For the record...

"...a vastly experienced administrator with significant success in identifying and creatively developing new and enhanced revenue generation opportunities"

"...ferocious fund-raiser..."

..so what are the facts...not the hype....how has "revenue generation" and fundraising gone at BU over the past 6-8 years?


..all facts stated here are from the actual committee reports and minutes of the BU Board of Trustees from October & November, 2014 and other sessions.
And nobody wants to see Bradley succeed both as a University and Athletically than I do - but things were headed badly in the wrong direction - while those steering & cheering kept saying and apparently even believing that things were going in the right direction.  Sad that so few who were misinformed and badly wrong could do so much to hurt such a fine institution, and an irresponsible and inept media failed to report on it honestly and accurately.

Many of these reports and facts were once available on the internet and via links, but some if not many have been "scrubbed" or are no longer available.  This info should not be lost as one who ignores the facts  mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them.


November 5, 2014 - per Bradley University .. financial statements:
"FY13 (fiscal year 2013) had loss of $6.3 million."
"Athletics loss ballooned to over $7.1 million."
"Unrestricted Contributions were down 46% to only $.8 million"
"Bradley's deficit position (that they were facing) ..was $5.2 million in FY14"
(that was before the "cost reductions" that were implemented and "belt tightening" in 2014)

"Athletics losses continue to grow at a pace of about $.5 million more every year.  Ten years ago, the Athletics loss was $2.1 million and it is now $7.1 million."
"Athletics (cost) has increased 240%" - while - "General Administration (cost) increased by 47%)"

Then the clincher that was relevant to the Board's "housecleaning only a couple months later...
"Non-disclosure and lack of transparency at appropriate time has rendered the April 2014 committee report incomplete"

In 2006, 0% of University-wide financial resources went to Athletics, and in 2007 it was 0.5%.
That figure then grew yearly as follows...
2008 - 0.5%
2009 - 0.9%
2010 - 1.1%
2011 - 2.2%
2012 - 3.4%
2013 - 3.9%
2014 - 4.0%

Here are the actual dollar-losses in Athletics from 2005-2014:
(there is a 332% increase from 2006 thru 2014, and 2/3 of that occurred after 2009)
2005 - $2.086 million
2006 - $2.136 million
2007 - $2.746 million
2008 - $2.926 million
2009 - $3.267 million
2010 - $3.165 million
2011 - $4.766 million
2012 - $5.915 million
2013 - $6.698 million
2014 - $7.093 million

So it is pretty easy to conclude that finances and budget were pretty stable and pretty satisfactory until around 2007.  2007's fiscal year began with the hiring of a new President, who was highly touted as a fundraiser and economic organizer.  The deficit and financial irresponsibility then zoomed out of sight - taking off even further exponentially after 2009, when a new AD was hired.
The Board was kinda kept in the dark about all the financial mess (thus the reference to NON-DISCLOSURE and LACK OF TRANSPARENCY) - but once the Board members became aware in late 2014, the decision to clean house followed almost immediately.
So why did the Board not see all this mess coming?  Well, follow the facts.  Many Board members and even Board Chairmen were businessmen who benefited from their relationship with Bradley and whose businesses (insurance, constructions, etc.)  were getting paid by Bradley for contracted services.
In 2013 Robert Turner was elected to the position as Chairman of the Board.  Turner has given tens of millions of dollars to Bradley, has buildings named after him and entire curricula named for him, so nobody can doubt his honesty and sincerity in wanting the best for Bradley.
But shortly after becoming President he became aware of some of the serious problems and "non-disclosure" and attempted to address those issues.  In the end we all know what happened - he was rebutted by the President and at least one other influential Board member and eventually resigned as President over these "UNSUSTAINABLE PRACTICES" - causing the loss of millions in future pledges from Turner.
Those facts can be confirmed here.
http://www.bradley.edu/about/publications/hilltopics/2013spring/notebook/page3.dot
http://bradleyfans.com/vb/showthread.php?p=297155

With the "belt tightening" and the all new leadership over the past year, now Bradley is back on the right track.  The financial year 2014 finances show an OPERATING SURPLUS of $1.1 million.
Yes, you heard that right - not only did the actions over the past year stop the waste and the slide, they've actually begun to create a surplus!
Buying out all the bloated contracts in early 2015 will unfortunately stall that financial turnaround, but those were necessary steps to get Bradley back on the right track.

To recap - Bradley finances were great all the up through 2007.  There were record donations, record revenues, and in Athletics there were great crowds, record attendance, record membership in the higher levels of the Chiefs Club and booster groups....all of which have been thoroughly documented.
Then came the dismissal of the AD, Ken Kavanagh, then the hiring of a new AD in late 2009, then more firings and changes that were terribly destructive and poorly conducted.
In the end - the period from 2008 through 2014 were a horribly bad period with leadership that took Bradley and BU Athletics to the very brink of disaster and talk of dropping down to DII or DIII.
Thankfully the fans wanted better, began posting opinions, writing letters, and got the attention of enough members of the Board to oust a group that had pushed Bradley into fiscal crisis and even may have been deceptive in doing so ("lack of transparency" is a nice way of saying dishonest and up-front).
Had the fans waited for the media to report on this, it would have never happened.

This all needs to be documented so we know how to avoid this in the future, but I am confident we have the right people there to lead us back to success.

For more that was posted at that time go here:
http://bubravesblogger.blogspot.com/2014/12/some-interesting-facts.html

http://bubravesblogger.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-remarkable-letter-from-bradley.html

http://bubravesblogger.blogspot.com/2014/12/bradleys-astounding-plunge-in.html

http://bubravesblogger.blogspot.com/2014/12/letter-of-nov-24-2014.html


UNSUSTAINABLE: (page 37)
http://www.bradley.edu/academic/cio/senate/documents/2013-2014/Bradley+University+Senate+Agenda+May+2014+website.pdf

http://www.bradley.edu/dotAsset/289317bd-9752-4b4c-aa2d-ad71fe9c1b85.pdf

http://www.bradley.edu/academic/cio/senate/documents/2013-2014/Bradley+University+Senate+Agenda+April+2014.pdf

http://www.dacbond.com/dacContent/doc.jsp?id=0900bbc78013c6cc

http://www.bradley.edu/dotAsset/6fd0131a-89a4-4e41-8c14-e01ee26e0fed.pdf