If the definition of insanity truly is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results, it may be time to have Bradley’s athletic department institutionalized.
For the most part, 2014 was not a banner year in Bradley athletics. Sure, the softball team won the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament, which is no small feat.
The cross-country team ran extremely well in the fall and probably should have qualified for the NCAA championships.
Outside of those two sports, however, Bradley’s athletic teams struggled. Both men’s and women’s basketball suffered early tournament exits last March, and neither team has shown much of anything this season that would give anyone on campus cause for optimism.
The Bradley baseball team got off to a hot start last season, winning 13 of their first 16 games after defeating Illinois-Springfield in March. The team would win just 11 of its final 35 after that point.
Auston Barnes’ arrest and the mass exodus from the administration didn’t exactly leave fans with a warm, fuzzy feeling over summer vacation, and when the school year started, the teams themselves did little to help.
Bradley’s soccer team, normally one of the best in the country, performed below expectations last year, failing to win ten games in a season for just the fifth time under the leadership of 19th-year coach Jim DeRose.
No team has displayed more ineptitude during the year than the volleyball team, who won just two games last season despite qualifying for the MVC tournament the year before.
Despite the disappointing performances, not one change has been made by the administration.
The coaches for the above teams have already either been told they will be returning or, in the case of Geno Ford and Michael Brooks, are currently in-season.
Kirk Wessler of the PJ Star cited “multiple sources” that told him coach Ford was given a contract extension after the 2012-2013 season, his only season at Bradley with a winning record. Bradley won’t confirm this, as it is university policy to not publicize employee contracts.
Why on earth were no changes made? Is Bradley happy with the status quo; with rising expectations as programs are hyped only to fall flat and disappoint fans yet again?
We sit just past the halfway point in the basketball season, and neither the men’s nor the women’s team have shown anything that would lead me to believe their fortunes could change.
Bradley’s men’s team kept up with Wichita State early, sure. But their absolute collapse in the second half does more to show where the program is right now than their first half performance.
The women’s team blew out the University of Missouri, a team that beat them soundly last season, for their first win of the season nearly two months ago. They have won exactly one game since.
Make whatever excuses you want. Yes, the men’s team has dealt with injuries and yes, the women’s team is young. But there comes a point where fans have to say enough is enough from all of Bradley’s teams, and begin pointing toward the administration to make changes for the better.
If they aren’t willing to do so, maybe it’s time to make changes in the administration. President Glasser has announced her retirement at the end of the year, so perhaps her replacement will make changes. Or maybe they won’t.
All I know is 2015 is a new year. Hopefully it will bring a new attitude toward Bradley’s athletic situation, so fans young and old aren’t forced to endure another year like 2014.
