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To help improve our mediocre athletic programs, declining B. Ball attendance, loss of fan base, and diminishing community interest I believe the Braves Club needs to be completely revised in its purpose, functions, and board structure.
My opinion is grounded by having been a Chiefs Club (Now known as the Braves Club) board member and officer for many years. I wrote the original by-laws which were approved by the Bradley Board of Trustees at that time.
The original purpose of the Braves Club was to assist Bradley Athletics with emphasis on the basketball program in fund raising, recruiting, and providing advise & council to the Athletic Department.
The board consisted of 8 to 12 people all of whom were very close to the athletic and basketball programs. There were 4 Bradley members including the Athletic Director, the Asst. Athletic Dir., and the Faculty Athletic Representative. No coaches were on the board and the BU President did not participate. Non-Bradley members included former players, media people, and local businessmen who were close to the program.
Since there was no ticket maintenance program, fund raising was very important. Today, with ticket maintenance, fund raising by the Braves Club is not very necessary.
Recruiting by alums and boosters was allowed by the NCAA so board members worked closely with coaches in this area. We often traveled with coaches to watch kids, evaluated players ( There were few national recruiting services then), talked to and entertained recruits on BU visits, and were occasionally present at letter-of -intent signings. Today, alums and boosters are not allowed to contact or talk to recruits.
The board also became involved in providing advice and council to the Athletic Department on policy & procedure, promotions, social events, coach evaluations, player situations, and even conference affiliations!
Today, he Braves Club really does none of this and has been relegated by BU to being a cheerleader organization that runs a raffle and a couple of social events.
The board is far too large and its make-up is almost an honorary thing with people who are not going to "rock the boat" at Bradley. They are fans and most of them are very nice people who have very little grounding in athletics or the basketball program.
The "advise & council" function of the board is non-existant so Bradley seems to operate in an internal vacuum with little real outside input. While this may be comfortable for Bradley, it does little to help a mediocre athletic program that has major declines in game attendance, fan base, and community interest.
With this in mind, my question to Ms. Glasser and the Athletic Director is "How about organizing, forming, and appointing an Athletic Council that is knowledgable, strong, has some teeth, and who you will listen to"?
Wiz
My opinion is grounded by having been a Chiefs Club (Now known as the Braves Club) board member and officer for many years. I wrote the original by-laws which were approved by the Bradley Board of Trustees at that time.
The original purpose of the Braves Club was to assist Bradley Athletics with emphasis on the basketball program in fund raising, recruiting, and providing advise & council to the Athletic Department.
The board consisted of 8 to 12 people all of whom were very close to the athletic and basketball programs. There were 4 Bradley members including the Athletic Director, the Asst. Athletic Dir., and the Faculty Athletic Representative. No coaches were on the board and the BU President did not participate. Non-Bradley members included former players, media people, and local businessmen who were close to the program.
Since there was no ticket maintenance program, fund raising was very important. Today, with ticket maintenance, fund raising by the Braves Club is not very necessary.
Recruiting by alums and boosters was allowed by the NCAA so board members worked closely with coaches in this area. We often traveled with coaches to watch kids, evaluated players ( There were few national recruiting services then), talked to and entertained recruits on BU visits, and were occasionally present at letter-of -intent signings. Today, alums and boosters are not allowed to contact or talk to recruits.
The board also became involved in providing advice and council to the Athletic Department on policy & procedure, promotions, social events, coach evaluations, player situations, and even conference affiliations!
Today, he Braves Club really does none of this and has been relegated by BU to being a cheerleader organization that runs a raffle and a couple of social events.
The board is far too large and its make-up is almost an honorary thing with people who are not going to "rock the boat" at Bradley. They are fans and most of them are very nice people who have very little grounding in athletics or the basketball program.
The "advise & council" function of the board is non-existant so Bradley seems to operate in an internal vacuum with little real outside input. While this may be comfortable for Bradley, it does little to help a mediocre athletic program that has major declines in game attendance, fan base, and community interest.
With this in mind, my question to Ms. Glasser and the Athletic Director is "How about organizing, forming, and appointing an Athletic Council that is knowledgable, strong, has some teeth, and who you will listen to"?
Wiz
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