Bradley drops men's tennis program

[Da Coach]

Looks like the financial irresponsibility at Bradley is already hurting some programs and athletes.

Bradley announces that after 83 years, they will drop men's tennis and add men's indoor track. (They can use the same athletes as outdoor track and save money). The men's tennis team was just 3-19 this season after some fans were bragging about how much improved it was just a couple years ago. However, men's track hasn't exactly won any championships either. Looks like our AD's promise that every athlete will have a championship experience isn't going to happen for the men's tennis players.

http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=209518760

http://m.pjstar.com/article/20140606/SPORTS/140609344?sect=Top%20Stories&map=12690

[Da Coach]

Maybe nobody else cares, but it is sad to see that the FALLOUT continues to pile up. Just a few short years ago Bradley was posting articles bragging about record revenues and financial stability of the BU athletic department. And now we have the AD announcing on a Friday night that he's forced to cut a program and he pleads poverty.
Has the fortunes of any D1 program ever turned around as much as Bradley's in just 3 years? How much farther down can things go? Will we ever see financial stability again?

[tornado]

What?? I can think of one guy they better put on suicide watch - he's been touting the tennis program as one of the successful jewels for the past 5-6 years!
As was said many times already this past few weeks, this is not the end of the fallout.... but still some don't believe it yet, they still keep blaming the fans... stay tuned...

David Markin's family must truly be wondering what the he** - after he gave $8 million to shore up the tennis program, they stab his legacy in the back and dump the program...
betcha they wish he'd have never given the gift now...
The tennis courts bear his name....really sad..... LINK

anyway - this is an interesting ploy to dump this "news item" on a late Friday nite using the same ploy politicians use when forced to release really bad news so it won't get noticed..
the statement is amazingly cold & blunt - "...unfortunately, we cannot continue to offer the sport I know they all love." - then essentially admit it's because of their mismanagement of funds within the Athletic Dept.

Less than a year ago the men's tennis program was reasonably strong and looking forward - LINK
...the Scout April Fools column in 2012 about the tennis program was, in retrospect, a bit prophetic...

[bradleyfan124]

Maybe nobody else cares, but it is sad to see that the FALLOUT continues to pile up. Just a few short years ago Bradley was posting articles bragging about record revenues and financial stability of the BU athletic department. And now we have the AD announcing on a Friday night that he's forced to cut a program and he pleads poverty.
Has the fortunes of any D1 program ever turned around as much as Bradley's in just 3 years? How much farther down can things go? Will we ever see financial stability again?

We will start to see financial stability when 2 people at Bradley now leave

[LG281]

I know...I know...FALLOUT...I'm not denying it. But you guys have left out this part of the release...

"With Creighton's 2013 move to the Big East Conference and its replacement by Loyola Chicago, which does not sponsor the sport, only four other Missouri Valley Conference schools sponsor men's tennis. The NCAA requires conferences to include at least six teams in order to earn automatic qualification to its championship tournaments and the grace period for The Valley to return to a six-team minimum in men's tennis will expire after the 2014-15 season."

If they were going to cut something to free up some funds (for whatever reason) it seems logical to make the decision that was made.

I don't always like decisions that are made...but I appreciate logical (regardless of prior choices that got us to where we currently sit). The men's tennis program historically has really been a stinker and our distance running programs have been on the rise.

Also, not really very fair DC to say that "men's track hasn't exactly won any championships either" since they've been on hiatus for the last 22 years.

Kind of off topic and I don't think there were message boards then - but was swimming/diving the last sport that was cut? I think that was in like 2001/02...anyone remember if there was anything else since then?

[tornado]

OMG - how does men's soccer survive when only five of the current MVC members (BU, Missouri State, Drake, Evansville, and Loyola) have men's soccer?

I actually have absolutely zero issues with cutting sports that are money losers and draw little attention if it helps makes the other sports stronger..
what I have a problem with is the reason behind this.
It is 100% due to reckless & irresponsible wasting of money in basically one area - one endeavor - that just had to be done to suit a few certain people, no matter what the cost - then all the rest of the $$ spent mopping up the mess that is still everywhere - empty seats, long gone donors & sponsors, weak on-field/on-court performances, and growing dissatisfaction from fans now even the BOT.
For years we had nothing but negative headlines in the face of record positive revenues, 20-win seasons, and Sweet Sixteens - because the media focused and concentrated only on the negatives (renegade, rude tweets, underage citations, too many jucos & DI virgins, etc...).
Now we have nothing but negative headlines because there really is nothing but negative.
Men's tennis wasn't the issue - there's a far bigger issue, a cancer eating away at almost every sports program that Bradley fans love and support.
Most people reading this will still be around 5, 10, and 20 years from now pulling for Bradley - but hopefully the issue hurting BU so severely won't still be affecting us then.

[molar50]

I will bet that David Markin is spinning in his grave today. Bradley has never given much support to tennis, but until this year, there was steady improvement under Coach Plotte. Some of the BCS schools cut men's tennis years ago, Missouri and Univ of Ill. These were related to Title 9 issues, with the football teams taking up so many scholarships. I wonder if Bradley will cut women's tennis also. The women tennis program has been struggling more than the men's program for a long time.

[cpacmel]

It is 100% due to reckless & irresponsible wasting of money in basically one area - one endeavor - that just had to be done to suit a few certain people, no matter what the cost - then all the rest of the $$ spent mopping up the mess that is still everywhere - empty seats, long gone donors & sponsors, weak on-field/on-court performances, and growing dissatisfaction from fans now even the BOT.

The one endeavor being Firing Jim Les?

Some of the BCS schools cut men's tennis years ago, Missouri and Univ of Ill.

Illini have Men's Tennis and they are very good.

[Da Coach]

I know...I know...FALLOUT...I'm not denying it. But you guys have left out this part of the release......

Also, not really very fair DC to say that "men's track hasn't exactly won any championships either" since they've been on hiatus for the last 22 years

First, the MVC would do what they do in other sports, they would simply add associate members to get to the required number of schools. Let's see what they do, and if any other schools drop tennis like Bradley did. I am certain this is not the reason they dropped tennis, but instead a post-facto excuse.

And it's only indoor track that has been on hiatus for 22 years. Bradley reinstated outdoor track a couple years ago and in each year they have finished a distant last. Plus they use the same athletes as cross country, whoch has also not come close to winning anything for many years.

[molar50]

The one endeavor being Firing Jim Les?



Illini have Men's Tennis and they are very good.

Sorry, U of Ill tennis is very good. I meant to state they dropped the men's swimming program a few years ago.

[LongTimeFan]

I am sorry for the tennis players that had been recruited to Bradley. I see that Bradley will continue to honor their commitment to two of the recruits. At least they are doing the right thing.

[Da Coach]

I am sorry for the tennis players that had been recruited to Bradley. I see that Bradley will continue to honor their commitment to two of the recruits. At least they are doing the right thing.

It does seem like a respectable move, however, according to an NCAA rules page, a school is required to honor such scholarships when they suddenly drop a sport.

[BSSFan#1]

http://m.espn.go.com/extra/ncaa/story?storyId=5516733&src=desktop

The CSC study shows that there are more tennis teams for women (311) than for men (258 )in Division I. But the percentage of schools sponsoring women's teams has fallen from 96 percent in 1996 to 93 percent in 2009, and the percentage of Division I schools sponsoring men's teams has declined from 92 percent to 77.5 percent during the same span.

[tornado]

Title IX to blame for some of the moves that cost plenty of $$ and also cost sports, scholarships, & roster spots for some.

[Da Coach]

How many of them got $8 million donations by alumni to fund and support their tennis programs?