Pro football has long dominated the sports scene in Buffalo, but college basketball is slowly starting to share the spotlight. During the 2010s, the Buffalo Bulls emerged as a powerhouse in the MAC and a dangerous mid-major, causing the demand for last-minute Buffalo basketball tickets to skyrocket. If the Bulls continue on this trajectory, it won’t be long until it’s impossible to find cheap Buffalo basketball tickets.

The Old Days

For much of their basketball history, the Bulls have been a rather obscure program. To be fair, Buffalo enjoyed a nice run as a Division II program during the 1950s and 60s. Playing as an independent, Buffalo reached the Division II NCAA Tournament six times between 1957 and 1965, advancing as far as the Elite Eight in 1957. However, that was the extent of the program’s success in the 20th century. Even after Buffalo moved up to Division I, ultimately joining the MAC in 1998, the Bulls struggled to make much noise on the basketball court.

Running of the Bulls

It was Bobby Hurley, the son of legendary high school coach Bobby Hurley Sr., who put the Bulls on the right track. While he was only at Buffalo for two seasons, Hurley instantly made the Bulls a contender in the MAC and led the program to its first-ever NCAA Tournament berth in 2015.

After Hurley left for greener pastures, his assistant Nate Oats took the reins and continued to build something special. Over the next four seasons, Oats led Buffalo to two regular-season conference titles and three MAC Tournament titles, getting the Bulls to the NCAA Tournament three times in his four seasons. After a couple of close calls in 2015 and 2016, the Bulls won an NCAA Tournament game for the first time in 2018. Even though Oats would also leave after the 2019 season, he and Hurley set the foundation for Buffalo to continue to be a prominent mid-major program for many years to come.