opinion from a former season ticket holder

[MickeyT]

I am an older fan who doesn??™t post much but I appreciate all the great information this board always has before anyone else. I know that people like me are not the people this current administration wants to reach and sell tickets to.That is obvious by all the changes geared at younger fans. But I wanted to voice my reason for dropping my season tickets after nearly 40 years of continuous renewals, if anyone cares.
Simply stated, the administration has used up all the good will this fan can muster up.The Augustana game was an embarrassment, but I made my choice well before that game.It happened when I saw the terrible home schedule for the third year in a row.The cost of the tickets and maintenance is not commensurate with the quality of the product on the floor.Many fans dropped out these last couple years, and others like me gave them notice that if the schedule didn't improve, they would lose a lot more of us. Apparently they are more interested in playing bad teams and artificially padding their record than in trying to keep fans.I wish Bradley well, but like the many others who have not renewed, I can??™t afford to keep giving my money for a vastly inferior product, and to an administration who does not seem to care or respect their fans.
And it is not just about basketball,there is plenty of bad news from every sport. I am almost embarrassed to call myself a Bradley fan any more.Where are all the successes that were promised?Where is any sign of accountability and responsiveness to the fans?

I just looked up these records on the BU site for the current coaches hired by this current administration. And these records all occurred in these recent years when Bradley has spent $50-$60 million on new facilities, increased coaching salaries, and sports budgets, and made lofty promises. Please correct me if I am mistaken.
Mens basketball:3 years without a winning record in the MVC; picked 9th this year
Womens basketball:2 years without a winning record; picked a distant 10th this year
Volleyball:4 years without a winning record and 1-24 this season
Softball:6 years without a winning season.
Baseball:6 years without a winning season
I am sure there may be a bright spot or two somewhere with the lesser sports, but overall, those have not been very successful either. Fans have almost nothing to be happy or proud about. At some point, maybe it's time to look at the people in charge and hold them responsible.Doesn??™t anyone at Bradley care?
As for now, I am bowing out.I cannot support this failure any more.

[tornado]

now you're gonna get blamed, too Mickey...

[Canton BU fan]

The only leverage the fans have is not going to the games and/ or donating which is something that I am not good at. I was there Thursday and like someone mentioned in another thread I was wondering why NW didn't play. Anyway, it's frustrating seeing the decline of the program and having an administration that appears to have no idea what they are doing unless the goal is to drop to a lower division.

[Buesch N Chips]

I personally do not believe they are trying to move us down, but it doesn't say much about your job performance when people can look at what you are doing and make a semi-valid argument that you are doing it bad on purpose.

[Da Coach]

I couldn't agree more. I have never thought there was any intention to move down to D2 or D3, but I do believe they would like to move out of the Civic Center. Our administration has even looked at estimates to enlarge the Renaissance Coliseum, in order to stick it to the Civic Center people.
But despite that, I have never believed they are intentionally trying to destroy the basketball program, which was one of the top 25 programs all time in wins when this administration took over. They are doing that purely through their incompetence and ineptitude.

[Buesch N Chips]

I couldn't agree more. I have never thought there was any intention to move down to D2 or D3, but I do believe they would like to move out of the Civic Center. Our administration has even looked at estimates to enlarge the Renaissance Coliseum, in order to stick it to the Civic Center people.
But despite that, I have never believed they are intentionally trying to destroy the basketball program, which was one of the top 25 programs all time in wins when this administration took over. They are doing that purely through their incompetence and ineptitude.

And if they want out of the PCC, that is fine with me. The Civic Center seems to be taking advantage of the BU fans that do come with their concession and parking prices. It's the same cash-grab attitude that drove the state tournament out of Champaign.

[TNel]

Mickey T., hear you loud and clear. Sixty-five year fan, 25 year season ticketholder who swore last year I wouldn't renew this year for the same reasons you bailed. As a long time fan and alum, I couldn't bring myself to abandon this sinking ship even though we attend only about half the home games due to our annual southern migration. Unless there's a major resurgence (top half finish in the MVC), we won't be back. Threw in the towel, turned the Bear game off at half-time and went to bed. Felt pretty good this morning. Maybe that's a clue to dealing with my long-term BU basketball angst.