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The Buffalo–UMass rivalry is a growing sports rivalry between the Buffalo Bulls of the University at Buffalo and the UMass Minutemen of the University of Massachusetts. Both schools compete as members of the Mid-American Conference (MAC).
| UB | UMass | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 1846 | 1863 |
| Type | Public | Public |
| Conference | MAC | MAC |
| Students | 32,347 | 32,045 |
| School colors | ||
| Nickname | Bulls | Minutemen |
All-time results
edit| Sport | All-time series record[1] | Last result | Next meeting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Football | Buffalo leads 10–6 |
Buffalo won 28–21 on October 18, 2025 | October 17, 2026 @ Buffalo |
| Men's basketball | UMass leads 2–1 | Buffalo won 86–82 on February 21, 2026 | TBD |
| Women's basketball | Series tied 4–4 | UMass won 73–55 on March 7, 2026 | TBD |
| Women's soccer | UMass leads 1–0 | UMass won 2–0 on October 9, 2025 | TBD |
| Women's Tennis | UMass leads 1–0 | UMass won 6–1 on April 19, 2026 | TBD |
| Softball | UMass leads 3–1 | UMass won 5–4 on April 8, 2026 | TBD |
| Series led and games won by Buffalo | Series led and games won by UMass |
Football
editThe UB–UMass football rivalry is an American college football rivalry between the Buffalo Bulls football team of the University at Buffalo and the UMass Minutemen football team of the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
| Sport | Football |
|---|---|
| First meeting | October 3, 1964 UMass 24, Buffalo 22 |
| Latest meeting | October 18, 2025 Buffalo 28, UMass 21 |
| Next meeting | 2026 |
| Trophy | The Flagship Cup |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 16 |
| All-time series | Buffalo leads, 10–6 |
| Trophy series | Buffalo leads, 1–0 |
| Largest victory | Buffalo, 34–3 (2024) |
| Longest win streak | Buffalo, 4 (1965–1970) UMass, 4 (1995–1998) |
| Current win streak | Buffalo, 3 (2022–present) |
History
editThe first ever meeting between the two teams came on Oct. 3, 1964 when the Minutemen posted a 24–22 road win as part of an 8–1 regular season record that propelled them to a Tangerine Bowl berth.[2]
On October 3, 1970 the Bulls rallied to defeat the Minutemen, 16–13, in front of a homecoming crowd of 6,206 fans at Rotary field. Behind a 45-yard touchdown drive in the closing minutes, Joe Hudson took advantage of a short kick off and returned it to the UMass 45-yard line. Three straight passes from Kirk Barton to Joe Moresco set the Bulls up at the 19-yard line. After Mike Sharrow caught a pass at the eight and Joe Zelmanski barreled down to the three-yard line, John Faller rambled around the right end for the game-winning score.[3]
Division I-AA
editFor the 1998 game, Craig Cirbus and the (2–1) Bulls team would travel to play the (1–1) Minutemen, infront of 11,672 people. UMass won 51–27. Later in the season, UMass would become NCAA Division I-AA national champions, under coaches Mark Whipple and Don Brown. This was also Buffalo's last season in Division I-AA, before joining the MAC. Thus, ending the series.
Mid-American Conference
editIn April 2011, UMass announced plans to join the Mid-American Conference and move up to the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision, the highest level of college football in the country. Prior to this decision, the last game played between the schools was on September 26, 1998.
On November 17, 2012, the Minutemen took a 13–0 lead into the locker room, but four second-half touchdowns helped the Bulls rally past UMass, 29–19 at Gillette Stadium.
For the October 19, 2013 game, the Bulls would dominate the game 32–3, improving to 5–2 overall and 3–0 in the MAC. While the Minutemen would go 1–6, 1–2 MAC for that week.
The most recent series went dormant after the 2015 season, when UMass announced its withdrawal from the MAC in order to keep all sports in the Atlantic 10.
On May 16, 2019, both schools had scheduled a six-game, home-and-home football series starting in 2022, until 2028.[4] Buffalo won the first game in 2022, 34–7 and then won the second game in 2024 34–3. The yearly series will continue after the 2028 season, when UMass announced it would be rejoining the conference for all sports in 2025.[5]
Flagship Cup
editThree days before the 2025 game, both schools announced The Flagship Cup as the name of the new football rivalry against one another.[6] Milton CAT was announced as the series sponsor.
For game one of the new rivalry series, both teams played infront of 15,239 fans at McGuirk Alumni Stadium. Buffalo would go on to win the game 28–21, by late game touchdown by Victor Snow.[7][8]
Results
edit| Buffalo victories | Massachusetts victories |
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Men's basketball
editHistory
editThe first ever game played between the two schools took place on February 18, 1993, in New York. Tony Barbee led the Minutemen to a 96–67 victory with 18 points. The win was Massachusetts' 12th straight overall and improved the Minutemen to 18–4. Buffalo, 5–18, a Division I independent, was led by Modie Cox with 15 points.
Results
edit| Buffalo victories | Massachusetts victories |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 18, 1993 | Amherst, NY | Massachusetts | 96–67 | ||||
| 2 | January 24, 2026 | Amherst, NY | Massachusetts | 68–67 | ||||
| 3 | February 21, 2026 | Amherst, MA | Buffalo | 86–82OT | ||||
| Series: Massachusetts leads 2–1 | ||||||||
Women's basketball
editHistory
editThe 2025 game was played in the second round of the WNIT tournament. Buffalo down 16 entering the fourth quarter, rallied back to beat the Minutewomen in overtime 84–82 led by Chellia Watson with a game-high 26 points. It was UMass' last game as a member of the A10 conference, before joining the MAC and becoming Buffalo's conference mate. [10][11][12]
Conference play
editIn 2026 season, the Minutewomen swept both games against Buffalo.
Results
edit| Buffalo victories | Massachusetts victories |
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Softball
editHistory
editThe first ever game played between the two schools took place on February 2, 2020, in Spartanburg, South Carolina as part as a opening day doubleheader at the Upstate Classic. Massachusetts won 6–2.
2026 season
editIn the first series of play, UMass would win the first game 3-2.[13] The second game between the two, Buffalo won 21-4. Breaking multiple past records in the game; most hits (23), most runs scored (21), most RBIs in a game (20). Buffalo sophomore C Bella Smithson also hit two homeruns in the game (3R HR & GS). Senior 1B Abbey Nagel became the second player in Bulls history to hit 3 doubles in a game.[14] In Game 3, the Minutewomen won on a walkoff hit 5-4 against Buffalo. With the win, UMass secured their first MAC series win in program history.[15]
Results
editDH - Doubleheader (Two Games/One Day)
| Buffalo victories | Massachusetts victories |
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | February 2, 2020[16] | Spartanburg, SC. | Massachusetts | 6–2 | ||||
| 2 | April 7, 2026 | Amherst, MA | Massachusetts | 3–2 | ||||
| 3 | April 8, 2026 (DH) | Amherst, MA | Buffalo | 21–4 | ||||
| 4 | April 8, 2026 (DH) | Amherst, MA | Massachusetts | 5–4 | ||||
| Series: Massachusetts leads 3–1 | ||||||||
Women's soccer
edit| Buffalo victories | Massachusetts victories |
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Inactive Sports
editReferences
edit- ↑ Sources: gomason.com and vcuathletics.com
- ↑ "Massachusetts Football Welcomes Buffalo To McGuirk On Saturday". University of Massachusetts Athletics.
- ↑ "This Day in History: Bulls Rally for 1970 Homecoming Win over UMass". University at Buffalo.
- ↑ Kelley, Kevin (May 16, 2019). "Buffalo, UMass schedule six-game football series". fbschedules.com.
- ↑ "UMass returning to MAC as full member for all sports beginning in 2025 after 10-year absence from league". CBS Sports. February 29, 2024.
- ↑ "UMass Athletics And Buffalo Athletics Announce Milton CAT as Presenting Sponsor of the Newly Coined Flagship Cup Rivalry Series". University of Massachusetts Athletics. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
- ↑ "Football Edged By Buffalo". University of Massachusetts Athletics. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
- ↑ "Bulls use Late Heroics to Top UMass and Win Inaugural Flagship Cup". University at Buffalo. Retrieved October 24, 2025.
- ↑ "Winsipedia – Buffalo Bulls vs. UMass Minutemen football series history". Winsipedia.
- ↑ https://getsomemaction.com/news/2025/3/24/womens-basketball-bulls-rally-to-overtime-win-against-umass-in-wnit-second-round.aspx
- ↑ https://ubbulls.com/news/2025/3/22/womens-basketball-bulls-host-umass-in-wnit-second-round
- ↑ https://umassathletics.com/news/2025/3/23/womens-basketball-minutewomen-take-bulls-to-the-limit-fall-in-ot-heartbreaker-82-84
- ↑ https://ubbulls.com/news/2026/4/7/softball-bulls-fall-to-umass-in-opening-game-of-the-series
- ↑ https://ubbulls.com/news/2026/4/8/softball-bulls-split-doubleheader-at-umass
- ↑ https://ubbulls.com/news/2026/4/8/softball-bulls-split-doubleheader-at-umass
- ↑ "Softball Sweeps Opening Day Doubleheader At Upstate Classic". University of Massachusetts Athletics.
- 1 2 Jimenez, James H. (April 3, 2017). "Buffalo to cut four varsity sports at the end of 2017 season". Hustle Belt.