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I know to some it seems like a silly quesiton..but here's my point-
There are over 3000 4-year colleges in the United State
yet only about 350 of them do a D-I basketball program, so it's not a given that they all want to or can...in fact, we saw two D-I programs drop back to non-D-I this past year (UNO, Centenary).
So I would postulate TWO main reasons to do a D-I basketball program, beyond of course a desire to provide students with an education, keep them fit & successful, and healthy...
#1) To provide something for the people of the community and the fans. To be admired, be seen as doing a great job for the school and community
or state, and to achieve success as a program with achievement and high moral outcome.
#2) To compete and be successful in regards to wins and losses, but also successful financially.
With #1, to get the best success, you just give away the tickets and try to draw as many people as you can...you ask people what they want then try to give it to them as often as possible. However, if you ask 1000 people what they want, you'll get a 1000 answers, requests, and demands...so if you go overboard trying to please everyone, you'll end up ticking off a bunch. Let's face it -- if the people are told they're gonna get what they want, then each person will say "Hey -- I want my kid to be on the team and play!!" and I want to get in free all the time and have nothing but home games.
With #2, since virtually NO D-I school is actually profitable with their basketball program alone, you have to be pretty savvy and smart in how you do things or you'll go under. You have to charge for tickets, hire the right people, land the best players, make the right decisions, and even then -- it still doesn't guarantee anything, as there are teams that do all this and still lose a bunch and never make $. (NJIT, Yale, Columbia)
So, in every move, in every decision...you can pursue #1 or you can pursue #2...and sometimes, maybe you can hit both targets.
But most decisions will prove #1 & #2 as mutually exclusive such as charging for tickets, or where you choose to play.
My bottom line is that I think it is very hard to run a successful D-I basketball program. And I believe that fewer than 100, maybe even fewer than 50-60 schools
have been any more successful than Bradley over the past decade or even over the past 7 decades.
I enjoy discussing the program and the moves being made, but I acknowledge they have make certain moves that may appear unpopular.
The hiring of Molinari was unpopular with me, as I favored someone else.
The firing of Mo was also unpopular with me as I wanted him retained.
the firing of KK, TH, EB...
And on and on...there have been many moves that I did not favor, but I cannot see making a mountain out of it, it's just another mole hill.
Where we play our games and how the tickets are dealt or allotted is another one of these issues...I am not 100% enthralled with all that's going on (although I am close to 99%) and who is making the decisions that affect the fan base, but I am supportive of them because I know they are there to make the decisions and the decisions are not easy - not to mention that none of us knows all the facts, like how hard it is dealing with the Civic Center, and how costly running the program really is when you are a SMALL land-locked school and have to rent an arena...and not have boosters with $200,000 to throw around to lure the best recruits -- and you have to compete with other D-I programs that take $$$ from the taxpayer tills, and have a whole lot better facilities at taxpayer expense to dangle like a carrot and get the better recruits...and dealing with negative press and people (even fans) who want to see your demise...
Personally I think our guys are doing a great job, not that I wouldn't want to see better, but I am pleased with our direction and our leaders.
There are over 3000 4-year colleges in the United State
yet only about 350 of them do a D-I basketball program, so it's not a given that they all want to or can...in fact, we saw two D-I programs drop back to non-D-I this past year (UNO, Centenary).
So I would postulate TWO main reasons to do a D-I basketball program, beyond of course a desire to provide students with an education, keep them fit & successful, and healthy...
#1) To provide something for the people of the community and the fans. To be admired, be seen as doing a great job for the school and community
or state, and to achieve success as a program with achievement and high moral outcome.
#2) To compete and be successful in regards to wins and losses, but also successful financially.
With #1, to get the best success, you just give away the tickets and try to draw as many people as you can...you ask people what they want then try to give it to them as often as possible. However, if you ask 1000 people what they want, you'll get a 1000 answers, requests, and demands...so if you go overboard trying to please everyone, you'll end up ticking off a bunch. Let's face it -- if the people are told they're gonna get what they want, then each person will say "Hey -- I want my kid to be on the team and play!!" and I want to get in free all the time and have nothing but home games.
With #2, since virtually NO D-I school is actually profitable with their basketball program alone, you have to be pretty savvy and smart in how you do things or you'll go under. You have to charge for tickets, hire the right people, land the best players, make the right decisions, and even then -- it still doesn't guarantee anything, as there are teams that do all this and still lose a bunch and never make $. (NJIT, Yale, Columbia)
So, in every move, in every decision...you can pursue #1 or you can pursue #2...and sometimes, maybe you can hit both targets.
But most decisions will prove #1 & #2 as mutually exclusive such as charging for tickets, or where you choose to play.
My bottom line is that I think it is very hard to run a successful D-I basketball program. And I believe that fewer than 100, maybe even fewer than 50-60 schools
have been any more successful than Bradley over the past decade or even over the past 7 decades.
I enjoy discussing the program and the moves being made, but I acknowledge they have make certain moves that may appear unpopular.
The hiring of Molinari was unpopular with me, as I favored someone else.
The firing of Mo was also unpopular with me as I wanted him retained.
the firing of KK, TH, EB...
And on and on...there have been many moves that I did not favor, but I cannot see making a mountain out of it, it's just another mole hill.
Where we play our games and how the tickets are dealt or allotted is another one of these issues...I am not 100% enthralled with all that's going on (although I am close to 99%) and who is making the decisions that affect the fan base, but I am supportive of them because I know they are there to make the decisions and the decisions are not easy - not to mention that none of us knows all the facts, like how hard it is dealing with the Civic Center, and how costly running the program really is when you are a SMALL land-locked school and have to rent an arena...and not have boosters with $200,000 to throw around to lure the best recruits -- and you have to compete with other D-I programs that take $$$ from the taxpayer tills, and have a whole lot better facilities at taxpayer expense to dangle like a carrot and get the better recruits...and dealing with negative press and people (even fans) who want to see your demise...
Personally I think our guys are doing a great job, not that I wouldn't want to see better, but I am pleased with our direction and our leaders.
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