Defining success

[Bravesfanchicago]

In reading back through various posts and boards, I was struck by the variety of signs or definitions of success many posters have.

Some historically complained about the lack of recruiting local players ....then when JL landed players from across the US, that was a complaint. Then when JL brought in a number of highly regarded local players, that was somewhat ignored

And I seem to remember that one of JL's recruiting classes that included a number transfers ended up being rated a top 25 recruiting class ( maybe on one of the ESPN websites ? ). Some of those players never saw the floor for a variety of reasons.

Some fans define success as conference wins, others post season tourney appearances

[tornado]

a recent comment defined success at Bradley by moving up a notch to 7th - even tho the reason had more to do with the departure of the team at the top than by any improvement here.......
I have learned that most people are heavily biased and see what they want to see and ignore the facts...
We can recoup the facts about the finances, the attendance, the RPI, the SOS, the empty seats, the drop in donations etc.... but it will only annoy people and begin a whole new round of attacks on the messengers......

[Bravesfanchicago]

There were was one BOT member that fell in love with the notion of the all sport MVC championship. That is the reason it has gotten attention. I would guess that most BU fans have no idea that it exists.

But you are correct that folks see what they want.....and all the happy talk about progress and financial stability is a fallacy. Never has an administration been so divisive as JG's. The apologists will likely never accept that the decision making during JG's reign of error have now brought about a weakened BU.

Change can be good, but not if decisions are for personal aggrandizement. And too many of JGs decisions were to benefit her personally or because she was losing a popularity contest. The long term benefit of BU should have been the goal but that got lost. And it really got muddled when early in JG 's term, key BOT members called out the lack of transparency and their concerns over the lack of adequate governance. A few of the most informed BOT members resigned over their concerns and JG and others tried to paint it as something else. Why would the CEO of the local hospital system resign? That person is an expert on leading and governing a not for profit corporation.

Sadly we now see a very late reaction to many financial issues. And probably a decade in front of us to try and recover.

[tornado]

Wanna laugh??? Here's a school bragging because they came in 58th!!!
Even funnier - these guys are bragging they finished 133rd!!!!
...and I recall a time people were miserable when we "finished 4th"

[Buesch N Chips]

The definition of success depends on one's opinion of the coach. Pure and simple.

[Da Coach]

The definition of success depends on one's opinion of the coach. Pure and simple.

Well put. A few years ago, 4th place was unacceptable and 22 wins against good schedules was defined as lack of success. Now playing on Thursday nights and getting beat by last place teams is lauded in the media as success.

[lefty]

[quote=Da Coach;296031. Now playing on Thursday nights and getting beat by last place teams is lauded in the media as success.[/quote]



hmmm...guessed I missed that

[wily coyote]

hmmm...guessed I missed that

Lefty I must have missed that also. Maybe in just a couple peoples eyes , that might be true but I don't think that holds true for the majority of us or our media. Would or could someone please show us the posts where our media thinks it is acceptable to play on Thursdays?

[tornado]

hmmm...guessed I missed that

...I have heard among others, the phrases "headed in the right direction", "building on success", and "significant improvement" over and over again but still see us losing on Thursday night to the last place team...

[lefty]

...I have heard among others, the phrases "headed in the right direction", "building on success", and "significant improvement" over and over again but still see us losing on Thursday night to the last place team...

I guess one can interpret that how they want??¦??¦I don't think anyone has claimed success yet

[Tulsa Brave]

Wanna laugh??? Here's a school bragging because they came in 58th!!!
Even funnier - these guys are bragging they finished 133rd!!!!
...and I recall a time people were miserable when we "finished 4th"

You're laughing at a school bragging about being in the top 25%. That is a place BU hasn't been in the MVC since the Molinari days. The laugh's been on us since then...

[tornado]

lefty - that's exactly what this is...
I realize this is their job to spin it as positively as possible - but we are at a VERY low point in the history of Bradley athletics with some clueless cheerleaders saying they want even more of what's about to sink the ship...
...and we are especially hurting in most of the more prominent sports...
We have never played on Thursday four years in a row...and we've flushed $15 mil down the drain trying
BU baseball has a horrific 31-95 record in the MVC in the current era...probably the worst 5-6 year stretch ever
WBB is as bad as ever after finally reaching the brink but being unhappy with the prior coach..
and then there's the revenue thing - expenses way, way way up and killing the entire university, sharp raises in ticket prices, while donations and attendance at historic lows only a few years after being at historic highs.. we are bleeding to death - actually hemorrhaging and I am stunned it took the Board so long to finally see it when it has slapped them in the face especially the past 3 years.
Sorry -- instead of touting successes, we need to be making sweeping changes - SWEEPING, not token...or we really are talking more sports cancelled and maybe going non-DI

[lefty]

lefty - that's exactly what this is...
I realize this is their job to spin it as positively as possible - but we are at a VERY low point in the history of Bradley athletics with some clueless cheerleaders saying they want even more of what's about to sink the ship...
...and we are especially hurting in most of the more prominent sports...
We have never played on Thursday four years in a row...and we've flushed $15 mil down the drain trying
BU baseball has a horrific 31-95 record in the MVC in the current era...probably the worst 5-6 year stretch ever
WBB is as bad as ever after finally reaching the brink but being unhappy with the prior coach..
and then there's the revenue thing - expenses way, way way up and killing the entire university, sharp raises in ticket prices, while donations and attendance at historic lows only a few years after being at historic highs.. we are bleeding to death - actually hemorrhaging and I am stunned it took the Board so long to finally see it when it has slapped them in the face especially the past 3 years.
Sorry -- instead of touting successes, we need to be making sweeping changes - SWEEPING, not token...or we really are talking more sports cancelled and maybe going non-DI

well the blog is about all sports and this thread startred out talking only MBB??¦

In any event all sports haven't been good for a long time??¦??¦.

[tornado]

agree - but BU at least had occasional success in almost every sport - but the past 3-4 years we're so obviously headed in the wrong direction...
I agree people see things differently - and some will disagree,

..but the OBJECTIVE, factual, and undeniable things like attendance, revenue, spending, losses, Thursday nights, 2-19 seasons in baseball, historically poor performances,
sports beuing dropped, last place finishes in nearly every other sport, etc.. are so clear that the only people left as deniers clearly have an agenda or are being paid to say what they are saying..

[Da Coach]

well the blog is about all sports and this thread startred out talking only MBB…

In any event all sports haven't been good for a long time…….

I think we can agree on that. However, this admin has spent massive amounts of money and made promises that things would be different and we'd see successful, competitive, and even "championship" programs.
As some people liked to say a few years ago when promises were made (and in that case they were kept), "words mean something". If you can't deliver on promises, maybe it's time someone else should try.
There is a revolving door for coaching changes, there's been massive turnover among support staff, and many more new positions filled with East coasters who know nothing about Bradley. There have been huge ticket price increases, massive dropoffs in ticket sales and donations, and yet every year we hear more hype and self promotion than ever before.
But things just keep getting worse. Some people saw it coming, and some remain oblivious. Its like the old saying, if you are headed into the ditch, don't keep pushing the gas peddle.