The University at Buffalo surprised even its most ardent fans by winning the Mid-American Conference championship. On Saturday, the first-time league champions were the ones left awestruck.

A day after beating No. 12-ranked Ball State, 42-24, the Bulls were honored with a lengthy standing ovation at Alumni Arena during halftime of the UB men’s basketball game against Florida International.

Someone cued up Queen’s “We Are the Champions” and the crowd erupted. Some of the players held camera phones, aimed at the people who were aiming camera phones right back at them. Some fans held hand-scribbled signs, part of the addendum to an unexpected champion-

ship season. Prodding coach Turner Gill to stay at UB was a popular idea, although Auburn did receive permission from UB to talk to Gill about the Tigers’ head coaching vacancy.

“I’m still in shock,” said quarterback Drew Willy. “This is something we talked about all summer. It was a season of destiny, a lot of tough finishes and the defense making huge plays in the fourth quarter. It was a storybook ending to winning the MAC championship.”

Congratulations messages are pouring in. On Warde Manuel’s iPhone, the UB athletic director had 95 text messages, 90 e-mails and 25 voice mails as of Saturday night. Earlier in the day, Sen. Hillary Clinton sent a congratulatory letter that read in part, “These young men played with heart and won with class, and have shown us the best of the collegiate spirit of competition and sportsmanship. Best of luck to Coach Gill and the new MAC champion Buffalo Bulls in their upcoming game in the International Bowl. You’ve earned it and have already made the City of Buffalo and the State of New York very proud.”

After they were honored, Willy, Mike Newton and Jeff Neidermier took turns holding and poising for pictures with the MAC trophy with several fans. An observer noticed that someone, more than likely one of the Bulls’ players, had planted a big fat kiss on the trophy.

“It wasn’t me,” Manuel said, laughing.

Newton, the game’s Most Valuable Player, admitted what the Bulls accomplished still hasn’t sunk in. And the list of accomplishments is quite lengthy: the program’s first conference championship in 94 years of football, the upset over a heavily favored team who was unbeaten, the first victory over a ranked opponent, and securing a winning record for the first time since 1996.

It’s a lot to digest. “It hasn’t set in all the way,” Newton said. “When you think about it, it’s like, ‘Wow, we’re really MAC champs.’ In a couple of days, I think it’s really going to set in.”

Willy said the team hasn’t celebrated yet because everyone is too tired.

“The plane ride home was wild for a while and then the lights went off and a lot of people went to sleep,” Willy said. “We’re really excited but I don’t think everyone realizes what we did and it hasn’t sunk in yet.”

Said Newton, “I’m beat. I left it all on the field.”

And they still have one more game to play: The International Bowl on Jan. 3 in Toronto.

“We have one more game to get and we’ll be 9-5,” Gill told the Alumni crowd. “See you in Toronto.”