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Three years ago, when Warde Manuel was hired as Director of Athletics at the University at Buffalo after serving as an associate athletic director at the University of Michigan, Buffalo was known more for its snowfall than its sports teams. However, that all changed this year when the Bulls football team, led by Head Coach Turner Gill, knocked off 12th-ranked and previously unbeaten Ball State University, securing the team’s first Mid-American Conference (MAC) title.

The win put Buffalo on the map and Manuel and Gill became two of the hottest names in NCAA Division I. This December, Gill (one of only a handful of African-American head football coaches in the FBS), was under consideration for a number of BCS-level jobs before deciding to re-up with Buffalo.

After the win, Buffalo accepted a bid to play in the 2009 Independence Bowl, held in Toronto. The game marks the first bowl appearance in school history. Fifty years ago, after the 1958 team was invited to play in the Tangerine Bowl, the players voted to reject the offer after learning that the game’s organizers prohibited blacks and whites from playing on the same field together.

In this interview, Manuel talks about the significance of this breakthrough season and what it means to the program and the Buffalo community. He also shares his thoughts on retaining Gill, the state of minority hiring in big-time college football, and meeting fundraising challenges perpetuated by the current economic crisis.

AM: What kind of emotions did you have when you knocked off Ball State and won the MAC title?
Manuel: I was full of pride and joy and overcome with the sheer magnitude of what Turner and the team had accomplished in such a short period of time. I felt all along that our players had the ability and we had the right coach and facilities and the institution academically to be this successful, I just didn’t think we would do it as quickly as we did.

I’m happy for our team and for Turner and his staff. At one point after the game, it was very emotional for both of us. Once we got that out of the way, there were a lot of smiles and congratulatory hugs.

What is the buzz like around your program in Buffalo right now?
Playing in the International Bowl, plus the news about Turner returning, has a lot of people excited around here. It’s been a wonderful experience to play in a bowl so close to home. I couldn’t be more thrilled. This is what I hoped for our first bowl experience because it will allow more of our fans to enjoy the experience than if we had to travel far away. It couldn’t have worked out any better for us. I couldn’t have planned this any better--from the proximity of the bowl game to the parallels with the ’58 team. I couldn’t have written a better script.

How well do your current players know the story of the ’58 team?
Our current players have met several of the guys from the ’58 team and they all know the story. Turner has had a couple of them come in and talk to the team. And this year, when the ’58 team had its reunion, we made a big deal out of it and involved the entire program. Actually, after beating Ball State in the MAC Championship, Willie Evans, an African-American player on that 1958 team, came into the locker room and all the kids started hootin’ and hollerin’ for him and treating him with a great deal of respect and admiration.

What impact has this story had on you?
Having gotten to know many of the guys on that ’58 team, and having had the success we’ve had on the 50th anniversary of that decision, I’m first and foremost proud of them and the decision they made, the lives they’ve lead, and the influence they’ve had in their careers. Then to see their pride in our current team, and the joy on their faces when they got back together and also saw the success we’re having now is priceless. The timing couldn’t have been more wonderful.

I’m proud to be associated with a university and a group of people that would make a decision like that, which in 1958 could have very easily gone in a different direction if a different group of people were making that call.

You must feel pretty lucky to have Gill coming back for at least one more year.
No doubt. I’m ecstatic--probably the happiest guy in western New York. We had talked about his situation prior to his speaking with the other schools, and I let him know that we would do everything we could to keep him. For me, it was important to be proactive early and get something done as soon as possible, and I’m glad we were able to make it happen.

Did you have a contingency plan in the works in case a bigger school lured him away from you?
Oh yeah. It’s part of life at a school of our level. I know we can’t always compete with the larger institutions. Coming from Michigan, I know what schools like that can afford and what we can’t.

What did your experience at Michigan teach you about the coaching carousel at that level?
It taught me a little bit about the process, but each search is different. I was pretty familiar with the other ADs who were talking to him. I know Jay Jacobs and Darryl Gross in terms of how they are as people, but I don’t really know how their individual searches are going to be conducted.

Ultimately, you just have to let the process play out. Turner is a great person and I know he’ll always make the right decision for him and his family. All I can do is talk about Buffalo and what we’re going to do and what our program is capable of.

What are your thoughts on the current state of employment for minority head college football coaches?
It has to improve. The decision makers need to start making the right decisions and stop making excuses. I feel sadness about the system we operate in--it’s high time the excuses go away and we judge people by what they’ve done as head coaches or coordinators and give those people the opportunities they deserve. There are a number of African-Americans who are more than ready to be head coaches at this level, and people need to look at their resumes and judge them based on their merits as football coaches.

When you first took over, where did you think you would be at this point in the process?
It wasn’t beyond my wildest dreams for us to be this good, this quickly. I knew we would be competitive and in a position to win more games. The most rewarding part is the way the whole season went, not just how it turned out.

For our team to have been in four overtime games and win three of them says a lot. The heart, the drive, and the determination of this team are like no other that I’ve ever been around.

It’s been really special for those kids and for those of us who have been watching them go through the journey. It’s also been about proving all those people wrong who told Turner and me, “Don’t go to Buffalo, you’ll never have success there,” and the recruiters who told our kids that our team would never be any good. To have heard those words and then for us to win the MAC championship against a great team that was undefeated and ranked 12th in the country just makes everything that much more special.

Is enjoying the journey part of your leadership philosophy?
It is. You have to live in the moment. You want more, but in order to get there it takes hard work now. You can’t look too far ahead.

For example, I’m not looking beyond Buffalo to be the next AD anywhere. Turner is not looking beyond Buffalo to be the next head coach anywhere else. We live here and we are happy here. Should an opportunity arise for either one of us, we owe it to ourselves to look at it. But that said, these kids and our staffs deserve our full attention and time right now. I come to work every day ready to work and be here at Buffalo and do those things that are necessary for our program to be successful. And I expect that of all our coaches.

When you first arrived, what did you do to change the culture and expectations?
My mentality is never to accept losing. You learn from it and you persevere through it, but you don’t accept it. My expectation of my staff is that we don’t go into games expecting to lose and we don’t coach kids just to participate. We want coaches who can develop game plans that set their kids up to win. And when we do win, we rejoice and learn from our victories. When we don’t, we persevere and learn from those defeats. It’s about constantly teaching what life is really about, which is the journey of doing things the right way with hard work and determination and focusing on being the best you can be, whether it’s in practice or in competition.

How did you get incumbent coaches to buy into your philosophy?
It was a little tougher. I came in with a particular style and way of talking about my expectations, and the majority of them understood and were happy to hear that message. I also put support where my mouth was in terms of helping them achieve their goals, whether it was providing recruiting resources or things they needed for their team.

We also talked about not making excuses. There are people who are going to use our logistical and weather disadvantages against us. Sure we get a lot of snow, but other schools have their own climate issues. I wanted everybody to understand that there would be no excuses for a lack of success that I will accept.

What is the hardest part of your job?
In general, it’s helping personnel develop and grow. That’s what I put most of my time into. I want to hire the right people and support them and make sure they’re doing all they can and that we’re doing all we can, whether its with coaches or staff.

Secondly, it’s probably raising money and constantly beating the bush with our donor base. It’s never easy and it’s gotten even harder as the economic times have worsened. It’s a hard part, but it’s also a fun part because I get a chance to listen to different stories from people about how they’ve capitalized on investments and what they’ve done to work hard to be in a position to invest. It’s always great for me to hear their stories because this is in essence a business. That insight helps me grow as an administrator and as a person.

Have these relationships inspired you to be more creative in raising money?
Absolutely. I try to push myself and my staff to be creative because having spent eight years in administration at the University of Michigan, one thing I realized is that we at Buffalo don’t have the luxury of having the financial resources to hire a big name or buy high-priced products--we have to be more creative. That also means getting creative in how we sell our product. It’s hard, but you have to be creative in getting them to understand what you’re trying to do. No matter what size school you’re at, that creativity is extremely important. You can’t sell the same way to every person. You have to have something that differentiates you and you have to identify what each individual donor is interested in investing in, then hone in on that with your message.

So far, what has been the most rewarding part of your time in Buffalo?
Two things. One is the academic success we’ve had and the drive to increase the APR, which has been very successful. Second is watching the attitudes of the people around here change. Seeing the joy on our staff’s faces and on the faces of everybody in our athletic department, at the university, and in western New York over this latest championship has been so very rewarding. Hearing all the stories from people about the number of years they’ve been waiting and the fulfillment they got from the championship has been great.

What’s your advice for those who are interested in getting into athletic administration?
I tell people who want to get into this profession that hard work is what makes or breaks what you do. It’s not who you know, although that helps, and it’s not just doing work to do work--it’s about how you go about doing that work. It’s about whether or not you make excuses or if you take responsibility for both the good and bad things that go on. It’s about being straightforward in your dealings with people and being true to yourself and true to them. That’s what I try to do.

When success comes, you’re humble about it because you’re not perfect, and you keep moving on.