The Bradley Red-White Scrimmage & the exhibition games/schedule/tickets

[tornado]

I hope BP can come on and clarify..

First - up 'til now the official schedule on BradleyBraves.com has said "TBA" in regards to the times and schedule for the Red-White Scrimmage and yet that's only five days away.

But Dave Reynolds has some info in his column - I just want to be sure this is correct - because if people wait & show up at 9PM for the men's scrimmage - I just want to be sure they won't miss it if it goes earlier...
9PM is an awful late start time for an event that folks generally love to bring their small chaldren to - and this late start time might be a deterrent.

Anyway - here's what DR says......

"It all starts Friday with the 20-minute Red-White scrimmage,
the featured event kicking off homecoming weekend at the Renaissance Coliseum.

The Southern Illinois-Bradley volleyball match begins at 6 p.m. followed by
the BU women’s Red-White scrimmage.
At approximately 9 p.m., the men will tip it off."


Also -a couple weeks ago a release said that tickets were available for the exhibition game & regular season game at Renaissance Coliseum...
"ticket sales for the Bradley men’s basketball game versus Texas-Pan American, scheduled for Nov. 12
at Renaissance Coliseum, is underway. Bradley University students, faculty and staff now may join
Carver Arena season-ticket holders in making advance purchases for the rare on-campus game.

But when I went to the ticket office they did not have tickets and it was kinda confusing - you had to pay and then
wait & tickets would be distributed at a later time....

http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=25965&SPID=1498&DB_LANG=C&ATCLID=205687686&DB_OEM_ID=3400

http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=25965&SPID=1498&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=205671540

[tornado]

Dave Reynolds just tweeted that the men's scrimmage could go earlier then 9PM.

[wily coyote]

This whole situation is very disappointing and that's all I'm gonna say.

[basketball nut]

Just come watch the volleyball game and womens red/ white and you will be guaranteed not to miss the mens scrimmage.
Some of you might find that volleyball can be very entertaining and might enjoy the Lady Braves as well.

[tornado]

it's not just an issue of not knowing exactly when the men's scrimmage starts - but as I said earlier - fans with young kids - ages 6 to 8 and younger simply don't like taking them out if they are gonna be out way past 10 or 11 PM.
I wouldn't expect people to understand it if you don't have kids - but kids do very poorly, start whining to go home, and have a terrible day the next day when kept out late at nite...

This is the reason so many schools - Bradley included - ditched the 8 PM start times for games and almost all start their games at 7 PM so families can generally be home by 10 PM.

[wizard1]

Red & White scrimmage

t is right ! The Red & White Scrimmage is starting far too late. Its as if the Ath. Dept is trying to force Mens BB fans to watch vollyball & womens BB. The R & W shoud start no later than 7:00. Maybe the next move will be to start regular season games later and have womens BB as a prelim.

[Gary the Gargoyle]

I think that we as fans over-value the Red & White scrimmage, but maybe that's just me. Most college coaches would likely tell you that they consider these events a waste of good practice time.

[Braves4Life]

It seems BU is trying to put together a big event to coincide with Homecoming Festivities. In reality, with all of these alumni on campus, BU is trying to appeal to a much wider audience by putting on a non-stop, all day and night "show" where games at the new RCC ( our campus showcase) is the focal point. If our men's team was better and there was more interest and excitement this kind of "carnival" wouldn't be necessary.

[LG281]

Ok...so...volleyball could be done anywhere between 7 or 8 depending on if it goes to 4 or 5 games. If they are done in 3 games maybe they are even done by 7.

It just depends.

My suggestion is...head out, support the Lady Basketball AND Volleyball Braves and if your kids get whiny (and I have a couple that may) take 'em home and read the report here.

OR maybe you could pony up for a babysitter...there has to be some teenager out there who is looking to make a few bucks. Better yet, leave the kids home with your wife, and go to this event with a buddy 'er two.

This is homecoming week, there are events happening nearly every day once the students are back from fall break. Not sure where else you'd like them to cram it.

You guys complain enough and who knows...maybe it'll just be too big a hassle and we go back to the years of NO Red/White game.

[ph]

t is right ! The Red & White Scrimmage is starting far too late. Its as if the Ath. Dept is trying to force Mens BB fans to watch vollyball & womens BB. The R & W shoud start no later than 7:00. Maybe the next move will be to start regular season games later and have womens BB as a prelim.

I don't think there is any malicious attempt like that. Bradley just seems to be building homecoming weekend into something that continues to interest newer alums.

I am on your side about seeming too late. With other family events, it will be difficult to justify the late trip onto the hilltop.

In reality, the 9:00 start means it will be over about the same time as any other normal 7:00 start game at the CC.

[Da Coach]

I think that we as fans over-value the Red & White scrimmage, but maybe that's just me. Most college coaches would likely tell you that they consider these events a waste of good practice time.

This is not about what a college coach thinks about these events. We all know most coaches would just as soon skip them. So that is not relevant.

This is about the fans, and what fans think of them, and I don't think anyone can speak for all the great Bradley fans who do value them. I have talked to a lot of fans who like these events, and look forward to them. It is the start of the basketball season, and the first chance to see the players. It is also the only chance to see the transfers who will redshirt this season.
There are many schools who have these events, and draw big crowds, and generate fan excitement with them. Bradley used to be one of them. It was not long ago that the Red-White included a spaghetti supper, and drew thousands of fans. If a school is going to have such an event, it should not be watered down, and forced to start late by putting it at the absolute end of the night's activities, as if it isn't as important. The men's Red-White event would be a success on its own, and should be held separate from the other activites, IMO.

[Da Coach]

Ok...so...volleyball could be done anywhere between 7 or 8 depending on if it goes to 4 or 5 games. If they are done in 3 games maybe they are even done by 7.

It just depends.

My suggestion is...head out, support the Lady Basketball AND Volleyball Braves and if your kids get whiny (and I have a couple that may) take 'em home and read the report here.

OR maybe you could pony up for a babysitter...there has to be some teenager out there who is looking to make a few bucks. Better yet, leave the kids home with your wife, and go to this event with a buddy 'er two.

This is homecoming week, there are events happening nearly every day once the students are back from fall break. Not sure where else you'd like them to cram it.

You guys complain enough and who knows...maybe it'll just be too big a hassle and we go back to the years of NO Red/White game.

Sorry, but this just doesn't work for a lot of fans. The whole reason some families would like to come to the Red-White scrimmage is so that they can bring their kids and get them involved in Bradley basketball.

It is the local fans who buy the tickets for the games, and who are the season-ticket buyers. Those are the fans this event should be geared for. Not some afterthought for the alumni who are back on campus. Most of them will be hitting the night spots by then anyway.

If anything will kill the tradition of the Red-White game, it's moves like this, relegating it to some brief appearance before practices even start, and after a volleyball game and the women's exhibition.

[LG281]

If a school is going to have such an event, it should not be watered down, and forced to start late by putting it at the absolute end of the night's activities, as if it isn't as important. The men's Red-White event would be a success on its own, and should be held separate from the other activites, IMO.

If anything, it doesn't seem like this EVENING of Bradley Athletics is watered down at all. It seems jam packed with events. A conference volleyball game, the introduction and scrimmage of the women's team under a new coach, AND the intro/scrimmage of our men's team.

They've saved the best for last and, most likely, are trying to use men's basketball to get some attendance at the first two things on the evenings schedule.

To me it looks like they know exactly how important men's basketball is and that though a men's red/white game could be a success on its own - volleyball and women's hoops could use some fan support as well. They are using the men's scrimmage like a mall uses its anchor stores.

Yes...definitely watered down and unimportant.

[Gary the Gargoyle]

This is not about what a college coach thinks about these events. We all know most coaches would just as soon skip them. So that is not relevant.

This is about the fans, and what fans think of them, and I don't think anyone can speak for all the great Bradley fans who do value them. I have talked to a lot of fans who like these events, and look forward to them. It is the start of the basketball season, and the first chance to see the players. It is also the only chance to see the transfers who will redshirt this season.
There are many schools who have these events, and draw big crowds, and generate fan excitement with them. Bradley used to be one of them. It was not long ago that the Red-White included a spaghetti supper, and drew thousands of fans. If a school is going to have such an event, it should not be watered down, and forced to start late by putting it at the absolute end of the night's activities, as if it isn't as important. The men's Red-White event would be a success on its own, and should be held separate from the other activites, IMO.

For the record, it wasn't my intention to imply that I was speaking for anyone other than myself. It was just a personal opinion.

[Da Coach]

If anything, it doesn't seem like this EVENING of Bradley Athletics is watered down at all. It seems jam packed with events. A conference volleyball game, the introduction and scrimmage of the women's team under a new coach, AND the intro/scrimmage of our men's team.

They've saved the best for last and, most likely, are trying to use men's basketball to get some attendance at the first two things on the evenings schedule.

To me it looks like they know exactly how important men's basketball is and that though a men's red/white game could be a success on its own - volleyball and women's hoops could use some fan support as well. They are using the men's scrimmage like a mall uses its anchor stores.

Yes...definitely watered down and unimportant.

It's great that you want to go to see the volleyball team and the women's basketball team. I go to a lot of those women's events and I enjoy and support them.

But surely you must realize that there are a substantial number of people who do not care about those sports. I have talked to a lot of fans, including dedicated season-ticket holders, who do not plan to go because of the format. There are a lot of them who feel the Red-White scrimmage has been watered down by putting it this early in the season, combining it with several other events, and pushing it late in the night. That's too bad that we are rejecting a lot of great fans to cater to the homecoming crowd, most of who do not care about basketball, and are not the core fans who support the men's basketball program. With where the program is right now, I would have rather seen this event directed toward the real basketball fans.