Tweet
As the chat progresses, and just for the sake of those who might only be able to glance occasionally at the board and who might be unable to log onto chat..
I will post an ongoing report of what's being said...here is the first installment of the text/transcript of the chat...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
da coach left this message 5 days ago:
We will be hosting a chat session here with Bradley Athletic Director Dr. Michael Cross on Thursday, October 21 at 12:00 noon.
Thanks to Dr. Cross and to Bobby Parker for working to arrange this chat session with the Bradley fans. We'll see everyone on Thursday, October 21 at 12:00 noon!
DUBrave5 joined the chat 7 minutes ago
T joined the chat
T: I am here and getting ready -- so I will post the question that I will start with, and hope Dr. Cross will answer..
T: How do you view the bloggers and message boarders? I know there are pros and cons, but what do you think of BradleyFans?
T: BTW -- for anyone who's interested, click the "+" in the upper right where there's a "-A+" to get a far more readable font & text.
Jenny joined the chat 23 seconds ago
da coach joined the chat
da coach: We will have Dr. Cross here shortly
Mike Radigan joined the chat 7 seconds ago
bu bill joined the chat 8 seconds ago
da coach joined the chat
Dr. Michael Cross left this message 11 seconds ago:
Don't get get excited yet, this is Bobby Parker. I will be the designated typer when Dr. Cross arrives.
Dr. Michael Cross joined the chat
BUAlum: Bobby - the new video stuff on the website looks great. Awesome work!
Dr. Michael Cross: Thank you. It is a work in progress and we are always working to make it better. Always nice to hear the positive feedback, though.
theBUer joined the chat 24 seconds ago
Mike Radigan: What with the BCS football schools undergoing massive conference realignments, it is bound to effect all D1 schools even basketball only schools. What if any changes do you see with Bradley and the MVC as a result of all this? What changes would you like to see?
T: Also BP - did you read the comments some fans have about the pocket schedules only showing the home games and the player bios on bubraves.com being incomplete?
crown royal joined the chat 5 minutes ago
Dr. Michael Cross: BP answering: I did not see the pocket schedule comments, but will be sure to share. The schedule is always available online, but of course that does not fit easily in a pocket. I worked on the player bios some more last night and this morning to correct a couple of typos. Not sure what is incomplete about them, although I do know I have not included some of the fun stuff as in the past. The reason is we are planning to record video interviews with all of our student-athletes and much of that information would be included in the interviews.
da coach: Dr. Cross is here
beninator joined the chat 2 minutes ago
jeffsu joined the chat 96 seconds ago
afan left this message 50 seconds ago:
What can Bradley do that they haven't been doning to be a contender year in and year out for the MVC basketball title and entry into the NCAA tourney?
T: Does anyone want a question or two that were left on the thread on BradleyFans.com by fans that are not able to make the chat?
Dr. Michael Cross: Regarding T's question about blogs and message boards: I would make a distinction between the two. I think you typically know who bloggers are and have more detail. Message boards are a little more unclear due to the level of anonymity. That being said, I think the BradleyFans page ... my impression is that in the Message Board community, it is one of the better ones. There is no cursing, there are no unfounded rants and no character assassination, etc. Overall, I am glad there are people are out there supporting Bradley sports. In the end, I think if they did not have value, I would not be participating in this chat right now.
Dr. Michael Cross: The issue of competitiveness ... is one of the things we talk about all the time. We are constantly examining ways to make sure all of our programs have the proper resources, support, etc. to ensure we are offering a distinctive educational experience and championship experience. Three examples of how we've done this since my arrival are: the addition of a second strength and conditioning coach, the addition of a fifth athletic trainer, and the addition of a third academic advisor. We've also added staff in our communications area -- Julie Kindinger and Dave Snell -- to take advantage of our expanding commitment to video on our web page and the video boards in Renaissance Coliseum.
Dr. Michael Cross: Mascot and Braves: The NCAA has approved the use of the nickname "Braves" provided it does not associate any Native American imagery with it and we have not used any Native American imagery for nearly 20 years. With respect to the mascot, at some point we will discuss the mascot in the context of going through a brand development process that will evaluate all of our marks and logos. If a mascot emerges from that process, and it's one that makes sense, we are open to the idea, but it won't make sense to force the issue and develop a character that doesn't happen as a course of this overall process. I understand it should not be a bobcat, for those who are "curious."
beninator: Do you envision the athletic department playing a more proactive role among different student organizations to help increase the student participation at different athletic events?
Dr. Michael Cross: Run DMC has already been taken. I've had a number of nicknames over the years, none of which I would share here
afan left this message :
We have a pretty competitive shedule. However, is there anything that can be done to get more of the "power schools (BCS)" on our schedule. How are your "contacts"?
T: Q: Are you currently planning to have a regular season game (not just an exhibition) in Renaissance Coliseum next year? I personally think it would be a great idea, a fantastic chance to get lots of fans there, and a beautiful venue for a home game.
Dr. Michael Cross: Student participation: We work hard to encourage students to attend all of our events. The establishment of the Red Sea appears to have started well with great support from that group at volleyball and soccer. We are optimistic that that will carry over to our winter and spring sports.
da coach: Dr. Cross tells me he worked a lot with scheduling at Princeton. His answer to afan's scheduling question is coming.
T: Q: You blogged quite a bit when you were at Princeton -- but have not done so much since coming to Bradley, why?
beninator: whew... no Bobcat mascot! lol
afan left this message :
A lot of schools are now recruiting in Europe. Is that a possibility for Bradley?
beninator: Are there plans to expand the Hoopla to be more of an event as opposed to the pep rally type of event that we had this year?
bu bill: I enjoyed the Hoopla event. Can we add a brief scrimmage to the events in the future?
da coach: Bradley did recruit Europe with Michael Ochereobia
Dr. Michael Cross: Schedule: Scheduling is very difficult and it is becoming increasingly complicated. The amount of money that is flowing into college basketball from BCS schools' television packages (Big Ten Network, SEC on CBS) has guarantee games at some of the leading schools going for in excess of $100,000 per game. Simultaneously, the current economic environment has more and more schools seeking these dollars out to balance their athletic department budgets. Knowing that the home team statistically wins 70 percent of their games, playing as many home games as possible is in our best interest. So you are left with the choice of doing home-and-home series or "buy" games. Those with the largest budgest are not willing to do home-and-home series. Those with the smallest budgets go and play games at the places that write the biggest check. We are in the upper end of the middle group trying to get as many home games as possible while trying to avoid going to games on the road that don't make sense. As I began, it's a complicated process.
beninator: Re: scheduling.. Do we have any scheduling preferences in regard to a specific region. ie: east coast schools????
Dr. Michael Cross: Hoopla: We haven't made any decisions about future Hoopla events.
T: Comment: Seems you are not alone in saying scheduling is very DIFFICULT
Dr. Michael Cross: East Coast scheduling: We think that institutionally, there is a value to playing on the East Coast. It is an area that we want to recruit more non-athlete students from. As it relates to basktball specifically, there is no question that the media focus nationally is on East Coast basketball and having brand awareness of Bradley Basketball on the East Coast is important to being in conversations of the talking heads on ESPN and other places.
T: Q: As the Ultimate Sports Insider, would you comment on all the many recent revelations of top schools getting caught cheating? Is there too much emphasis on winning, and money, and what can be done? Seems that the big-name schools who have been caught cheating lately might actually just be the tip of the iceberg!
da coach: From it's boogie time- I would be interested to know if the three new cameras that are going into all MVC arenas is the start of televising/streaming all conference games?
afan left this message :
Was the Renaissance Coliseum built with the capability of adding seats to the main basketball arena? Is there room enough to add enough seats to have on-campus men's basketball on a regular basis?
Dr. Michael Cross: Added cameras in the arenas: The added cameras are for replay purposes for the game officials, not video streaming. However, we have made significant changes and upgrades to our video streaming in Carver Arena as part of the installation of the new video boards that should result in a higher quality stream for this season and beyond. Should there be any problems, we encourage you to let us know immediately so it can be addressed.
Dr. Michael Cross: Renaissance Coliseum size: Anything is possible architecturally, but whether it makes sense financially is another matter.
da coach: From sfp-Are we keeping a pulse on the realignment and if we have entered into any major discussions with other institutes in our conference regarding contingency plans?
Dr. Michael Cross: Conference Re-Alignment: We are long-standing and proud members of the Missouri Valley Conference. That being said, it would be irresponsible to not pay attention to the conference realignment landscape and be aware of possible opportunities that would benefit Bradley should such an option be presented to us.
Mike Radigan: sfp's ? mirrors mine which hasn't been answered yet: What with the BCS football schools undergoing massive conference realignments, it is bound to effect all D1 schools even basketball only schools. What if any changes do you see with Bradley and the MVC as a result of all this? What changes would you like to see?
Dr. Michael Cross: Conference realignment is being driven by football and television. It is possible that schools who do not have football will do everything possible to make sure that their basketball programs have the best opportunity to have exposure and obtain postseason bids. How that emerges is not entirely clear, but I have no doubt that there are informal conversations of a "what if" nature happening at schools throughout the country.
da coach: ? from MacabreMob--Have you considered schedulng "buy games" with some major schools that Bradley has a tradition with like former MVC teams Louisville, Cincinnati, and St. Louis, as well as past midwest powers like Indiana, Kentucky, Notre Dame, and other Big Ten teams?
Dr. Michael Cross: Anytime you go on the road, you statistically have a 30 percent chance of winning, and that possibility declines as the quality of the opponent increases. We would consider contests with any of the above and have had conversations with some of these institutions, and the answer is very often "thanks, but no thanks" on their end. Sometimes dates and other scheduling factors also impact this possibility, but that is not the primary reason these contests don't occur. And even if they did occur, we would do a very limited number of them, especially since they have no interest in coming to Peoria.
da coach: From Wizard and Braves4Life- What is your vision for where Bradley Basketball should be 5 to 10 years from now
Dr. Michael Cross: My vision is the same every day: providing a distinctive educational experience and competing for Missouri Valley Conference championships.
da coach: Is it acceptable for some sports to be "mediocre" because they are non-revenue producing?
Dr. Michael Cross: My vision is the same for every sport: providing a distinctive educational experience and competing for Missouri Valley Conference championships. I recognize that the path to these goals, in particular on the championship front, has some obstacles, but our responsibility is to eliminate those obstacles so that all of our athletes can achieve what they are seeking when they come to Bradley.
bu bill: Have the new Bradley athletic facilities already been having positive results with recruiting in the various BU sports.
BUAlum: Are you concerned with the current state of "amateurism" within the NCAA? It seems to be moving ever-closer toward the professional sports model. Do you support paying athletes?
I will post an ongoing report of what's being said...here is the first installment of the text/transcript of the chat...
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
da coach left this message 5 days ago:
We will be hosting a chat session here with Bradley Athletic Director Dr. Michael Cross on Thursday, October 21 at 12:00 noon.
Thanks to Dr. Cross and to Bobby Parker for working to arrange this chat session with the Bradley fans. We'll see everyone on Thursday, October 21 at 12:00 noon!
DUBrave5 joined the chat 7 minutes ago
T joined the chat
T: I am here and getting ready -- so I will post the question that I will start with, and hope Dr. Cross will answer..
T: How do you view the bloggers and message boarders? I know there are pros and cons, but what do you think of BradleyFans?
T: BTW -- for anyone who's interested, click the "+" in the upper right where there's a "-A+" to get a far more readable font & text.
Jenny joined the chat 23 seconds ago
da coach joined the chat
da coach: We will have Dr. Cross here shortly
Mike Radigan joined the chat 7 seconds ago
bu bill joined the chat 8 seconds ago
da coach joined the chat
Dr. Michael Cross left this message 11 seconds ago:
Don't get get excited yet, this is Bobby Parker. I will be the designated typer when Dr. Cross arrives.
Dr. Michael Cross joined the chat
BUAlum: Bobby - the new video stuff on the website looks great. Awesome work!
Dr. Michael Cross: Thank you. It is a work in progress and we are always working to make it better. Always nice to hear the positive feedback, though.
theBUer joined the chat 24 seconds ago
Mike Radigan: What with the BCS football schools undergoing massive conference realignments, it is bound to effect all D1 schools even basketball only schools. What if any changes do you see with Bradley and the MVC as a result of all this? What changes would you like to see?
T: Also BP - did you read the comments some fans have about the pocket schedules only showing the home games and the player bios on bubraves.com being incomplete?
crown royal joined the chat 5 minutes ago
Dr. Michael Cross: BP answering: I did not see the pocket schedule comments, but will be sure to share. The schedule is always available online, but of course that does not fit easily in a pocket. I worked on the player bios some more last night and this morning to correct a couple of typos. Not sure what is incomplete about them, although I do know I have not included some of the fun stuff as in the past. The reason is we are planning to record video interviews with all of our student-athletes and much of that information would be included in the interviews.
da coach: Dr. Cross is here
beninator joined the chat 2 minutes ago
jeffsu joined the chat 96 seconds ago
afan left this message 50 seconds ago:
What can Bradley do that they haven't been doning to be a contender year in and year out for the MVC basketball title and entry into the NCAA tourney?
T: Does anyone want a question or two that were left on the thread on BradleyFans.com by fans that are not able to make the chat?
Dr. Michael Cross: Regarding T's question about blogs and message boards: I would make a distinction between the two. I think you typically know who bloggers are and have more detail. Message boards are a little more unclear due to the level of anonymity. That being said, I think the BradleyFans page ... my impression is that in the Message Board community, it is one of the better ones. There is no cursing, there are no unfounded rants and no character assassination, etc. Overall, I am glad there are people are out there supporting Bradley sports. In the end, I think if they did not have value, I would not be participating in this chat right now.
Dr. Michael Cross: The issue of competitiveness ... is one of the things we talk about all the time. We are constantly examining ways to make sure all of our programs have the proper resources, support, etc. to ensure we are offering a distinctive educational experience and championship experience. Three examples of how we've done this since my arrival are: the addition of a second strength and conditioning coach, the addition of a fifth athletic trainer, and the addition of a third academic advisor. We've also added staff in our communications area -- Julie Kindinger and Dave Snell -- to take advantage of our expanding commitment to video on our web page and the video boards in Renaissance Coliseum.
Dr. Michael Cross: Mascot and Braves: The NCAA has approved the use of the nickname "Braves" provided it does not associate any Native American imagery with it and we have not used any Native American imagery for nearly 20 years. With respect to the mascot, at some point we will discuss the mascot in the context of going through a brand development process that will evaluate all of our marks and logos. If a mascot emerges from that process, and it's one that makes sense, we are open to the idea, but it won't make sense to force the issue and develop a character that doesn't happen as a course of this overall process. I understand it should not be a bobcat, for those who are "curious."
beninator: Do you envision the athletic department playing a more proactive role among different student organizations to help increase the student participation at different athletic events?
Dr. Michael Cross: Run DMC has already been taken. I've had a number of nicknames over the years, none of which I would share here
afan left this message :
We have a pretty competitive shedule. However, is there anything that can be done to get more of the "power schools (BCS)" on our schedule. How are your "contacts"?
T: Q: Are you currently planning to have a regular season game (not just an exhibition) in Renaissance Coliseum next year? I personally think it would be a great idea, a fantastic chance to get lots of fans there, and a beautiful venue for a home game.
Dr. Michael Cross: Student participation: We work hard to encourage students to attend all of our events. The establishment of the Red Sea appears to have started well with great support from that group at volleyball and soccer. We are optimistic that that will carry over to our winter and spring sports.
da coach: Dr. Cross tells me he worked a lot with scheduling at Princeton. His answer to afan's scheduling question is coming.
T: Q: You blogged quite a bit when you were at Princeton -- but have not done so much since coming to Bradley, why?
beninator: whew... no Bobcat mascot! lol
afan left this message :
A lot of schools are now recruiting in Europe. Is that a possibility for Bradley?
beninator: Are there plans to expand the Hoopla to be more of an event as opposed to the pep rally type of event that we had this year?
bu bill: I enjoyed the Hoopla event. Can we add a brief scrimmage to the events in the future?
da coach: Bradley did recruit Europe with Michael Ochereobia
Dr. Michael Cross: Schedule: Scheduling is very difficult and it is becoming increasingly complicated. The amount of money that is flowing into college basketball from BCS schools' television packages (Big Ten Network, SEC on CBS) has guarantee games at some of the leading schools going for in excess of $100,000 per game. Simultaneously, the current economic environment has more and more schools seeking these dollars out to balance their athletic department budgets. Knowing that the home team statistically wins 70 percent of their games, playing as many home games as possible is in our best interest. So you are left with the choice of doing home-and-home series or "buy" games. Those with the largest budgest are not willing to do home-and-home series. Those with the smallest budgets go and play games at the places that write the biggest check. We are in the upper end of the middle group trying to get as many home games as possible while trying to avoid going to games on the road that don't make sense. As I began, it's a complicated process.
beninator: Re: scheduling.. Do we have any scheduling preferences in regard to a specific region. ie: east coast schools????
Dr. Michael Cross: Hoopla: We haven't made any decisions about future Hoopla events.
T: Comment: Seems you are not alone in saying scheduling is very DIFFICULT
Dr. Michael Cross: East Coast scheduling: We think that institutionally, there is a value to playing on the East Coast. It is an area that we want to recruit more non-athlete students from. As it relates to basktball specifically, there is no question that the media focus nationally is on East Coast basketball and having brand awareness of Bradley Basketball on the East Coast is important to being in conversations of the talking heads on ESPN and other places.
T: Q: As the Ultimate Sports Insider, would you comment on all the many recent revelations of top schools getting caught cheating? Is there too much emphasis on winning, and money, and what can be done? Seems that the big-name schools who have been caught cheating lately might actually just be the tip of the iceberg!
da coach: From it's boogie time- I would be interested to know if the three new cameras that are going into all MVC arenas is the start of televising/streaming all conference games?
afan left this message :
Was the Renaissance Coliseum built with the capability of adding seats to the main basketball arena? Is there room enough to add enough seats to have on-campus men's basketball on a regular basis?
Dr. Michael Cross: Added cameras in the arenas: The added cameras are for replay purposes for the game officials, not video streaming. However, we have made significant changes and upgrades to our video streaming in Carver Arena as part of the installation of the new video boards that should result in a higher quality stream for this season and beyond. Should there be any problems, we encourage you to let us know immediately so it can be addressed.
Dr. Michael Cross: Renaissance Coliseum size: Anything is possible architecturally, but whether it makes sense financially is another matter.
da coach: From sfp-Are we keeping a pulse on the realignment and if we have entered into any major discussions with other institutes in our conference regarding contingency plans?
Dr. Michael Cross: Conference Re-Alignment: We are long-standing and proud members of the Missouri Valley Conference. That being said, it would be irresponsible to not pay attention to the conference realignment landscape and be aware of possible opportunities that would benefit Bradley should such an option be presented to us.
Mike Radigan: sfp's ? mirrors mine which hasn't been answered yet: What with the BCS football schools undergoing massive conference realignments, it is bound to effect all D1 schools even basketball only schools. What if any changes do you see with Bradley and the MVC as a result of all this? What changes would you like to see?
Dr. Michael Cross: Conference realignment is being driven by football and television. It is possible that schools who do not have football will do everything possible to make sure that their basketball programs have the best opportunity to have exposure and obtain postseason bids. How that emerges is not entirely clear, but I have no doubt that there are informal conversations of a "what if" nature happening at schools throughout the country.
da coach: ? from MacabreMob--Have you considered schedulng "buy games" with some major schools that Bradley has a tradition with like former MVC teams Louisville, Cincinnati, and St. Louis, as well as past midwest powers like Indiana, Kentucky, Notre Dame, and other Big Ten teams?
Dr. Michael Cross: Anytime you go on the road, you statistically have a 30 percent chance of winning, and that possibility declines as the quality of the opponent increases. We would consider contests with any of the above and have had conversations with some of these institutions, and the answer is very often "thanks, but no thanks" on their end. Sometimes dates and other scheduling factors also impact this possibility, but that is not the primary reason these contests don't occur. And even if they did occur, we would do a very limited number of them, especially since they have no interest in coming to Peoria.
da coach: From Wizard and Braves4Life- What is your vision for where Bradley Basketball should be 5 to 10 years from now
Dr. Michael Cross: My vision is the same every day: providing a distinctive educational experience and competing for Missouri Valley Conference championships.
da coach: Is it acceptable for some sports to be "mediocre" because they are non-revenue producing?
Dr. Michael Cross: My vision is the same for every sport: providing a distinctive educational experience and competing for Missouri Valley Conference championships. I recognize that the path to these goals, in particular on the championship front, has some obstacles, but our responsibility is to eliminate those obstacles so that all of our athletes can achieve what they are seeking when they come to Bradley.
bu bill: Have the new Bradley athletic facilities already been having positive results with recruiting in the various BU sports.
BUAlum: Are you concerned with the current state of "amateurism" within the NCAA? It seems to be moving ever-closer toward the professional sports model. Do you support paying athletes?
Answer forthcoming.
Comment