I posted most of this historical record of the use of alternative uniforms by past Bradley teams a couple times before (in 2018 & 2020) but now it needs updating. Caution, very long post... feel free to comment, but no need to quote this post. 
It took a bit of research looking through past game articles and other sources going back many years to compile this information.
Here is the history of Bradley's alternate colored uniforms-
Prior to 2009, ever since official school colors were adopted in the 1930's, Bradley always used two uniform colors, white for home games and red for away games. But as more and more schools adopted alternate color uniforms, there were suggestions by fans that Bradley should do so as well. But former Bradley AD Ken Kavanagh was always against the idea. And as much as I respected Ken, I was disappointed in the decision not to allow them. I personally favored anything that promoted fan interest. But he felt strongly that Bradley's colors were Red and White, and that the uniforms should not feature any other color.
But after Ken left in June, 2009, the athletic administration was more open to an alternate jersey color, and plans began to develop to use them.
At that time, Bradley was aligned with Nike, and Nike favored their schools' use of additional uniforms each year, and new AD Michael Cross liked the idea.
So, Bradley's first alternate uniform, Black Nike uniforms, were unveiled for the first ever Bradley "Blackout Game" promotion February 9, 2010 against Illinois State. The team wore the new black uniforms, and all 11,281 fans (the 5th largest crowd in Bradley's history) received nice black tee shirts (I still have mine!).
Bradley lead for the first 38 minutes of that game, but faded at the end and lost 62-61 to a pretty good Redbird team.
Game summary-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2010/2/10/204884560.aspx
Here is Bradley's Taylor Brown (#3 in black) attempting to block a shot by ISU's Osiris Eldridge (2/9/2010)-
But then Bradley returned to the red and white uniforms for the remaining 5 regular-season games that season.
Then, Bradley surprised everyone and broke the black Nike uniforms out again on 3/5/10 in their opening game in the quarterfinals of the 2010 MVC Tournament. #5 seeded Bradley blasted a pretty good #4 seeded Creighton team 81-62 to advance to play #1 seeded UNI.
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2010/3/6/204901868.aspx
Here is Bradley's Sam Maniscalco (#5) driving past Creighton's Ethan Wragge (3/5/2010)-
But then the magic apparently wore off. The Braves wore the black Nike uniforms one more time that season the next day on 3/6/10 in the semifinal round against the top seeded UNI, and lost 57-40-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2010/3/6/204902603.aspx
Sam Maniscalco (#5) driving past Northern Iowa's Ali Farokhmanesh.(3/6/2010)-
The next season, 2010-11, was a bad year for Bradley when Taylor Brown was out all year with his heart issue, and Sam Maniscalco missed almost the entire season with an ankle injury. But Bradley did not wear the black uniforms again during that entire 2010-11 regular season.
However, Bradley brought the Black Nike uniforms out of mothballs for the opening round of the 2011 MVC Tournament in a game against Drake on 3/3/11, and #10 seed Bradley played extremely well and clobbered #7 seed Drake 63-48 for Jim Les' last win as Bradley coach.
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/3/4/205108390.aspx
Dyricus Simms-Edwards (#32) on 3/3/2011-
Then, on 3/4/11, Bradley went back to their regular red road uniforms for a quarterfinal game against Wichita State.
Jordan Prosser had dislocated his left kneecap in the previous night's win over Drake, and joined Sam Maniscalco and Taylor Brown in street clothes and did not play. #10 seed Bradley played the #2 seed Wichita State, and the undermanned Bradley team lost 70-56 and was eliminated from the tournament.
I am not sure why Bradley did not wear the black uniforms that game. One rumor was that it had to do with black being one of Wichita State's colors, and that they did not approve, even though WSU wore their white uniforms that game.
http://www.bradleybraves.com/news/20...px?path=mbball
Bradley's Dodie Dunson (#1) on 3/4/2011-
Then in the 2011-2012 season, Geno Ford's first season at Bradley, Bradley broke out all-new designed Nike black uniforms in the Chicago Invitational Challenge played at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, IL. They played Wisconsin in the opening game on 11/25/11, and lost 66-43-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/11/26/205338405.aspx
Bradley's Taylor Brown (#3) drives around Wisconsin's Ryan Evans (#5) on 11/25/2011-
The next night, on 11/26/11, Bradley went back to wearing their new red Nike uniforms and lost to Nevada 64-49-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/11/27/205339012.aspx
Bradley's Taylor Brown (#3) with the ball on 11/26/2011-
Bradley wore the new black uniforms one more time on 12/22/11 at Michigan in a nationally televised game. Geno Ford's first Bradley team played well, but lost 77-66-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/12/23/205351496.aspx
Bradley's Shayok Shayok (#23) rebounding the ball on 12/22/2011-
That game at Michigan, December 22, 2011, was the last time Bradley ever wore black uniforms. Bradley did not wear the black Nike uniforms again that season (2011-12) nor the following season (2012-13), so they apparently put them in storage, and they have never been used or seen again since.
Then, prior to the 2013-14 season, the administration switched uniform manufacturer from Nike to Adidas for the next 5 years, during which time no alternate color uniforms were used.
And after the 2017-18 season, Bradley dumped Adidas, and switched to Under Armour as their shoe, uniform and apparel manufacturer.
As noted, Bradley never used any alternate color uniforms during the Adidas years (5 seasons 2013-2019 ). And there was no alternative color uniforms in the first 3 years of the Under Armour deal either, between 2019-2022.
So there must be 2 complete but different sets of those old Black Nike uniforms sitting in some storage room somewhere (the set that was used 4 different times during the 2009-10 & 2010-11 seasons, and the second set that was used twice in the 2011-12 season). If anyone knows anything about them, or if they still exist, let us know.
A couple more alternative color uniforms-
Bradley wore a different colored uniform in the final season with Nike for a special promotional occasion...
In one single home game on 2/16/13 against conference opponent Indiana State, Bradley wore pink NIKE uniforms as a breast cancer awareness promotion.
Bradley won the game 80-68. The pink uniforms were auctioned off in a silent auction during that game, and have never been used again since. They were sold to the fans who bid the highest on each one.
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2013/2/16/206442161.aspx
That game (2/16/13) ironically was just 3 days before Bradley announced they had signed a deal to switch from Nike to Adidas for the following season-
https://www.pjstar.com/x1037513903/B...al-with-Adidas
Bradley's Ka'Darryl Bell (#0) wearing the pink Bradley uniform with the Nike swoosh on 2/16/2013-
And there was a special commemorative throwback uniform used for one game in 1993. Bradley had been playing home games at Carver Arena since 1982, but on December 1, 1993, there was a throwback game played at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse against Illinois Wesleyan. Bradley won the game 81-63. But in that game, Bradley wore a one-time commemorative jersey that featured an off-white color with a script Bradley across the front of the jersey. The jerseys were auctioned off after the game and never worn again. I can't find a picture of those jerseys, so if anyone has a photo, or knows someone who bought one of them, let me know.
I believe it was intended to be a throwback to the home version of the uniforms worn in the Famous Five era of Bradley basketball, circa 1937. Here is a picture of the road version, which was maroon, not red.
If anyone has a photo of the commemorative jersey worn in that December 1, 1993 game at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse against Illinois Wesleyan let me know. (BU won 81-63 in front of 5,205 spectators)
Here are Bradley's original script jerseys from the early and mid-1980's that the current jerseys were based on, including 1981-82 NIT Championship year and 1985-86 NCAA year. The regular Bradley uniforms those years featured the cursive Bradley across the front of the jersey, trimmed in blue, almost identical to the throwback jerseys worn last season and this season. Here are a couple pictures of those uniforms.
However, they were not considered throwback, they were the regular uniforms worn for every game those years.
As I've posted above, in a discussion with Bradley's Athletic Director Ken Kavanagh (at Bradley from 1996-2009) about an alternate uniform, he was against it, and believed that Bradley's colors were Red & White, and those are the only colors they should wear. That is why Bradley never had any alternate color uniforms until 2010 (see the top post in this thread). Ken left Bradley in 2009, and Michael Cross, who succeeded him, was agreeable to the alternate color, and that's why we first saw the alternate color uniforms (black) in February, 2010 as listed above.
UPDATE (11/20/23): In the 2022-23 season, Bradley introduced the first Under Armour "alternate uniform" - it was the home white uniform with the script Bradley across the front and it was rumored to be a one-time promotion for the Bradley-Illinois State game on January 25, 2023. Bradley won that game in an exciting 79-75 overtime win- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023...ins-an-instant-classic-vs-illinois-state.aspx
The uniform was such a hit with fans, everyone liked them, and they seemed to bring the Braves good luck, that Bradley wore them again in the next home game against SIU, a game they won 62-52- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023/2/1/mens-basketball-game-recap-bradley-vs-southern-illinois.aspx
Bradley kept winning with the new uniform, and even wore them on the road at Illinois State when the Redbirds chose to wear red uniforms in their home game. Bradley won easily 79-61- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023/2/8/mens-basketball-bradley-sweeps-the-i-74-rivalry.aspx
Bradley continued wearing the Script white uniform at home and won every remaining regular season game that season after introducing them against Illinois State. They also wore them again in one more road game at SIU when the home team Salukis chose to wear black uniforms- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023...-game-recap-bradley-at-southern-illinois.aspx
Then in a surprising move, Bradley unveiled a new red version of the script Bradley uniform for their final home game against Drake on February 26, 2023, in the game that would determine the MVC regular season championship. Bradley won that game 73-61 to claim their first MVC title since 1996.- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023/2/26/bradley-earns-mvc-regular-season-mens-basketball-title.aspx
Bradley continued wearing the script uniforms through the MVC tournament, where they wore the white ones as the top seed in 3 games against UNI, Indiana State, and Drake.
Then they wore the red ones one more time that season in the NIT game at Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the Braves lost and that ended the 2022-23 season.- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023...radleys-historic-season-comes-to-a-close.aspx
And they have continued to wear the script white and red Under Armour uniforms in the 2023-24 season.
But a new alternate uniform was announced on Bradley's social media accounts on November 19, 2023.
The new alternate uniform will be the home white Peoria Edition PIA uniforms that will be worn on December 2, 2023 in a game against Indiana State.
Will this be worn one-time, or will these be worn again?
Update 10/27/25- Bradley will wear a one-time commemorative jersey for a special game on December 14, 2025. It will be a home game played at the Renaissance Coliseum against North Central College of Naperville, Illinois. They are an NCAA Division III school, and a member of the CCIW (College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin).
bradleybraves.com
The uniform is pictured below-
It took a bit of research looking through past game articles and other sources going back many years to compile this information.
Here is the history of Bradley's alternate colored uniforms-
Prior to 2009, ever since official school colors were adopted in the 1930's, Bradley always used two uniform colors, white for home games and red for away games. But as more and more schools adopted alternate color uniforms, there were suggestions by fans that Bradley should do so as well. But former Bradley AD Ken Kavanagh was always against the idea. And as much as I respected Ken, I was disappointed in the decision not to allow them. I personally favored anything that promoted fan interest. But he felt strongly that Bradley's colors were Red and White, and that the uniforms should not feature any other color.
But after Ken left in June, 2009, the athletic administration was more open to an alternate jersey color, and plans began to develop to use them.
At that time, Bradley was aligned with Nike, and Nike favored their schools' use of additional uniforms each year, and new AD Michael Cross liked the idea.
So, Bradley's first alternate uniform, Black Nike uniforms, were unveiled for the first ever Bradley "Blackout Game" promotion February 9, 2010 against Illinois State. The team wore the new black uniforms, and all 11,281 fans (the 5th largest crowd in Bradley's history) received nice black tee shirts (I still have mine!).
Bradley lead for the first 38 minutes of that game, but faded at the end and lost 62-61 to a pretty good Redbird team.
Game summary-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2010/2/10/204884560.aspx
Here is Bradley's Taylor Brown (#3 in black) attempting to block a shot by ISU's Osiris Eldridge (2/9/2010)-
But then Bradley returned to the red and white uniforms for the remaining 5 regular-season games that season.
Then, Bradley surprised everyone and broke the black Nike uniforms out again on 3/5/10 in their opening game in the quarterfinals of the 2010 MVC Tournament. #5 seeded Bradley blasted a pretty good #4 seeded Creighton team 81-62 to advance to play #1 seeded UNI.
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2010/3/6/204901868.aspx
Here is Bradley's Sam Maniscalco (#5) driving past Creighton's Ethan Wragge (3/5/2010)-
But then the magic apparently wore off. The Braves wore the black Nike uniforms one more time that season the next day on 3/6/10 in the semifinal round against the top seeded UNI, and lost 57-40-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2010/3/6/204902603.aspx
Sam Maniscalco (#5) driving past Northern Iowa's Ali Farokhmanesh.(3/6/2010)-
The next season, 2010-11, was a bad year for Bradley when Taylor Brown was out all year with his heart issue, and Sam Maniscalco missed almost the entire season with an ankle injury. But Bradley did not wear the black uniforms again during that entire 2010-11 regular season.
However, Bradley brought the Black Nike uniforms out of mothballs for the opening round of the 2011 MVC Tournament in a game against Drake on 3/3/11, and #10 seed Bradley played extremely well and clobbered #7 seed Drake 63-48 for Jim Les' last win as Bradley coach.
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/3/4/205108390.aspx
Dyricus Simms-Edwards (#32) on 3/3/2011-
Then, on 3/4/11, Bradley went back to their regular red road uniforms for a quarterfinal game against Wichita State.
Jordan Prosser had dislocated his left kneecap in the previous night's win over Drake, and joined Sam Maniscalco and Taylor Brown in street clothes and did not play. #10 seed Bradley played the #2 seed Wichita State, and the undermanned Bradley team lost 70-56 and was eliminated from the tournament.
I am not sure why Bradley did not wear the black uniforms that game. One rumor was that it had to do with black being one of Wichita State's colors, and that they did not approve, even though WSU wore their white uniforms that game.
http://www.bradleybraves.com/news/20...px?path=mbball
Bradley's Dodie Dunson (#1) on 3/4/2011-
Then in the 2011-2012 season, Geno Ford's first season at Bradley, Bradley broke out all-new designed Nike black uniforms in the Chicago Invitational Challenge played at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, IL. They played Wisconsin in the opening game on 11/25/11, and lost 66-43-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/11/26/205338405.aspx
Bradley's Taylor Brown (#3) drives around Wisconsin's Ryan Evans (#5) on 11/25/2011-
The next night, on 11/26/11, Bradley went back to wearing their new red Nike uniforms and lost to Nevada 64-49-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/11/27/205339012.aspx
Bradley's Taylor Brown (#3) with the ball on 11/26/2011-
Bradley wore the new black uniforms one more time on 12/22/11 at Michigan in a nationally televised game. Geno Ford's first Bradley team played well, but lost 77-66-
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2011/12/23/205351496.aspx
Bradley's Shayok Shayok (#23) rebounding the ball on 12/22/2011-
That game at Michigan, December 22, 2011, was the last time Bradley ever wore black uniforms. Bradley did not wear the black Nike uniforms again that season (2011-12) nor the following season (2012-13), so they apparently put them in storage, and they have never been used or seen again since.
Then, prior to the 2013-14 season, the administration switched uniform manufacturer from Nike to Adidas for the next 5 years, during which time no alternate color uniforms were used.
And after the 2017-18 season, Bradley dumped Adidas, and switched to Under Armour as their shoe, uniform and apparel manufacturer.
As noted, Bradley never used any alternate color uniforms during the Adidas years (5 seasons 2013-2019 ). And there was no alternative color uniforms in the first 3 years of the Under Armour deal either, between 2019-2022.
So there must be 2 complete but different sets of those old Black Nike uniforms sitting in some storage room somewhere (the set that was used 4 different times during the 2009-10 & 2010-11 seasons, and the second set that was used twice in the 2011-12 season). If anyone knows anything about them, or if they still exist, let us know.
A couple more alternative color uniforms-
Bradley wore a different colored uniform in the final season with Nike for a special promotional occasion...
In one single home game on 2/16/13 against conference opponent Indiana State, Bradley wore pink NIKE uniforms as a breast cancer awareness promotion.
Bradley won the game 80-68. The pink uniforms were auctioned off in a silent auction during that game, and have never been used again since. They were sold to the fans who bid the highest on each one.
http://www.bubraves.com/news/2013/2/16/206442161.aspx
That game (2/16/13) ironically was just 3 days before Bradley announced they had signed a deal to switch from Nike to Adidas for the following season-
https://www.pjstar.com/x1037513903/B...al-with-Adidas
Bradley's Ka'Darryl Bell (#0) wearing the pink Bradley uniform with the Nike swoosh on 2/16/2013-
And there was a special commemorative throwback uniform used for one game in 1993. Bradley had been playing home games at Carver Arena since 1982, but on December 1, 1993, there was a throwback game played at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse against Illinois Wesleyan. Bradley won the game 81-63. But in that game, Bradley wore a one-time commemorative jersey that featured an off-white color with a script Bradley across the front of the jersey. The jerseys were auctioned off after the game and never worn again. I can't find a picture of those jerseys, so if anyone has a photo, or knows someone who bought one of them, let me know.
I believe it was intended to be a throwback to the home version of the uniforms worn in the Famous Five era of Bradley basketball, circa 1937. Here is a picture of the road version, which was maroon, not red.
If anyone has a photo of the commemorative jersey worn in that December 1, 1993 game at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse against Illinois Wesleyan let me know. (BU won 81-63 in front of 5,205 spectators)
Here are Bradley's original script jerseys from the early and mid-1980's that the current jerseys were based on, including 1981-82 NIT Championship year and 1985-86 NCAA year. The regular Bradley uniforms those years featured the cursive Bradley across the front of the jersey, trimmed in blue, almost identical to the throwback jerseys worn last season and this season. Here are a couple pictures of those uniforms.
However, they were not considered throwback, they were the regular uniforms worn for every game those years.
As I've posted above, in a discussion with Bradley's Athletic Director Ken Kavanagh (at Bradley from 1996-2009) about an alternate uniform, he was against it, and believed that Bradley's colors were Red & White, and those are the only colors they should wear. That is why Bradley never had any alternate color uniforms until 2010 (see the top post in this thread). Ken left Bradley in 2009, and Michael Cross, who succeeded him, was agreeable to the alternate color, and that's why we first saw the alternate color uniforms (black) in February, 2010 as listed above.
UPDATE (11/20/23): In the 2022-23 season, Bradley introduced the first Under Armour "alternate uniform" - it was the home white uniform with the script Bradley across the front and it was rumored to be a one-time promotion for the Bradley-Illinois State game on January 25, 2023. Bradley won that game in an exciting 79-75 overtime win- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023...ins-an-instant-classic-vs-illinois-state.aspx
The uniform was such a hit with fans, everyone liked them, and they seemed to bring the Braves good luck, that Bradley wore them again in the next home game against SIU, a game they won 62-52- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023/2/1/mens-basketball-game-recap-bradley-vs-southern-illinois.aspx
Bradley kept winning with the new uniform, and even wore them on the road at Illinois State when the Redbirds chose to wear red uniforms in their home game. Bradley won easily 79-61- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023/2/8/mens-basketball-bradley-sweeps-the-i-74-rivalry.aspx
Bradley continued wearing the Script white uniform at home and won every remaining regular season game that season after introducing them against Illinois State. They also wore them again in one more road game at SIU when the home team Salukis chose to wear black uniforms- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023...-game-recap-bradley-at-southern-illinois.aspx
Then in a surprising move, Bradley unveiled a new red version of the script Bradley uniform for their final home game against Drake on February 26, 2023, in the game that would determine the MVC regular season championship. Bradley won that game 73-61 to claim their first MVC title since 1996.- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023/2/26/bradley-earns-mvc-regular-season-mens-basketball-title.aspx
Bradley continued wearing the script uniforms through the MVC tournament, where they wore the white ones as the top seed in 3 games against UNI, Indiana State, and Drake.
Then they wore the red ones one more time that season in the NIT game at Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the Braves lost and that ended the 2022-23 season.- https://bradleybraves.com/news/2023...radleys-historic-season-comes-to-a-close.aspx
And they have continued to wear the script white and red Under Armour uniforms in the 2023-24 season.
But a new alternate uniform was announced on Bradley's social media accounts on November 19, 2023.
The new alternate uniform will be the home white Peoria Edition PIA uniforms that will be worn on December 2, 2023 in a game against Indiana State.
Will this be worn one-time, or will these be worn again?
Update 10/27/25- Bradley will wear a one-time commemorative jersey for a special game on December 14, 2025. It will be a home game played at the Renaissance Coliseum against North Central College of Naperville, Illinois. They are an NCAA Division III school, and a member of the CCIW (College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin).
Bradley Men’s Basketball Returns to Campus for “Hoops on the Hilltop” Game on December 14 - Bradley University Athletics
Bradley Men's Basketball will bring the action back to campus this winter with Hoops on the Hilltop, a special regular-season matchup against North Central College
bradleybraves.com
