Bradley's search for a new President

Bradley has posted a release about the progress of the hiring search - currently "approximately 15 candidates" are being considered and this will be narrowed down to eight or so by July and further interviews will start.

http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?t=25423


BUT --
after the hirings of Dr. Reynolds as AD & Coach Wardle - I have a renewed faith in the actions of our Board of Trustees - but so much of the Board actions are confidential that obviously we don't even know how much we don't even know - if you get my drift....

obviously - now that we are 7 1/2 years down the road from our last Presidential search & hiring and more than 4 years from the 2011 coach hiring - but now we know that so much went wrong with one single Board member pretty much championing the hiring of the President and a process that brought in Geno Ford that was comical and went terribly awry & got everyone embroiled in lawsuits and disputes that we are still not done with!

I was just hoping the process is a little more orthodox this time around and ends up with far better results.
Most of us - as I have said since 2007 - will be around and BE SUPPORTING BRADLEY UNIVERSITY - long after any bad hires are gone and long after the damages done have hurt the University and the athletics programs, and even long after every one of the current Board of Trustees members are gone...

So we actually have more to lose from BAD DECISIONS than those who are making them - thus why not give people like us at least some voice in the process?

Bradley AD Chris Reynolds' letter to the editor in PJStar

http://www.pjstar.com/article/20150606/OPINION/150609459/2011/OPINION

• Letter: 

• An open to BU 

• athletics fans



• 
  Posted Jun. 6, 2015 at 4:00 PM 
  
  
  

  By Chris Reynolds

  The overwhelming attendance at this past Tuesday’s

  luncheon moved me to extend this heartfelt thank you

  to fans and supporters of Bradley athletics. A sold-out

  crowd of 1,200 at the Peoria Civic Center to help welcome

  Coach Wardle and me to Bradley University speaks to the

  passion and commitment you have demonstrated for our

  program.  Watching the video that honored the history

  and tradition of Bradley basketball was a reminder of

  how connected the university is to the community.

  The tremendous level of support our community provides

  to Bradley athletics is inspiring and special. Few places

  throughout the country could replicate an event in the

  month of June like we experienced this past week.

  We left the luncheon excited and energized knowing

  that the Braves faithful are 110 percent behind our

  efforts to reestablish our men’s basketball program

  in time as a leader in the Missouri Valley Conference.

  It has been my experience that a strong and passionate

  fan base is vital to the success of any athletics program.

  Bradley is committed to central Illinois and central Illinois

  is committed to Bradley.

  We will be reaching out to build relationships, create

  partnerships and show our appreciation to you for all

  of the support you have provided over the years.

  It is an honor to come back home to serve as director

  of athletics at a university that is fully committed to

  helping young people realize their full potential

  academically and athletically. I look forward to seeing

  you at community events throughout the summer and

  in the stands cheering on our student-athletes this

  upcoming season. Again, thank you and go Braves!

  Chris Reynolds

  Director of athletics, Bradley University

  Peoria

More evidence Fallout is disappearing!!

Sellout of over 1200 fine Bradley basketball fans - on reasonably short notice for a Tuesday lunch in June!!
This was an astounding event showing the fans are still there and the destruction caused and fallout produced by the horrible Glasser/Cross/Ford era may yet be reversible, and on the way out.

Here's a rough timeline of the past few months...

Remember the dates....

March 16, 2015 - Chris Reynolds hired as new Athletic Director at Bradley

March 27, 2015 - Brian Wardle hired a new head basketball coach at Bradley


then the results start to flow.....

1 day later - March 28 - huge turnout for the Brian Wardle introductory press conference

1 week later- multiple players, including "star" Josh Cunningham start to "leave", and Drew Adams hired as assistant

2 weeks later three staff members (Adams, plus Jimmie Foster & Rick Karius) added

3 weeks later Ronnie Suggs, Joel Okafor & Dwayne Lautier-Ognuleye verbal to Bradley

4 weeks later Antoine Pittman verbals to Bradley & BU names interim President, Dr. Stan Liberty

5 weeks later - Davante Cooper & Pete Hanley verbal to Bradley & BU hires final asst coach Mike Bargen

6 weeks later - Luuk van Bree & Alex Foster verbal to Bradley, BU track does their best in years!

7 weeks later - Scottie James verbals to Bradley, BU baseball gets first NCAA bid in decades 

8weeks later - STRONG non-conference schedule is finalized but will be released & announced at next week's luncheon

9 weeks later - an awesome mid-week luncheon draws over 1200 and actually has to be capped and even more ticket buyers turned away - one of the most remarkable proofs ever seen that Bradley has begun to overcome the FALLOUT and is on the right track after 4 to 5 years of bad moves, bad choices, and bad results.

10 weeks later - June 5 - Dr. Glasser has "retired" & be prepared for our 9th verbal this spring!!

BY COMPARISON look at the 10 weeks before these two significant events/hirings that took place immediately AFTER the Glasser/Cross/Ford era - in fact it was these two hiring that put an end to that era!!
Lets march backwards from those same dates...and see the misery & fallout so we can get a real sense of how ecstatic Bradley fans are now by comparison!

Remember March 16 - Chris Reynolds hired...

1 week before - bounced from tourney as a play-in team/another season wasted
2 weeks before - season ends with embarrassing loss, boos, and tons of empty seats
3 weeks before - an even more humiliating 56-39 loss at UNI
4 weeks before - Dr. Cross is fired, can't even draw 7000 for the home ISU game
5 weeks before - coach embarrassed when Nate Wells starts winning games & becomes best player
6 weeks before - Bradley players arrested at Big Al's
7 weeks before - terrible 20-pt blowout loss at Wichita, scoring an embarrassing 43 pts
8 weeks before - announcement that Dr. Joanne Glasser will "retire"
9 weeks before - series of bad blowout losses to no-name non-conference teams
10 weeks before - Previously the BIG-WIGS at Bradley had always stuck to their guns and claimed Bradley was doing great and there would be NO FIRINGS & no buyouts!
BUT - Bradley fans begin writing letters to the Board and for publication in the newspaper and thus begins the turnaround...


so I think those dates - when Chris Reynolds & Brian Wardle were hired - are the defining moments in Bradley's history ...not the ridiculous stuff we've seen described as such in the media...

FALLOUT is ending - things look better - bright lights at the end of the tunnel....
All the crap for the last 4-5 years that the Jim Les-haters demanded and got 0 and all the suffering that good Bradley fans had to go through that we now call FALLOUT - is starting to ebb - soon it'll be gone and happy days will be here again.
Go Braves!