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Bradley completely shut out of MVC television package

I can't dispute some of the bragging points on Dr. Cross' resume....
in his tenure (11 years) at Princeton their athletic teams won twenty four National Championships and 153 Ivy League titles!
http://www.bradleybraves.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=3400&ATCLID=205412697

Then upon his arrival here about 4 years ago - he made the promise that Bradley would be competing regularly for championships...
LINK, LINK, LINK
I don't say it's all his fault but we're certainly no closer to the goal now than before - and in some ways - our premier sport is as far down as it has ever been...a four-year stretch. Other sports aren't much better, except for soccer.

All I can say is that BU fans are very patient but I don't think we have any Championships or even league titles yet...except in the one sport that was already winning them regularly all the way back to the 90's (soccer).

I guess I am stumped - if fans want success, want what was promised, want what every school strives for - championships - then why are the fans who ask for this level of success either ignored or attacked?
 
In lieu of a robust TV package, perhaps BU should go all out to support a streaming platform (this year's upgrades are a great start) that includes mobile devices and set top boxes? This would have a much stronger potential of reaching younger people, as this is the way they consume their media now. They do not sit in front of a TV set anymore on a schedule dictated to them by a network. Of course, it would need to be free, at least to start, but the hope is that winning would eventually allow them to charge for it/add advertising revenue.

We may just need to get used to the fact that the marque leagues, and other entertainment content, will command the TV time, and find a way around it, as right or wrong as that may be. Obviously the current path of hoping for TV time and not getting it isn't working.

Oh, and did I mention that none of this matters if we aren't winning?
 
battlebasset said:
In lieu of a robust TV package, perhaps BU should go all out to support a streaming platform (this year's upgrades are a great start) that includes mobile devices and set top boxes? This would have a much stronger potential of reaching younger people, as this is the way they consume their media now. They do not sit in front of a TV set anymore on a schedule dictated to them by a network. Of course, it would need to be free, at least to start, but the hope is that winning would eventually allow them to charge for it/add advertising revenue.
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You nailed it.

None of my 3 kids watch much TV in traditional the sense. MACs, iPads, and iPhones is how they consume a majority of their media and entertainment.
 
Old Coach said:
You nailed it.

None of my 3 kids watch much TV in traditional the sense. MACs, iPads, and iPhones is how they consume a majority of their media and entertainment.
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My daughter just started college this year (not BU). She doesn't even have a TV. Only one in the dorm hooked up to cable is in the common room on the main floor. She does, however, have a laptop and an iPhone.

Oh, another thing - with the free BU BBall internet feed, let every bar know that they are welcome to show it, and give them easy to follow instructions as to how to do it. Give away some free set top boxes (less than $40 a piece) and hook them up on their biggest projection and/or flat screen, and help them advertise it. You can run messages during the time outs of how to watch/follow BU on your tablet or smart phone to expose further potential live game attendees, and convert them into paying fans.

Got to start trying something new!
 
battlebasset said:
My daughter just started college this year (not BU). She doesn't even have a TV. Only one in the dorm hooked up to cable is in the common room on the main floor. She does, however, have a laptop and an iPhone.

Oh, another thing - with the free BU BBall internet feed, let every bar know that they are welcome to show it, and give them easy to follow instructions as to how to do it. Give away some free set top boxes (less than $40 a piece) and hook them up on their biggest projection and/or flat screen, and help them advertise it. You can run messages during the time outs of how to watch/follow BU on your tablet or smart phone to expose further potential live game attendees, and convert them into paying fans.

Got to start trying something new!
Click to expand...

My college age son (also not BU) has a 32" TV in his room but it's only hooked to his Xbox.
 
battlebasset - I have no problem with going gaga over all the digital stuff and getting the young people involved - but as I had noted in other threads...
I interact with dozens and dozens of the older folks and lifelong Bradley fans and the thing I hear over, and over, and over...
is that the older folks feel totally left out - even to the point of being insulted..

Now you have to remember - these are largely the people who have been season ticket holders for decades and long time financial supporters of Bradley...

but many feel their season tickets were grabbed and taken from them even tho they have faithfully paid exactly what was perennially asked of them in costs, maintainence, and many even gave well above that - yet they were told their seats were being taken away and sold to someone else who, it appears, bid a bit higher for those nice seats...

These same long time fans used to love those early season events - the Itoo Supper, tailgates, open practices, etc., they used to love getting the nice glossy media guide telling them all about the players, the upcoming season and the games..they felt like they were special to the program because they really saw that their allegiance was valued and was coveted...
but then when games get shifted to the RC and it is unfamiliar territory and weekend & Saturday night games have largely disappeared & the few we have are obscure, unfamiliar opponents - then it's a no-brainer that many just take a pass.
I have even heard numerous complaints that nobody has yet seen a simple pocket schedule that folks can tuck into a wallet or pin to bulletin board so they know when the games are ...

If you want to know why the arena is way less than half filled, when it used to packed to the rafters, then go ask a few of the people who have simply given up..
 
tornado said:
...If you want to know why the arena is way less than half filled, when it used to packed to the rafters, then go ask a few of the people who have simply given up..
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Tornado - Hear you loud and clear. I was not fortunate enough to spend any time in Peoria beyond my college years, but I can imagine if I had spent as much time following Braves BBall as much as some of the older fans have, I would feel slighted if I thought I was being ignored or pushed aside.

BU needs to address that, but at the same time, we need to figure out ways to engage additional/new/younger fans, who don't seem to be invested in this team at all. I'm just trying to add my two cents on how to reach them, and the current old-school method of hoping for TV time when you are a mid-major team that has not been to the big dance since 2006 just isn't getting it done. I've still got at least 10 years before I can retire, but (and my wife thinks I'm nuts) when I look for places in Florida, one of the requirements is that it be near one of the cities that has direct flights to Peoria, so I can go see as many games in person as possible. But there still needs to be a team playing in 10, 20, and 30 years. The only way that happens is to continue to grow the fan base, young, old, and everything in between. And for new fans to know about it, we have to make it easy for them to find it.
 
Bradley sports dept. is doing a lousy job of marketing the program. They want to build a winning tradition in all the sports but to do that you have to start with the basics and work up from there. They dont seem to have a clue on how to appeal to the community. I had 4 groups of people sitting around me that i just found out they did not renew their tickets. I dont think you can blame it all on the team not winning. I think it is due to the lackluster do it my way or no way attitude they have right now from the tickets to the TV package to the Itoo Hall get together. Little things but they add up to upsetting your basketball following. They had better get their head out of their ***** or the program wil become second rate. It wont be becasue the team developed that way it will be because the administration forced it that way
 
bradleyfan124 said:
Bradley sports dept. is doing a lousy job of marketing the program. They want to build a winning tradition in all the sports but to do that you have to start with the basics and work up from there. They dont seem to have a clue on how to appeal to the community. I had 4 groups of people sitting around me that i just found out they did not renew their tickets. I dont think you can blame it all on the team not winning. I think it is due to the lackluster do it my way or no way attitude they have right now from the tickets to the TV package to the Itoo Hall get together. Little things but they add up to upsetting your basketball following. They had better get their head out of their ***** or the program wil become second rate. It wont be becasue the team developed that way it will be because the administration forced it that way
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Agree 100%. The Itoo get together was always the function that really started the season for most fans, the very young, young and old time fans like myself. IMO, the folks in charge now don't know, or seem to care, how much Bradley basketball and their players mean to this community. As someone who saw games as far back as the Armory days I can tell you that win or lose Bradley fans always supported their team and that seems to be changing.
 
An Open Letter to Mike Cross and President Glasser

An Open Letter to Mike Cross and President Glasser

Mike Cross & President Glasser...I am very curious. Do you ever read the threads on this message board?
1. Do you truly care about what is happening to BU Basketball or do you have your own agenda and are not really interested in what our remaining and rapidly diminishing fan base thinks?
2. Do you have any concern about the lack of a good TV package and what, if anything, are you doing to resolve this TV situation?
3. Why have you completely ignored the continued pleas of BU fans for better preseason events such as the ITOO hall dinner, a good Red & White game at Carver, open practices, etc.
4. Do you understand that BU fans do not like going to games in the RC. Bad seats, long parking lines, angry season ticket holders who are left out, etc. Stop trying to FORCE FEED us into your building for games!
5. No billboards, pocket schedules, or press guides for those of us who support BU financially.
6. Weak early season pre-conference opponents.

Please do not ignore what is being said by fans on this message board if you care at all about the future of the Bradley Basketball Program.
 
Would love to see an open response but I'm not holding my breath. Guess all we can do is keep supporting the coaches and players because they deserve better than 5000 fans a game.
 
Judging from communication I have had from the AD, they are very much aware of what is being said by fans on the bulletin boards, though I do not think Dr. Cross or Pres. Glasser spend much time personally reading them. The impression I have gotten is that they really don't think it represents the opinions most fans and most of it is ignored. They have their own personal vision for Bradley and feel the outside consultants like Nelligan are the best way to achieve it.

But they do seem to react to some things. After there were a few fans who commented about the lack of pocket schedules at early season events, some schedules were produced and were available at the Renaissance Coliseum.
 
Da Coach said:
Judging from communication I have had from the AD, they are very much aware of what is being said by fans on the bulletin boards, though I do not think Dr. Cross or Pres. Glasser spend much time personally reading them. The impression I have gotten is that they really don't think it represents the opinions most fans and most of it is ignored. They have their own personal vision for Bradley and feel the outside consultants like Nelligan are the best way to achieve it.

But they do seem to react to some things. After there were a few fans who commented about the lack of pocket schedules at early season events, some schedules were produced and were available at the Renaissance Coliseum.
Click to expand...

The general reliance on outside consultants and belief they are way more informed/intelligent than internal employees is a huge frustration of mine in the current corporate world. There is without a doubt a time and place for consultants, they generally have very selective interviewing processes, usually much moreso than the company that requests the consulting services and the consultants will work far longer hours. But to assume they are smarter and better is lazy and cop-out for business leaders. They can provide good insight and are great for process development and benchmarking but they have no background knowledge including customer relations, current restrictions, etc.

I'm all about bringing in objective eyes, etc. But IMO the reliance on consultants in this case is laziness and the need to have a built in scapegoat when stuff goes wrong/when fans have backlash...
 
For the sake of clarity, the Nelligan folks are not merely consultants, but will house permanent, full-time employees within Bradley's athletic department. Nelligan's peers in the industry are folks like IMG and Learfield Sports. Most major university athletic departments have agreements with these types of firms (i.e. Illinois and Notre Dame, locally).
 
Since when does a mid major basketball program that always draws over 10,000 or more fans a game need a consulting firm? Looking at the results I would have to say "you're fired."
 
There's a few mid-majors that have done remarkably well and left a lot of other mid-majors in the dust...
Wichita State, Creighton, VCU, Butler, SLU, FGCU, etc....someone give them a call and find out what they've been doing and who they hired...
 
tornado said:
There's a few mid-majors that have done remarkably well and left a lot of other mid-majors in the dust...
Wichita State, Creighton, VCU, Butler, SLU, FGCU, etc....someone give them a call and find out what they've been doing and who they hired...
Click to expand...

Do you think they hired a consulting firm for their basketball program?
 
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