Relegated Bradford were held to a goalless draw by 10-man Cambridge in front of a bumper 14,810 crowd at Valley Parade.
The visitors had Liam O'Neil sent off on the hour for tripping striker Clayton Donaldson, one of five new players in Bradford's starting line-up, but the Bantams could not take advantage against a stubborn Cambridge defence.
Bradford's new captain James Vaughan had the two best scoring efforts in a hard-fought but largely scrappy first half.
First he brought down Jordan Gibson's long pass into the box with his back to goal and clipped the crossbar with a spectacular overhead kick in the 24th minute.
Then he stooped low to meet Kelvin Mellor's cross from the right only to see his header bounce wide of a post five minutes before half-time.
He also had one of Bradford's best second-half chances when he broke clear on the edge of the box but shot straight at goalkeeper Dimitar Mitov.
Match report supplied by PA Media.
