State of affairs at BU

[Bravesfanchicago]

None of the Wessler agenda should surprise anyone. KW made a deal with JG and her surrogates for info/leaks in return for soft peddling any criticism of the current administration. That played out with the departure of Les and read like the choreographed partnership that it was.
Over the last couple of years there has been a revolving chorus heralding player arrivals and minimal discussion when those GF recruits exit after a year or two.

This whole predicament at BU is multifaceted and some of it reflects on the lack of appreciation for tradition at BU, and mismanagement financial, managerial and otherwise.

When your Chairman of the Board resigns mid term because of his lack of confidence in the President, and further, when the president try's to sully the departing Chairman...that is a desperate play to try and remain relevant. And when your Chairman pulls back millions in his remaining gift, that's a "no confidence" exclamation point parting gift.

When the BOT mandates that JG utilize an executive coach to try and remedy her weaknesses this many years into JG's tenure, that surely is not a good sign. When your need to be popular comes before the priorities of the university that is not a recipe for success. When you can't accept responsibility and misdirect attention onto others to avoid accountability, that is the opposite of leadership.

So to borrow a phrase ..."the decision has been made"...and it's just a matter of time.

[Da Coach]

As I posted a couple months ago, not only was it extremely strange that the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees resigned abruptly in mid-term just before all the reports of financial mismanagement started to emerge. But it was just as strange that the Peoria Journal Star never reported it nor any reason, and never even attempted to find out. If a high ranking official of any other major Peoria corporation or business resigned suddenly and unexpectedly, does anyone think the PJ Star wouldn't be all over the story?
I have heard many of the things you allude to before. Many people I have talked to are saddened by the disappearance of many of the longstanding Bradley traditions. And it is sad to see how far athletics has been allowed to fall. I hope you are right that the troubles can be solved soon.

[Buesch N Chips]

I have talked to a couple of people who are more than fans in terms of knowledge of what is going on, and they say things are a mess, and it is not a working climate that anyone would want to work under.

As for traditions and change, that is something that is going to change as the years go on. You make changes to make things better. You also need to look at the problem from a broad perspective, not just a singular "THEY TOOK MY FAVORITE EVENT AWAY!" perspective. Have the changes to traditions made things better? Bid for the Braves was a success, and we will see how the Riverfront thing goes. It certainly is an important year to evaluate all of those things: first full year with the PR firm and mascot, expectations on Geno, attendance trend the last few years.

[wizard1]

State of affairs at BU

Bravesfanchicago... Your post was very interesting and quite informative. It certainly helped confirm what we have been hearing for the past few months and our understanding of several problems surrounding BU including the extremely poor financial situation, the abrupt resignation of the Chairman of the Board of Trustees, the status of JG, and the lack of journalistic courage at the PJS in failing to cover the story of the state of affairs at BU.
Apparently, you have some inside sources so I hope you are correct and this situation can be resolved soon.
In view of the PJS "blackout" in reporting the BU situation, I also hope you will keep us informed on what is taking place since this affects so many people including BU faculty & students, BU alums, Bradley BB fans, and the Central Illinois community.
Wiz

[tornado]

one of the lifelong fans who wrote to the new Chairman of the Board of Trustees about the sad state of athletics at Bradley,
has gotten a response and he has showed it to me. It is almost spine chilling to read it. Mr Stewart - if he wrote the letter at all, clearly could work as publicist for BU athletics as he extolled a long list of all the great accomplishments - but in the end only one recent top finish in the MVC and no post season success in any sport lately...somehow got parlayed into the greatest stretch of success in BU's history.

Virtually nothing was said nor acknowledged about the massive loss of the fan base, the multiple programs that are having record losing stretches over the past few years but everything was blamed on the slight drop in enrollment that was beyond anyone's control.

It is abundantly clear that nobody up there has a clue - they all think we're doing just fine and see no problems - and quite the contrary, they believe we're riding high in the middle of a wave of unprecedented success!!
Now I know we're in deep trouble.

[Buesch N Chips]

The recent string of BU performance in all sports and where it ranks in BU history is debatable, but it is clear that it is talking point #1 from the hilltop. Bringing out other athletes at halftime, Cross going on the radio, this letter, Snell talking them up. Are they doing it because they truly believe they have been successful, or is it to stem sort of tide?

[Da Coach]

The recent string of BU performance in all sports and where it ranks in BU history is debatable, but it is clear that it is talking point #1 from the hilltop. Bringing out other athletes at halftime, Cross going on the radio, this letter, Snell talking them up. Are they doing it because they truly believe they have been successful, or is it to stem sort of tide?

That is a good question, but either way it is a sign they are out of touch and that things aren't going to get better.

It's a fact that Baseball, Volleyball, and Softball have not had a single winning season between them since the President took over in 2007. Volleyball hit a new low this season with their 2-26 record. Baseball has not even been competitive since 2007. Women's basketball is truly in a "free fall" (), and men's basketball is now permanently fixed near the bottom of the MVC. None of the other sports has had any NCAA or post-season success. Soccer is the only real "bragging point" I can see for them, and we all know that soccer has been a success for a decade before the regime change.
Attendance is down to levels not seen in many decades, and donations are way down- and both these things were at record, all-time highs just a few years ago (2007-08 was the highest total attendance in the history of Bradley, and 2007-08 set a record for the 3rd straight year for fundraising and revenues).
Here is the proof from their own website-

http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=1597812

http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=187398

And here are the attendance figures from the NCAA website showing the highest total attendance in Bradley's history was in 2007-2008. Those numbers are tickets sold which translates into revenues.-
2014 ? ....17 112,335 6,608 up 51 (Carver average 6,984)
2013 #79 18 118,024 6,557 down 1,083
2012 #68 16 122,245 7,640 down 807
2011 #56 16 135,148 8,447 down 892
2010 #52 15 140,079 9,339 up 229
2009 #55 18 163,981 9,110 down 490
2008 #52 19 183,392 9,600 down 128
2007 #53 17 165,376 9,728 up 508
2006 #54 14 129,086 9,220 down 117
2005 #51 15 140,065 9,337 up 159
2004 #52 15 137,667 9,178 down 173
2003 #47 14 130,907 9,351 up 279
2002 #47 13 117,935 9,072 down 50
2001 #51 15 136,683 9,112 down 1,066
2000 #41 14 142,495 10,178 up 646
1999 #44 15 142,980 9,532 down 237
1998 #41 13 127,001 9,769 up 144
1997 #41 14 134,755 9,625 down 47
1996 #44 13 125,733 9,672 up 151
1995 #47 14 133,288 9,521 up 707
1994 #46 16 140,700 8,794 up 1,523
1993 #67 13 94,523 7,271 up 278
1992 #78 13 90,904 6,993 down 391
1991 #70 13 95,995 7,384 down 357
1990 #65 13 100,632 7,741 down 1,177
1989 #51 13 115,939 8,918 down 1,098
1988 #36 16 160,263 10,016 up 1,307
1987 #41 14 121,922 8,709 down 199
1986 #37 14 124,712 8,908 up 1,366
1985 #60 15 113,124 7,542 up 350
1984 #62 15 107,881 7,192 down 1,821
1983 #38 16 144,209 9,013 up 1,730
1982 #56 17 123,810 7,283 down 33
1981 #55 14 102,430 7,316 up 63
1980 #59 16 116,050 7,253 up 503
1979 #64 14 94,500 6,750 down 113
1978 #56 16 109,800 6,863

If they can somehow spin all this failure, loss of fan base, and loss of revenues, then they qualify for a Sports Editor job at the Peoria Journal Star.