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unipanther99 wrote:I've heard this said a fair amount lately and I really wonder if it's true. What does Bradley have that other schools don't? New facilities? Sort of with the women's/practice gym, but Carver is really starting to show it's age. Million dollar coach? Not as far as I can tell. Recruiting advantage? You might think so, but it doesn't seem to be paying off.

Cdizzle wrote:

unipanther99 wrote:

Cdizzle wrote:Bradley, to me, is the key to the Valley ever gaining a consistent meaningful presence on the national scene.

I've heard this said a fair amount lately and I really wonder if it's true. What does Bradley have that other schools don't? New facilities? Sort of with the women's/practice gym, but Carver is really starting to show it's age. Million dollar coach? Not as far as I can tell. Recruiting advantage? You might think so, but it doesn't seem to be paying off. Do the television networks salivate over televising a basketball game in Peoria over Cedar Falls or Springfield? I doubt it. Is their budget bigger than other conference schools in some meaningful way? Not as far as I can tell.

They have some history, and that's great. But other than that --- why do we need them to be a consistent winner anymore than UNI, MSU, Drake, or the ISU's?

MBB Expenses:

WSU - $5.4M
Bradley - $3.8M
Drake -$2.6M
ISU Red - $2.4M
UNI - $2.4M
Loyola - $2.4M
Evansville - $2.3M
MSU - $2.1M
ISU Blue - $1.7M
SIU - $1.5M

SOURCE: http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/index.aspx

^^^Credit SHOCKvalue from a Shockernet thread^^^

Fan support. Money. You hit the nail on the head, they may not have a million dollar coach, but they were willing to shell out for that coach anyway. They are willing to spend money at a time of little success. If they can ever put together a winner and draw back their traditionally strong fan base, their budget would increase even more.

I'm not advocating that other programs aren't also important. A team like UNI finding a good coach that is willing to stick around at the salary they can afford is huge for the league. But that sort of program is going to be cyclical. It may not have terrible downs associated with a coaching change, but it seems pretty evident that UNI is going to be solid most years, and throw out a league and at-large contender every 3-4 years. The league needs a consistent presence in the T25, and I think Bradley, because of their realized and potential resources provide the next best option for that to happen.

PantherSigEp wrote:

Cdizzle wrote:
MBB Expenses:

WSU - $5.4M
Bradley - $3.8M
Drake -$2.6M
ISU Red - $2.4M
UNI - $2.4M
Loyola - $2.4M
Evansville - $2.3M
MSU - $2.1M
ISU Blue - $1.7M
SIU - $1.5M

SOURCE: http://ope.ed.gov/athletics/index.aspx

^^^Credit SHOCKvalue from a Shockernet thread^^^

Fan support. Money. You hit the nail on the head, they may not have a million dollar coach, but they were willing to shell out for that coach anyway. They are willing to spend money at a time of little success. If they can ever put together a winner and draw back their traditionally strong fan base, their budget would increase even more.

I'm not advocating that other programs aren't also important. A team like UNI finding a good coach that is willing to stick around at the salary they can afford is huge for the league. But that sort of program is going to be cyclical. It may not have terrible downs associated with a coaching change, but it seems pretty evident that UNI is going to be solid most years, and throw out a league and at-large contender every 3-4 years. The league needs a consistent presence in the T25, and I think Bradley, because of their realized and potential resources provide the next best option for that to happen.

Sorry but I'm not buying that a bigger Bradley budget will equal more success. They're already 2nd and as far as I can tell, still lagging behind just about everyone who isn't a private school. It's been that way for some time too