PEORIA, Ill. -- The Bradley men's basketball team is putting a second public exhibition game back into the schedule prior to the start of the 2011-12 season. After co-hosting the annual Red-White Scrimmage with the women's basketball team, the Bradley men will play two public exhibition games against college competition for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
The Red-White Scrimmage will be played Oct. 18 at Renaissance Coliseum and the Braves will host NCAA Division II Wisconsin-Parkside Nov. 1, also at Renaissance Coliseum, followed by an exhibition game versus NCAA Division III College of Wooster Nov. 8 at Carver Arena. The game against Wooster will be the first in Bradley's 2011-12 Carver Arena season ticket package and will be first-year head coach Geno Ford's first game in the downtown Peoria Civic Center complex.
Tickets to both the Red-White Scrimmage and the first exhibition game versus Wisconsin-Parkside will be included in the 2011-12 Renaissance Coliseum Personal Seat Option plan, which guarantees the same seat for PSO owners for all ticketed Bradley Athletics events in the arena, as well as the right to buy tickets in their reserved seats for all other outside events, excluding commencement ceremonies. Individual tickets for the three preseason events, which will go on sale later this fall, will be $5 for the Red-White Scrimmage, $10 for the exhibition versus Wisconsin-Parkside and will range from $8-20, based on location, for the Nov. 8 game versus Wooster.
Including the nine Missouri Valley Conference home games still to be determined by the league office, Bradley will play 18 preseason and regular-season home games during the 2011-12 season, equaling the most home games for the Braves in one season since the 1955-56 team played 18 regular-season games at Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse -- Bradley also played two preseason and 16 regular-season home games in both the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons, but never more than a combination of 17 preseason and regular-season home games from 1956-2006.
Starting in 1994, Bradley played two public exhibition games during each preseason and until Robertson Memorial Fieldhouse was demolished in the spring of 2008, the Braves hosted one of those two preseason games on campus and one at Carver Arena. During each of the last two years, however, Bradley played only one public exhibition, replacing the second game with a closed scrimmage against another NCAA Division I team.
The Braves are 54-14 (.794) all-time in exhibition games, including a 19-2 (.905) mark against other collegiate programs. Bradley has dropped two of its last three preseason exhibitions, however, falling to Wisconsin-Platteville, 84-79, Nov. 9, 2008 at Carver Arena and to Quincy, 86-80, Nov. 6, 2010 at Renaissance Coliseum.
