The Bradley Braves are the intercollegiate athletics teams of Bradley University, located in
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria Metropolitan Area in Ce ...
, United States. The Braves' athletic program is a member of the
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest.
History
The MVC was established ...
(MVC) and competes at the
NCAA Division I
NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest level of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athleti ...
level. The Bradley mascot is Kaboom! the Gargoyle, and the school colors are red and white.
Sports sponsored
Bradley Polytechnic Institute opened its doors in the fall of 1897, and the school fielded a football team in that first fall and a baseball team in the spring of 1898. Men's basketball debuted in 1902–03 with no coach and no home court, but was destined to become Bradley's most successful team; over the years, the Braves have played in 34 post-season tournaments, winning the
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York Cit ...
(NIT) four times and being runners-up in the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest.
History
The MVC was established ...
, Bradley University sponsors teams in seven men's and eight women's
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...
sanctioned sports. Bradley is the only NCAA Division I school that sponsors men's but not women's soccer.
Men's basketball
Bradley is best known for its college basketball success. Bradley has been to nine NCAA tournaments, including two national championship games, three Elite 8s, and four Sweet 16s. Bradley has an overall NCAA Tournament record of 11–9.
Bradley has been to the NIT 21 times and won it four times. Their postseason NIT record is 25–18. Only one school (St. Johns, 27 times) has been to more NITs, or won it more times (St. John's, 6 times).
Years in NIT - 1938, 1939 (third), 1947, 1949 (fourth), 1950 (second), 1957 (won), 1958, 1959 (second), 1960 (won), 1962, 1964 (won), 1965, 1968, 1982 (won), 1985, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1999, 2001, and 2007
The Braves basketball squad was incidentally co-featured in a 1955 ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...
'' article focusing on their cheerleaders. The two-page spread, heavy with photographs taken at a tournament in New Orleans, Louisiana, keyed in on the enthusiasm and school spirit of the coeds. Perhaps as irony, Bradley's basketball team, in action vs. Holy Cross, was shot as background for their avid supporters. Holy Cross defeated the Braves in this game, 89–81.
The Braves basketball team's current head coach is Brian Wardle. He became the program's 14th head coach in history in 2015 and led the Braves men's basketball team to the NCAA Tournament in 2019. This came as a surprise because the Braves finished 5th out of 10 teams in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2019. They finished with a 9-9 conference record but went on to win the conference tournament, giving the Braves the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Football
The Bradley football program was initiated in 1897, concomitant with the school's founding; three games were played by the fledgling squad, resulting in an 0–3 record. The Braves continued to field a gridiron team every year, with exception of the interruption of World War II (1943–1945), through the 1970 season. Upon the retirement of head coach Billy Stone, coupled with other considerations, the football program was at that point discontinued. The team played its games at Peoria Stadium.
Renaissance Coliseum
Renaissance Coliseum is a multi-purpose athletic facility at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. Renaissance Coliseum houses athletic offices, practice, training/conditioning facilities, the athletics hall of fame and other features. Adjacent ...
Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium (), formally known as William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park, Queens, New York City.
Renaissance Coliseum
Renaissance Coliseum is a multi-purpose athletic facility at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois. Renaissance Coliseum houses athletic offices, practice, training/conditioning facilities, the athletics hall of fame and other features. Adjacent ...
Braves in the pros
Basketball
*
Chet Anderson
Chester Leonard "Chet" Anderson Jr. (March 14, 1945 – March 14, 2007) was a professional American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport pla ...
*
Bob Carney
Robert Lee Carney (August 3, 1932 – November 9, 2011) was an American basketball player.
He played in West Aurora High School and collegiately for Bradley University.
He was selected by the Milwaukee Hawks in the 6th round (47th pick overall ...
* Danny Granger, played basketball at Bradley; later transferred to New Mexico before playing in the NBA
*
Hersey Hawkins
Hersey R. Hawkins Jr. (born September 29, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player. After starring at Chicago's Westinghouse High School, the 6'3" (1.90 m) shooting guard attended Bradley University. Hawkins played for 4 teams ...
*
Patrick O'Bryant
Patrick Fitzgerald O'Bryant (born June 20, 1986) is an American-Central African former professional basketball player. The , center was selected out of Bradley University by the Golden State Warriors with the 9th overall pick in the 2006 NBA draf ...
*
Anthony Parker
Anthony Michael Parker (born June 19, 1975) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA), as well as in Italy and Israel. He is one of the most beloved and successful players in Ma ...
Jim Lindeman
James William Lindeman (born January 10, 1962) is a former Major League Baseball player. He played mostly in the outfield and at first base, appearing in parts of nine seasons in the majors from 1986 until 1994.
Professional career
He was the S ...
Bryan Rekar
Bryan Robert Rekar (born June 3, 1972) is a former American professional baseball pitcher who played for the Colorado Rockies, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, and Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) during an 8-year career.
Career Colorado R ...
*
Rob Scahill
Robert Joseph Scahill (born February 15, 1987) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Colorado Rockies, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago White Sox.
Career Colorado Rockies
Scahill atten ...
Mike Tauchman
Michael Robert Tauchman (born December 3, 1990) is an American professional baseball outfielder who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Colorado Rockies, New York Yankees, and San Francisco Giants, and in the KB ...
*
Bill Tuttle
William Robert Tuttle (July 4, 1929 – July 27, 1998) was an American professional baseball player. Primarily a center fielder, he appeared in 1,270 games played in Major League Baseball over 11 seasons for the Detroit Tigers (1952; –1957 ...
Don Carothers
Donald E. "Crutch" Carothers (May 13, 1934 – September 19, 2008) was an American football offensive end who played one season with the Denver Broncos of the American Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals in the tenth ro ...
Bryan Namoff
Bryan may refer to:
Places United States
* Bryan, Arkansas
* Bryan, Kentucky
* Bryan, Ohio
* Bryan, Texas
* Bryan, Wyoming, a ghost town in Sweetwater County in the U.S. state of Wyoming
* Bryan Township (disambiguation)
Facilities and structu ...
*
Tim Regan
Tim Regan (born June 27, 1981) is a former American soccer defender.
College
Regan played college soccer at Bradley University from 1999 to 2002, where he established himself as one of the best players in the program's history. After starting ...
Mascot History
Bradley University has gone through a couple mascot changes through its lengthy history as a school. Its athletic teams first started going by the Braves around the 1930s when famed athletic director and coach A.J. Robertson supported a name that separated them from schools who used 'Indians' instead. From then on the schools has kept the name Braves despite the mascot changes.
The school originally started out with a Native American mascot who donned the full costume and typical props. Going by 'Chief Bradley', the mascot stood side-by-side with a hawk mascot in the following years and went by 'Tommy Hawk'.
After students, faculty, and alumni started to plead with the university, and the NCAA started to crack down on Native American imagery, Bradley dropped all Native American-related merchandise and images from the school, including mascots and offensive logos in 1992. They then introduced a bobcat mascot. The mascot was not around for long as a connection to the university, and a lack of support led to its official demise in 2000 when the school dropped the bobcat.
From 2000 to 2014, Bradley had no mascot. That is until on February 22, 2014, Bradley officially introduced its new mascot: a Gargoyle named KaBoom!. The mascot represents the mythical creatures that sit atop Bradley Hall and now the Hayden-Clark Alumni Center as well. It was given the name KaBoom! after the iconic call that insinuates from Dave Snell, Bradley basketball's play-by-play announcer, after a dunk.
Fan Zone
The Red Sea is the Bradley Athletics official student section. The Red Sea membership, currently, is $75 and it covers all four years the student attends Bradley. When you become a member you are able to receive tickets to every home men's basketball game, which are available to pick up during the organization's "Table Times" in Bradley's Student Center or at the Ticket Office located in the Renaissance Coliseum. For non-member students, they will have to pay a dollar. Members also receive a Red Sea T-shirt as well as other giveaways that occur throughout the school year. Only members get to attend pizza and poster parties where they can interact with the board members of the Red Sea as well as some athletes from various sports. Red Sea partners with the Student Activities Budget Review Committee every semester to get funded that allows the Red Sea to have multiple giveaways each semester. Members have the opportunity to join the executive board, which gives them a chance to communicate with the athletes and coaches to see how they can help each other for their upcoming season as well as provide ideas and designs for future giveaways. The Red Sea is part of, and in charge of, the Shea Brigade, at Shea Stadium, which was created in the spring semester of 2015. This is a student section, located behind the goal, for anyone who would like to cheer on the Bradley Braves soccer team.