The Bradley Clocktowers won’t be a reality – at least not for a while.
University President Joanne Glasser and her cabinet decided last week not to make a decision on Student Senate’s mascot search proposal.
“There was a fair deal of support for the concept,” said Alan Galsky, vice president for student affairs. “We just decided to delay the decision.”
The administration cited three reasons for the delay. The first is that the university is getting ready to embark on a major marketing campaign that will include advertisements and an overhaul of the university’s brand image.
“It would be helpful to a mascot search committee to know if the university is going in a particular direction,” Galsky said. “We’ve waited so long to choose a mascot, it makes sense to wait [for questions about marketing to be answered].”
The second reason administration cited for the delay is that Bradley is up for NCAA re-accredidation soon. The college athletics organization could hand down stricter regulations for schools, including Bradley, that want to keep their Native American-referencing nicknames and/or mascots.
“The re-accredidation will play a major role in the mascot search,” Galsky said. “We don’t know if they’ll allow us to keep it or if they’ll impose different regulations … and it would be helpful to us to get an answer [before starting a mascot search].”
The third cause of delay is that the Athletic Department isn’t sure what the floor of the Athletic Performance Arena will look like.
“[Director of Athletics] Mike Cross has looked at revisions for the floor of the arena,” Galsky said.
That reason, though, is the lesser of the three, but still something that needed to be considered before a mascot search could be started.
Despite the delay, which may last several years, Galsky said there is support among the alumni, administration and students for a new mascot.
Student Body President Kyle Malinowski, who campaigned on the mascot issue and was one of the authors of the resolution, wasn’t pleased about the administration’s decision.
“My initial reaction was one of disappointment because, from my perspective and the perspective of my fellow student body officers and Student Senate, this would be a fantastic time to begin the process,” he said. “The rationale the university has provided does have some legitimacy, and they were factors not originally considered when having the discussion.”
Despite the delay, Malinowski said he remains hopeful the process can begin sooner rather than later.
“The Student Senate has taken the explanation from the administration and is currently in discussion as to how to proceed,” he added.
