This summer, four Bradley athletics department members moved on to new jobs. From coaches to trainers and even administrators, the 2014-2015 school year will see a lot of faces in new places for Bradley athletics.
Chris Williams
Texas Tech University
Hired in April 2012, Chris Williams served as the director of athletic training for Bradley Athletics after two years as assis- tant athletic trainer at Florida State University. Williams boasts five years of professional experience working as an athletic trainer. He was familiar with Braves men’s basketball coach Geno Ford, as Williams was the assistant athletic trainer at Kent State University when Ford was the coach of Kent State’s men’s basketball team. Williams also spent time with the New England Patriots sports med- icine staff, completing a year-long internship from May 2008- June 2009. At Texas Tech University, Williams will serve as athletic trainer for the Red Raider’s men’s basketball team.
Marc Burns
University of Missouri
On July 1, 2010, Marc Burns was named head coach of the Braves cross country program and also became the track and field coach when the program was reinstated in 2012. A graduate from Loyola University in Chicago, Burns began his coaching career with the Ramblers and coached them for a decade starting in 1996. Burns even had a stint with Bradley’s Missouri Valley Conference rival Wichita State, where he was named women’s cross country coach of the year four times (2006-2009). In his tenure on the Hilltop, Burns had eight all-MVC cross country runners, 17 all-MVC track runners, coached five MVC champion run- ners and one NCAA champion- ship qualifier. Under Burns, the Braves broke 13 Bradley school records. He joins the staff at the University of Missouri as head coach of the Tiger’s women’s cross-country team.
Tim Gray
Meadowood Napa Valley Resort
Gray lasted only one year on the Hilltop, and it wasn’t a very good one. However, that wouldn’t seem to be the case given his resume as a tennis coach. A grad- uate from Washington College, Gray both played and coached at his alma mater. As the coach of the Shoremen, Gray led the team to an NCAA Division III national champion in 1994 and the runner up spot in the 1995 NCAA Division III tournament. Individually, he coached Division III singles national champions in 1994 and 1995 and the Division III doubles national champion in 1994. Following a stint coaching the Eastern Michigan women’s ten- nis team, he was hired at Auburn University to coach women’s ten- nis, where the Tigers made three straight Division I NCAA tourna- ment appearances. Following his short tenure on the Hilltop, Gray has relocated out to Napa Valley, CA, where he teaches tennis at the Meadowood Napa Valley resort.
Tessi Taylor
University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign
The compliance department at Bradley said goodbye over the summer to Tessi Taylor. Taylor, who was the Braves assistant ath- letic director for compliance, han- dled eligibility for Bradley student- athletes. Taylor received her first position in the field of compliance with Hawaii Pacific University as the compliance coordinator and business manager in 2005, but then left in July 2006 to be assistant compliance coordinator for Illinois State University, where she had received her master’s degree in kinesiology in 2004. Taylor leaves Bradley for the University of Illinois as the grant-in-aid special- ist. In her place, Bradley graduate Grant Escue has been hired.
