Just the facts.....No opinions

[BradleyJD]

Many of us talk about the pros and cons of Coach Les. But I thought it would be interesting to look at some hard numbers.


Jim Les-

8.5 seasons under his belt.

Overall Record- 148 Wins 131 Losses

Conference Record- 70 Wins 80 Losses

MVC Titles- 0

MVC Tourney Titles- 0

NCAA Appearances- 1 (Sweet 16)

NIT Appearances- 1

[shaunguth]

The last five seasons...

Overall Record- 102 Wins 70 Losses

Conference Record- 49 Wins 41 Losses

MVC Titles- 0

MVC Tourney Titles- 0

NCAA Appearances- 1 (Sweet 16)

NIT Appearances- 1

[tornado]

it is believed (and I have it from good source) that Coach Les has three more years left on his contract..
(it was reported he got an extension through 2014)
..so it would cost Bradley (in difficult economic times) a minimum of $1.2 million....plus some of the ongoing revenue pledged for the new facilities and not yet in the bank might also dry up.....

so just to begin a search for a new head coach, not to mention the loss of many if not most of the younger players and commitments -- as happens at most mid-majors...
would be unbearably costly.....
So you do the math and you answer the question ....

[bu fan 9]

I agree with you Tornado.

[Disturbed]

it is believed (and I have it from good source) that Coach Les has three more years left on his contract..
(it was reported he got an extension through 2014)
..so it would cost Bradley (in difficult economic times) a minimum of $1.2 million....plus some of the ongoing revenue pledged for the new facilities and not yet in the bank might also dry up.....

so just to begin a search for a new head coach, not to mention the loss of many if not most of the younger players and commitments -- as happens at most mid-majors...
would be unbearably costly.....
So you do the math and you answer the question ....

Is not paying the 1.2MM worth the growing apathy and loss of fan base? BU is far from broke, and I think those in charge are well aware of what the men's basketball program means to the university from a donor and reputation standpoint. Lots of people want to complain about the "bluehairs" and all the corporate season tickets, but if weren't for them there'd be alot more empty seats. These are your loyal fans who come whether the product is good or bad. I don't see any of the under 40 crowd rushing in to buy tickets, and that will only get worse if they don't win.

Also, how do you know you will lose the younger players and commitments? Maybe most of them would be excited to play for a different coach, there's no way of knowing. Some of them may see it as a chance for a fresh start.

[bu fan 9]

JL has raised more money since he has been here than all the other coaches combined. When he is gone a lot of that money will be gone and Bradley knows that.

[LittleBrave]

it is believed (and I have it from good source) that Coach Les has three more years left on his contract..
(it was reported he got an extension through 2014)
..so it would cost Bradley (in difficult economic times) a minimum of $1.2 million....plus some of the ongoing revenue pledged for the new facilities and not yet in the bank might also dry up.....

so just to begin a search for a new head coach, not to mention the loss of many if not most of the younger players and commitments -- as happens at most mid-majors...
would be unbearably costly.....
So you do the math and you answer the question ....

You're right T. Thanks for bringing up those points.
We're now stuck with the fact that our program is sinking and there's not a rescue crew in sight.
And I think they will have a hard time finding us on the map, 'cause we've fallen off of it again.
BU will re-emerge...someday!

[tornado]

are you serious -- you think BU has a couple million laying around to spend??
you must not be reading the newspapers...
If BU has to spend that much right up front, then they will not have the $$ to lure anyone better than Porter Moser for BU's next head coach...and then will struggle with horribly tight recruiting budgets the next several years that would destroy any new coach's efforts even if we landed John Calipari or Bruce Pearl!!

Of the recent NEW HIRES in baseball, volleyball, etc...are any what you'd call high profile and have any does squat yet?


Read what the new head of the NCAA just said...
almost every school will be facing severe budget cuts and shortfalls......and he speaks of widespread "belt tightening"...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-12-29/ncaa-says-sports-revenue-growth-won-t-exceed-3-at-biggest-schools-in-u-s-.html

[shaunguth]

"Just the facts.....No opinions"

So much for that.......nice idea anyway!

[tornado]

I have produced facts...

here's one more...
every year between 2005-2006 and 2008-2009 there were MORE THAN 60 new head coaches hired in Division I...
Last year there far fewer and there'll be fewer yet this year because of the economy...

[real fan]

Is not paying the 1.2MM worth the growing apathy and loss of fan base? BU is far from broke, and I think those in charge are well aware of what the men's basketball program means to the university from a donor and reputation standpoint. Lots of people want to complain about the "bluehairs" and all the corporate season tickets, but if weren't for them there'd be alot more empty seats. These are your loyal fans who come whether the product is good or bad. I don't see any of the under 40 crowd rushing in to buy tickets, and that will only get worse if they don't win.

Also, how do you know you will lose the younger players and commitments? Maybe most of them would be excited to play for a different coach, there's no way of knowing. Some of them may see it as a chance for a fresh start.

There is no easy answer, you can offer up a buyout as maybe he is ready to leave or you can not do anything and watch as more seats become empty, it comes down to whether or not someone that is a big donor believes it is time for change or thinks Les is still the answer, only time will tell as by march 4th the season will be over except for a miracle.

[Buesch N Chips]

I like this idea. Please everyone, stick with facts, no retorts or speculation. Choose whatever facts you want.

[squirrelgotdead]

Is not paying the 1.2MM worth the growing apathy and loss of fan base? BU is far from broke, and I think those in charge are well aware of what the men's basketball program means to the university from a donor and reputation standpoint. Lots of people want to complain about the "bluehairs" and all the corporate season tickets, but if weren't for them there'd be alot more empty seats. These are your loyal fans who come whether the product is good or bad. I don't see any of the under 40 crowd rushing in to buy tickets, and that will only get worse if they don't win.

Also, how do you know you will lose the younger players and commitments? Maybe most of them would be excited to play for a different coach, there's no way of knowing. Some of them may see it as a chance for a fresh start.

$1.2 million is the amount of salary required to fulfill the contract. But it is also more likely that a buyout clause was included (as is standard with most contracts of this variety) that could be a percentage of that...say 75-80% that might make it a significantly lesser amount.

[JMM28]

Read what the new head of the NCAA just said...
almost every school will be facing severe budget cuts and shortfalls......and he speaks of widespread "belt tightening"...

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-1...s-in-u-s-.html

I don't buy that for one second. The boohooing drives me nuts. The sports end of things might be down, but most big time D1 schools have hundreds of millions in endowment funds. 40 or so have multi BILLION dollar endowments.

BU lies somewhere in the hundreds of millions category.

[FlyingSpaghettiMonster]

Why would you give an extension to 2014? Did they extend him that far following the NCAA run or again after that? If it was after a buy-in tourney, then the school should have gotten a discount. Maybe Bradley can renegotiate his contract right now.