Bradley Basketball is entering a new era.
 
As college athletics continues to change, Bradley Athletics is adapting the way alumni, fans, donors, season-ticket holders, and community members can help strengthen Bradley Men's Basketball and Bradley Women's Basketball. These changes are designed to help our programs compete, recruit, retain, and provide an exceptional experience for our student-athletes in a rapidly evolving collegiate athletics landscape.
 
Moving forward, Bradley Athletics is bringing revenue-sharing support in-house, creating a clearer and more direct way for alumni, fans, donors, season-ticket holders, and community supporters to contribute to the future of Bradley Basketball. (See June 17, 2026 Press Release Here)
 
This letter is intended to explain what is changing, why it matters, and how you can help. In the sections that follow, we will outline the new era of college athletics, how supporters can make an impact on Bradley Men's Basketball and Bradley Women's Basketball, the ways gifts can be made, where your support will make an impact, the difference between NIL and revenue sharing, how these changes relate to other Bradley sport programs, and why this is such a defining moment for Bradley Basketball.
 
Our message is simple: Bradley Basketball needs all of us moving in the same direction. Every gift, every season ticket, every act of support, and every show of pride helps strengthen our programs, support our student-athletes, and position Bradley Basketball for championship level success.
 
Thank you for being part of Bradley Basketball.

A New Era for Bradley Basketball
 
In recent years, Name, Image, and Likeness opportunities helped reshape the way student-athletes could be supported. Across the country, collectives emerged to help bridge the gap during a rapidly changing period in intercollegiate athletics.
 
At Bradley, the Home of the Brave and Be Brave collectives played an important role in supporting our men's and women's basketball student-athletes. These efforts helped our programs navigate a changing environment, and Bradley Athletics is grateful to those who stepped forward to lead, organize, contribute, and advocate on behalf of Bradley Basketball.
 
In particular, Bradley Athletics extends sincere appreciation to Home of the Brave leadership, including Steve Cicciarelli, Joe Messmore, Ryan Pierson, and Matt Wiesner, as well as Be Brave leadership, Courtney Meischner. Their commitment helped Bradley respond during a critical period of change, and their work, along with the efforts of many others, has made a lasting impact.
 
As the national model continues to shift, Bradley Athletics is bringing revenue-sharing support in-house. It is essential to explain what that means for Bradley Basketball and for those who want to support our student-athletes and programs moving forward.
 
Gifts connected to revenue sharing can now be made directly to Bradley Men's Basketball or Bradley Women's Basketball through Bradley Athletics. This provides a more direct and coordinated giving pathway while allowing Bradley Athletics to align philanthropic support with the greatest needs of each program and continue operating within NCAA rules and federal regulations.

Supporting Bradley Men's and Women's Basketball
 
Bradley Men's Basketball and Bradley Women's Basketball each play a meaningful role in the life of Bradley Athletics, Bradley University, and the Greater Peoria community. Together, they bring students, alumni, fans, donors, season-ticket holders, and community supporters together around a shared pride in Bradley Basketball.
 
Continued support in both programs is essential to helping Bradley Basketball compete, recruit, retain, and provide an exceptional experience for student-athletes.
 
Supporters may make gifts directly to Bradley Men's Basketball or Bradley Women's Basketball through Bradley Athletics. These gifts help strengthen each program broadly, including travel, recruiting, scheduling, facility enhancements, technology, program operations, student-athlete support, revenue sharing, and other strategic needs that position our programs for sustained success.
 
For Braves Club members, there will be no significant changes to the Braves Club or the Braves Club Seat Fund. Contributions to Bradley Men's Basketball will continue to count toward Braves Club giving levels, and Bradley Athletics will continue to utilize the Braves Club Priority Points system for high-demand or limited-availability opportunities, including away and neutral-site game ticket requests, Missouri Valley Conference and NCAA Tournament ticket requests, seat improvement requests, and team travel or team hotel opportunities.
 
Supporters of Bradley Women's Basketball will have access to a customized benefits structure designed to provide meaningful appreciation, recognition, and program-focused engagement opportunities.
 
Every gift helps move Bradley Basketball forward. Whether directed to the men's program or the women's program, your support strengthens the student-athlete experience, helps our teams compete for championships, and allows Bradley Basketball to represent Bradley University and Greater Peoria with pride.

Ways to Support Bradley Basketball
 
There are several ways you can support Bradley Basketball.
 
You can:
 
Make a direct gift to Bradley Men's Basketball or Bradley Women's Basketball.
Increase your Men's Basketball contribution to reach Braves Scholarship Society membership. 
Purchase or renew season tickets.
Explore matching gifts through your employer.
Consider gifts of stock or other appreciated securities.
Include Bradley Athletics in your estate planning.
 
As these gifts are made through Bradley University, they may also provide a tax-deductible giving opportunity as permitted by law.
 
Online contributions can be made directly to the men's and women's basketball programs.

Checks and money orders can be made payable to Bradley Men's Basketball or Bradley Women's Basketball and mailed to:
 
Bradley University Athletics
1501 W. Bradley Ave.
Peoria, IL 61625
 
Many donors are also employed by companies that offer matching gift programs for charitable giving. We encourage you to inform your company whenever you make a donation to Bradley, and our team will promptly verify the date and amount of your gift upon request.
 
Supporters may also consider gifts of appreciated securities, such as stocks or bonds, which may provide additional tax benefits. Planned giving opportunities may include provisions in a will or revocable trust, income-producing gifts, charitable lead trusts, testamentary gifts of retirement assets, life insurance or annuity policies, and real estate.
 
As with any gift to Bradley University, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, contributions to the men's or women's basketball program are tax deductible as the law permits. Please consult your tax professional for tax-related advice.
 
Required Braves Club Seat Fund donations are not tax deductible, consistent with tax law changes made in 2017. Gifts to other athletics funds, including men's basketball, women's basketball, and the Braves Club, remain tax deductible as the law permits.

How Your Gifts Make an Impact
 
When you make a gift to Bradley Men's Basketball or Bradley Women's Basketball, your contribution goes directly toward the greatest needs of that program.
 
That includes, but is not limited to:
 
Travel
Facility enhancements
Recruiting
Technology
Scheduling
Program operations
Student-athlete support
Revenue sharing
 
These areas are essential to building and sustaining championship level programs.
 
Programs that aspire to win championships must be willing to invest in the full student-athlete experience. Without private support, Bradley Basketball cannot continue to compete at the level our fans expect and deserve.
With your support, we can.

Providing Clarity to the Difference between Revenue Sharing and NIL
 
Revenue sharing and NIL are related to the modern student-athlete experience, but they are not the same. 
 
Revenue sharing stems from the historic House v. NCAA settlement and allows institutions to directly share a portion of athletics generated revenue with student-athletes. In practical terms, this means that schools may now provide direct payments to student-athletes as part of the new national model.
 
NIL, by contrast, refers to compensation a student-athlete may receive from a third party for the use of their name, image, or likeness. Examples may include promoting a business, appearing in an advertisement, participating in a marketing campaign, making a paid appearance, or other activity tied to fair market value.
 
Student-athletes may still enter into NIL agreements with businesses. However, NIL agreements above certain thresholds will be reviewed through a national clearinghouse to determine fair market value. Gifts to Bradley Athletics may not be designated for a specific student-athlete, but donors may designate support to a specific sport program, and that program will determine the best use of those funds.

Supporting Other Bradley Sport Programs
 
While this communication is focused on Bradley Basketball, our commitment to all Bradley student-athletes remains unchanged.
 
Gifts made to individual sport programs will continue to count toward the associated giving levels for each sport. As the new college athletics landscape places new and different financial demands on our department, sport-specific giving will remain a priority.
 
Bradley Athletics is committed to maintaining and enhancing the student-athlete experience for all student-athletes, across all programs. We will continue to rely on donor-directed support to help each of our teams compete, grow, and represent Bradley University with pride.

A Defining Moment for Bradley Basketball
 
Bradley Basketball has always been powered by people.
 
It is powered by student-athletes who choose to represent this university. It is powered by coaches and staff who pour themselves into building programs the right way. It is powered by alumni who carry Bradley with them long after graduation. It is powered by season-ticket holders who create the atmosphere that makes game day special. It is powered by donors who believe in what Bradley Athletics represents and its potential to achieve even greater heights in the future. It is powered by fans who care deeply and show up proudly.
 
This is a defining moment for Bradley Basketball.
 
Your generosity helps our student-athletes grow, succeed, and build what comes next, both on the court and in life.
 
To do that, we need all of Bradley Basketball moving in the same direction.
 
Whether your gift is large or small, whether you have supported Bradley for decades or are considering your first contribution, please know your support matters.
 
Thank you for believing in Bradley Basketball, standing with our student-athletes, and helping build the future of our championship level programs.