Bradley women's basketball head coach Paula Buscher named head coach at SIU-E

[Da Coach]

When are these things ever not leaked? That is what I'm saying about the PR aspect of this. It was handled not so well unless they already had someone ready to take the job.

Yes, I agree. And from what I am hearing, there is not a candidate in waiting. I doubt they were planning on another new coach search this year.

[CubbieBear]

There are other signs that all is not well. One of them is this story-

http://www.pjstar.com/bradleyhoops/x1842814158/Marcus-and-Amani-Pollard-speak-at-fundraiser-about-experience-on-reality-show

Again it all comes down to success of the athletic teams. Sooner or later we need to see more success. Other than soccer, every other program is struggling to reach mediocrity at best, and many programs are embarrassingly bad. And now the donations and revenues, which rose to all-time highs just a few years ago, are dropping like a rock. Maybe we can just keep changing coaches and touting how nice our facilities are and nobody will notice.

We have been at or near the bottom of the Valley all sports points since our current Adm.(JG & MC) have been here...and with this news coming out--it doesn't appear that it is headed in a positive direction anytime soon. Donations & revenues will likely continue to decline...I personally know 2 previous (what I consider to be) large donors (and I wish I could be one!) who have all but said they are not getting back on board until some changes occur at the very top

[Braves4Life]

...neither BU nor Paula never did release anything regarding the situation. If the Edwardsville and Alton newspapers had not published the story...

When are these things ever not leaked? That is what I'm saying about the PR aspect of this. It was handled not so well...

This was not BU's fault SFP. The SIUE media broke the story. As Da Coach stated, BU would have preferred that this story be kept under wraps.

[Braves4Life]

We have been at or near the bottom of the Valley all sports points ...

Creighton is nation's only team to be top-10 in men's soccer, men's basketball and baseball average home attendance... They are consistently at the top of the MVC All Sports points... We are not that much different from CU... I envy and respect their success and want BU to strive for the same.

[stevebu91]

BU must follow the Stanford model. Meaning, Stanford led private school push competitive drive years ago. This model was then successfully tried by Notre Dame. Creighton is well on its way with this academic and athletic success story. BU better get on board or they will be left in the mud

[Braves4Life]

This weekend I had the chance to talk with a former assistant of Paula's who told me she is one of the lowest paid MVC coaches. I don't know if that's true, if so, even with newer facilities, that would certainly make it hard to lure a good coach.

For some perspective on women's coaching salaries here's an analysis of college women's coaching salaries -- http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/ ... tabase.htm

I suspect Bradley will pay comparable to those at the bottom of the list.

[Beninator]

This was not BU's fault SFP. The SIUE media broke the story. As Da Coach stated, BU would have preferred that this story be kept under wraps.

So how can a story like this remain silent? Might as well get it out and over with.

[SFP]

So how can a story like this remain silent? Might as well get it out and over with.

+1 There is very little chance this would have stayed as a private matter. It does not matter what BU would have want. PR is about putting your organization in the best light possible.

Is anyone following LinkedIn and the password snafu? Their PR machine is not running away from the story but dictating the message. Decisions on how to spin this comes from the top! I'm hoping all contingencies were discussed.

[lefty]

Yes, I agree. And from what I am hearing, there is not a candidate in waiting. I doubt they were planning on another new coach search this year.

I thought I saw somewhere Paula had one year left...if that is correct and the administration knew they weren't going to renew her contract that somewhere along the line in the last year they both had to have discussed it...at least in the last few months anyway....did they think Paula would just run her time out?

It just seems to me that this shouldn't be a surprise to them, especially if they weren't going to renew her contract...

[Da Coach]

I don't know the specifics of her contract, though Dave Reynolds said he believed it had 1 more year. Although Bradley would have had to given their OK for Paula to look for another job, I suspect that with very few coaching jobs open this late, it would not have been likely Paula would find another head coaching job. IMO, it is not at all likely the BU admins would have another candidate lined up, or would have begun a coaching search this year without knowing it would be necessary.

[CubbieBear]

Creighton is nation's only team to be top-10 in men's soccer, men's basketball and baseball average home attendance... They are consistently at the top of the MVC All Sports points... We are not that much different from CU... I envy and respect their success and want BU to strive for the same.

Yeah--CU has been great drawing fans in Omaha for sports. I was referring to the MVC All Sports trophy. The Redbirds & Shockers seem to dominate that...and recently we are at or near the bottom

http://www.mvc-sports.com/awards/allsportsaward/

[tornado]

It's official - Paula Buscher is announced as new Head Coach at SIUE

http://www.siuecougars.com/sports/w-baskbl/2012-13/releases/20120611wtr674

[BUBraves fan]

This was not BU's fault SFP. The SIUE media broke the story. As Da Coach stated, BU would have preferred that this story be kept under wraps.

SIUE women's basketball canceled their girl's basketball camps the same day it was announced coach Levens resigned to take the ASU associate head coach job; BU on the other hand had camps set to start within days of Buscher being named a finalist for the SIUE job. BU had the most to lose with the news of Buscher leaving, so it makes sense to have kept it under wraps as long as possible.