move from the Mid-Continent Conference to the MAC, one of the oldest and most prestigious athletic conferences in the nation.

By competing at the Division I-A level, Townsend said, UB will be "able to play basically any school in the country. From there, the sky is the limit."

UB will begin to test those limits in the 1999 season. The university will play the University of Virginia in Charlottesville in 1999 and 2002; the Cavaliers will play in UB Stadium in 2001. UB will travel to the Carrier Dome to play the Orangemen in 2000, 2005 and 2007, with Syracuse playing at UB in 2004.

1998 UB Home Football Schedule Sept. 12 Lock Haven 7 p.m. kickoff Oct. 10* Morgan State Noon kickoff Oct. 17 Canisius 7 p.m. kickoff Oct. 31 Western Illinois Noon kickoff *Homecoming

Townsend also announced that UB Stadium will be expanded by 13,000 seats for the 1999 season. The stadium currently seats 17,200.

Seats will be added in both the stadium's end zones at an estimated total cost of $1.5-2 million, Townsend said. The NCAA requires that schools with Division I-A teams have stadium seating capacities of 30,000 or more. At this point, no other renovations of the stadium will be required, he added.

Seating capacity is not the only requirement of a school moving up to Division I-A competition, according to Bob Arkeilpane, associate athletic director for development.

In order to complete the requirements for competition at the Division I-A level, UB must sell more than 17,000 seats for each football game it plays at home in 1998.

Although that may sound like a lot of seats to fill, both Townsend and Arkeilpane said people with whom they have talked about UB's athletic upgrade are supportive of and excited about the change.

"UB has a strong existing base of corporate support," noted Arkeilpane, adding, "and alumni, friends and business leaders, recognizing the importance of the 1998 season already have begun to step forward."

That support is being shown already with the purchase of 8,000 new season tickets, mostly by the Western New York corporate community, including NOCO Energy Corporation and the North Forest Civic Association, which both "have made a significant commitment" in support of UB's athletic program, said Arkeilpane. Those ticket commitments are above and beyond the approximately 2,200 season ticket purchases that are expected to be bought or renewed by previous season ticket holders and UB students.

Season tickets for the 1998 four-game home stand are $40 and $30 for reserve seats, and $20 for general admission. Individual game tickets also will be available. Students still will have the opportunity to attend games at no cost because of the student athletic fee. For ticket information, call 645-6666.

In addition to local corporate season-ticket commitments, three local companies‹Clover Management, Adelphia Cable Communications and the Amherst Chamber of Commerce‹have signed on as game title sponsors for three of UB's four home games in 1998. A fourth home-game sponsor will be announced in the near future.

Although some may criticize the move from Division I-AA to Division I-A play as a financial drain on a university already facing difficult fiscal times, Arkeilpane indicated this would be the least expensive upgrade so far.

"There is not a significant difference between the costs of putting together a I-AA and a I-A team," he said. "While the number of scholarship athletes will increase, so too will the university's opportunity to recoup its investment."

In fact, according to Townsend, competing in the MAC could be a tremendous boon to athletic funding in terms of increased away-game guarantees and ticket and concession revenues.

The move also is expected to pique student interest in UB athletics.

"UB has been kind of an odd mix," said Townsend. "We're the only AAU state university without a major athletic program. When one attends a university of this kind, one expects the athletic program to be of the caliber of Syracuse."

It's been difficult to excite student interest because playing at the Division I-AA level doesn't generate the same interest as playing higher-recognition teams, he added.

"Once we establish rivalries with schools such as Kent and Bowling Green and are competing for the right to play in bowl games, I don't think we'll have a problem exciting students."

But support of UB's football program does not lie on the backs of students, Townsend emphasized. Support of UB's athletic program also is going to have to come from the community.

"We need broader community support. It's up to the community‹the internal university community and the external community‹to decide how far we will go," he said.

He noted that 4,000-5,000 people regularly travel to away games to support Marshall University's football team. These supporters are not students, but members of the community of Huntington, W. Va., which has a regional population of about 31,000.

"That's the mode we want to operate from," he said.

In addition to UB, members of the Mid-American Conference include:
University of Akron Ball State University Bowling Green State University Central Michigan University	Eastern Michigan University Kent State University Marshall University Miami University	Northern Illinois University Ohio University University of Toledo Western Michigan University