Dr. Chris Reynolds Receives Contract Extension

Bradley University Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Completing His Sixth Year with the Braves

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications General 4/15/2021 11:15:00 AM

PEORIA, IL – Having overseen an unprecedented run of competitive success during the first six years of his leadership, Bradley University has extended the contract for Dr. Chris Reynolds, Vice-President for Intercollegiate Athletics. Specific terms of the contract will not be made public.

Reynolds became Bradley's 10th director of athletics March 17, 2015 and has steered the Braves to across-the-board success in competition, in the classroom and in the community, while also representing Bradley University on the national stage.

"Chris is a world-class athletic director who is regularly recognized by his peers," said Bradley University President Stephen Standifird. "He's also an important campus leader as a core member of the strategic leadership team at Bradley. He has quickly become a great partner for me and a valued advisor in how to take what is strong about Bradley University and make it even stronger."

"I am greatly appreciative of the confidence President Standifird and our Board of Trustees have shown in me," said Reynolds. "Serving our extraordinary student-athletes has been an honor and I look forward to continuing our work in striving to develop the leaders of tomorrow."

Recently announced a 2021 recipient of the Athletics Director of the Year Award by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, Reynolds is the first Missouri Valley Conference athletics director to serve on the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Committee, having just completed his third of a five-year term on the prestigious committee. During the 2020-21 school year, Reynolds also serves as President of the Division I-AAA Athletic Director's Association Executive Board and he is a member of the NCAA Transfer Working Group.

The list of accomplishments by Bradley Athletics during Reynolds' tenure is extensive, marked by the most successful five-year run (2015-20) competitively in department history across all sports programs. Including 11 conference championships in his first five years, Reynolds saw Bradley achieve a fifth-place finish in the 2018-19 MVC All-Sports standings, tops among the league's five private schools and Bradley's best finish since the 1987-88 campaign.

Bradley Women's Basketball added the 12th conference title during Reynolds' tenure last month by winning its first-ever MVC Tournament title to claim an automatic bid into its first NCAA Tournament. That success carried over to Bradley Volleyball, which led The Valley in conference wins (12) this past season and earned a top-four finish in the league standings for a third consecutive season, an unprecedented streak in program history.

Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic that forced a competitive shutdown across the nation, Bradley's fall sports teams all finished among the top four in their respective 2019 MVC sport standings for the first time in department history; men's basketball repeated as MVC Tournament champions, while racking up the most wins (23) in a season since 1993-94; and women's basketball set program records with 22 overall wins and 13 Valley victories to earn its best seed (third) for the MVC Tournament in program history.

Academically, Bradley has won three of the past five MVC All-Academic Awards for posting the best grade point average in the league, and the Braves combined for a remarkable 3.50 GPA during the 2019-20 school year. Bradley also exceeded the NCAA average (89 percent) last year and the average of the other nine MVC institutions (89.9 percent) by posting a 96 percent NCAA Graduation Success Rate.

Led by Reynolds' commitment to energize and engage with the community, Bradley student-athletes have averaged more than 3,000 hours of volunteer service in each of his first five years, benefitting more than 70 organizations throughout Central Illinois, in their home communities and across the globe.

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