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Home of the Brave

H

HOTBrave

Member
We want to thank everyone for their support over the last 4 years.

Bradley has made the decision to bring these functions internal, and as such Home of the Brave will no longer be the primary source of NIL/revenue sharing resources for Bradley Men’s Basketball.

HOTB will continue on for many reasons, but also to create true NIL opportunities for our program.
 
HOTBrave said:
We want to thank everyone for their support over the last 4 years.

Bradley has made the decision to bring these functions internal, and as such Home of the Brave will no longer be the primary source of NIL/revenue sharing resources for Bradley Men’s Basketball.

HOTB will continue on for many reasons, but also to create true NIL opportunities for our program.
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What are your chances of finding alumni that can donate a lot more money?
 
HOTBrave said:
We want to thank everyone for their support over the last 4 years.

Bradley has made the decision to bring these functions internal, and as such Home of the Brave will no longer be the primary source of NIL/revenue sharing resources for Bradley Men’s Basketball.

HOTB will continue on for many reasons, but also to create true NIL opportunities for our program.
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We appreciate you and the other guys and girls who organized and ran the HOTB program. Fans should appreciate that players like Malevy Leons, Duke Deen, Darius Hannah, Christian Davis, Meta Jonovic, Jaquan Johnson, and others, plus the portal transfers who chose to come to Bradley, had other choices. By retaining most of the talent, it has allowed Bradley to win almost 100 games over the last 4 season, and consistently finish at or near the top of the MVC.
 
From what I read, HOTB will no longer be the primary source of NIL. If changes are being made hoping for increased NIL money through maybe corporate sponsors or some other means to help retain players and entice future recruits to strongly consider Bradley. Curious to see how this hopefully makes BU stronger in attracting players we need.
 
daveineureka said:
From what I read, HOTB will no longer be the primary source of NIL. If changes are being made hoping for increased NIL money through maybe corporate sponsors or some other means to help retain players and entice future recruits to strongly consider Bradley. Curious to see how this hopefully makes BU stronger in attracting players we need.
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The athletic department had better get their act together now. The future of our ability to attract top players just shifted squarely into their lap, and I have not been impressed with them the past few years.
 
Braves4Life said:
The athletic department had better get their act together now. The future of our ability to attract top players just shifted squarely into their lap, and I have not been impressed with them the past few years.
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I think the Athletic Department and the school sees what they need to do to stay competitive. They will do what's right
 
I am waiting to see what players we are able to get before renewing my season tickets of 57 years. I am looking to see how much the University is willing to invest before making my decision. My expectations are that they put a team on the floor capable of winning championships period, their fans are the best supporters by far in the valley and they need to reward that by their actions.
 
Da Coach said:
I have already renewed. Coach Wardle has shown he is dedicated to recruiting quality players with great character. And he is a very good coach. There is not a better show in town.
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Well said! But I can also understand Tomahawk's perspective. The game and the behind-the-scenes part of it adds a great dimension. I am happy that Wardle has retained more players than any other MVC school the past few seasons, and have faith he will continue to as much as within his control...and pursue student-athletes who are high on staying with the program for 2-3 seasons...in rare cases all 4 years! It's hard to know what it feels like to be in Bully's position. We all are very passionate about BU hoops and committed as fans to the program, which is likely not shared by most college athletes - especially those who have not been around BU hoops through high school and before.
 
Da Coach said:
I have already renewed. Coach Wardle has shown he is dedicated to recruiting quality players with great character. And he is a very good coach. There is not a better show in town.
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I agree but the big question in my mind is if Bradley can't compete with the NIL money how long before Coach gets a better offer and leaves?
 
Gonzaga is a private school, isn’t in a P5 conference, doesn’t play football and isn’t in a media hot market. I wonder how they get ranked and in the NCAA year after year.
 
Da Coach said:
I have already renewed. Coach Wardle has shown he is dedicated to recruiting quality players with great character. And he is a very good coach. There is not a better show in town
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Coach Wardle is very competitive. He wants a winner more than any of us. He will do what it takes to bring good teams to Bradley
 
tomahawk chop said:
I am waiting to see what players we are able to get before renewing my season tickets of 57 years. I am looking to see how much the University is willing to invest before making my decision. My expectations are that they put a team on the floor capable of winning championships period, their fans are the best supporters by far in the valley and they need to reward that by their actions.
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Thats amazing that you have supported this team for that long. You’ve seen a lot more than most of us. I’ve been following the team for 40 years. I honestly believe the most entertaining basketball I’ve seen has been in the last 6-8 year. There is consistency in the quality of play, reputable young men playing, and for the most part, little off the court drama.

We’re never going to have a program that can compete in the top 25, and top 50 would be a stretch. The money isn’t there. I was watching the Illini last night and the announcers talked about how the assistant coaches traveled to 40 countries over two years to find the international players they brought in. I’m pretty sure coach is limited to watch video on the internet and video chats with potential recruits.

Unfortunately it’s a much different environment than it was when you first started watch Bradley basketball. Personally, consistently having a 20 win season, a few exciting upsets in our favor, and finishing in the top 4 in valley is a good year.
 
carter said:
I agree but the big question in my mind is if Bradley can't compete with the NIL money how long before Coach gets a better offer and leaves?
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This is my concern as well. I wouldn't be surprised if Wardle's agent isn't shopping around right now for a comparable contract with a school that has a stable NIL program. If the athletic department drops the ball with this change we're going to see a bunch of lunch bucket players on the floor.
 
I'm hoping the 300 or so non-power schools form their own amateur version of NCAA..
and have their own playoffs - and let the big money pros play separately...

I'm sure the P-5's will succeed and make a lot of money but the total number of fans of the
300 non-P-5's probably outnumbers them and I think they'd still have success and the mid-major fans would actually
see some fairness in that, plus they'd save millions not trying to chase an unattainable level of success.
 
yoda said:
I'm hoping the 300 or so non-power schools form their own amateur version of NCAA..
and have their own playoffs - and let the big money pros play separately...

I'm sure the P-5's will succeed and make a lot of money but the total number of fans of the
300 non-P-5's probably outnumbers them and I think they'd still have success and the mid-major fans would actually
see some fairness in that, plus they'd save millions not trying to chase an unattainable level of success.
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Here is what I don't understand. When the NCAA puts up a bill for everyone to vote on. How does the bills that are bad for mid-majors get voted in. The Power conferences are in a minority compared to the over 300 mid-majors. Majority should rule
 
Crashdavis said:
P5 schools have enough money they can pay the bench players and keep them out of the mid majors roster…
Action needs to happen
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that's why they expanded rostrers from 13 to 15 so they could hoard and stockpile more players and keep them from the mid-majors
 
Bradley8792 said:
Unfortunately it’s a much different environment than it was when you first started watch Bradley basketball. Personally, consistently having a 20 win season, a few exciting upsets in our favor, and finishing in the top 4 in valley is a good year.
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Sometimes we are so hungry to either win Arch Madness or get better after every season that we forget to reflect on how consistently good we've been since 2022...also nice to see the development of players who stay at BU for 3 or 4 years, which is a rarity at any D-1 school nowadays.

The regular season the 3 years prior to this one sure have been fun to watch as you pointed out, and even this past season was enjoyable the 2nd half of the Valley reg. season to find our way to the #2 seed!

So much up in the air right now, but heck yeah - another Top 3 conf. finish (as we've accomplished 4 yrs straight) and 20+ wins by the time Arch Madness ends would be NICE. The non-conference season anymore is to see how the BU team comes together in prep for the Valley season.
Hopefully being the 2nd year with our new coaching staff will help.

THANK YOU for the reminder to look at the positives during this time of uncertainty (bracing for players to possibly enter the portal this week) as I have been down (sports-wise) since my 1st ever Arch Madness trip. It's hard to be a fan of mid major hoops with NIL and the inevitability of not being considered for an At-Large bid, as the cards are stacked against us. We can still aim high within reason!

And we'll keep holding our heads high as the Bradley fan support still goes STRONG and is the cream of the crop at the top of the Valley!
 
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