Epic win generates worldwide headlines

As the saying goes, “you can’t buy this kind of publicity.”

The UB men’s basketball team’s historic victory over Arizona in the first round of the NCAA tournament on Thursday generated epic news coverage worldwide and inspired an outpouring of joy from UB fans in social media postings throughout the night.

More than 1,800 online, print and broadcast news stories were produced in the 12-hour aftermath of the team’s dominating, 89-68, win over heavily favored Arizona.  The news coverage potentially reached about 1 billion people, according to data compiled from the media-monitoring company Meltwater.

Together, the success of men’s and women’s basketball teams since the MAC championship games last week has generated a conservative estimate of about 7,000 news stories, with a potential audience reach of nearly 4 billion people.  The equivalent value of advertising for such exposure is about $4.8 million.

On Twitter, reaction to the Bulls’ win was so intense it became an official “Twitter moment,” as hundreds of people Tweeted their love to @UBuffalo and shared their euphoria in countless Tweets and Retweets. Even UB alum Wolf Blizter, @wolfblitzer, jumped into the mosh pit: “So proud of my @UBuffalo Bulls. They just upset Arizona and move on. Now that’s great news!”

Not coincidentally, the headlines, post-game quotes, sports commentator reactions, Tweets and Facebook posts highlighted the men’s team’s toughness, grit and determination in pulling off the upset win — attributes that characterize the entire university, as revealed by and emphasized in UB’s brand identity strategy launched just a few years ago.

“I thought we played harder,” UB Coach Nate Oats bluntly told the news media after the game. “The team that plays harder when the talent is close wins.”

Bring on Kentucky.

Fans can follow the men's and women's teams on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. Use the hashtag #UBDancing.