New Auburn athletic director Allen Greene had a successful tenure in all aspects of his job description at the University of Buffalo, which catapulted the 40 year old into his opportunity on The Plains. Greene has given his athletes the facilities and coaches to be successful on the field.
Under his leadership, Buffalo enjoyed several individual and conference championships. Greene has the reputation of an ace fundraiser, but his athletic teams at Buffalo had much success on the scoreboard as well.
Buffalo’s football team turned the corner in 2017 and finished 6-6, even though they were one of three .500 teams to not receive a bowl invite. Buffalo was the last team to beat Sun Belt conference champion Florida Atlantic this season.
They suffered a tough loss to the best Army team in decades and also played Minnesota tough in the season opener. The Bulls finished the season on a three-game winning streak to reach .500.
Greene also was able to set Buffalo athletics up for long-term success in football and other sports with helping fundraise the money and break ground on an $18 million field-house that the school desperately needed.
Shortly after Greene was hired as athletic director at Buffalo, the men’s basketball team won the Mid-American Conference championship and punched their ticket to the 2016 NCAA tournament. Last year, Buffalo finished with a record above .500 overall and in conference play.
This season, the men’s team is 14-5 overall and 6-0 in the MAC – good for first in the Eastern division and the entire conference. They beat UAB, just like Auburn did, and a tournament team from last year in Jacksonville State. The Bulls played Syracuse and Texas A&M tough earlier in the season as well.
The Bulls women’s basketball team enjoyed unprecedented success under Greene’s leadership. They won the MAC tournament in 2016 and received their first NCAA Tournament bid in school history.
The team would finish 22-10 last season, and this season they are 15-3 overall and 6-1 in the MAC. Like the men, the Lady Bulls sit atop the Eastern division.
On the green court, the Buffalo men’s and women’s tennis team took home the MAC championship in 2017. Both teams are picked as the favorite to defend their titles this season.
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