PEORIA MAGAZINE July 2022

difficult for schools like Bradley to hold onto budding superstars. The future of intercollegiate athletics outside those few dozen “power” schools is fraught with questions and doubt. But Reynolds remains optimistic and draws on his academic foundation to explain why. “Our vision, our mission, is to develop leaders of tomorrow and champions in life. Sports is just a tool to help instill qualities that will help these young people not just for four years, but for the next 40. If you go at it from that perspective, winning becomes a by product. Bradley is a great place to do that.” He recalls Donte Thomas, a basketball player finishing his freshman year when Reynolds was hired at Bradley. Thomas was one of only two players to stick around when Reynolds hired Brian Wardle to replace Geno Ford as men’s head coach in 2015. The player

A wife and mother of five, she joined the staff in 1999. “I am the only SWA in the Missouri Valley Conference who is married with children. There’s something to be said for that,” she says. “Chris recognizes the challenges that go along with college athletics, but he’s also very supportive that we take care of the home front first.” Dahlquist and Jones both describe Reynolds as “real ly smart” and collaborative. “And his resume is practical ly mythical,” Jones says. That resume grows even more so as of Sept. 1, when Reynolds officially becomes chairman of the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Committee. The 12-person group not only selects the teams and seeds the tournament field for March Madness but also vets and chooses future tournament sites, evaluates game officials and works throughout the year to plan and stage tournament events at 14 venues every spring. Reynolds joined the committee in 2018 and last year was voted to the chair by his peers. “He has such professional integrity and incredible intelligence and work ethic,” says Dan Gavitt, senior vice president of basketball for the NCAA. “He’s a great listener, very thoughtful, very principled. He’s measured in meetings and doesn’t speak frequently. He values other opinions and draws them out. He makes sure every voice is heard. And when he does speak, his voice carries a lot of gravitas and gets

everyone’s attention because he’s so well-respected. When he offers his opinion, it’s not a reaction; he has put deep thought into it. He’s a great leader from that standpoint.” Under Reynolds’ leadership, Bradley athletics have enjoyed competitive success pretty much across the board.

‘SPORTS IS JUST A TOOL TO HELP INSTILL QUALITIES THAT WILL HELP THESE YOUNG PEOPLE NOT JUST FOR FOUR YEARS, BUT FOR THE NEXT 40’

Chris Reynolds

was talented but troubled. Reynolds brought Thomas in and set down the guidelines necessary to continue at BU: Clean up your life, get your education, learn personal responsibility. “Donte looked me in the eye and gave me the most mature response I ever heard a young person give: ‘I want to do better, I just need help,’” Reynolds says. “He craved discipline and direction and our coaches and professors and staff gave it to him. Three years later, Donte Thomas graduated from Bradley. “And that’s why I do what I do.”

Pre-pandemic, BU men’s basketball qualified for the NCAA tournament in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1954 and 1955. Women’s basketball won the MVC tournament and earned its first NCAA bid. Men’s golf won its first Valley championship, and the men’s and women’s cross country program has become the conference gold standard. In all-sports standings, Bradley climbed out of the MVC cellar and in 2018-19 ranked fifth – tops among the private schools and its best showing since 1987-88. The chal lenges facing Bradley athletics are significant. New rules allow student-athletes to earn money off their name, image and likeness, and Bradley lacks the resources to arrange six- or seven-figure financial deals available to athletes in the “power conferences.” More lenient rules governing transfers also make it

Kirk Wessler is a former newspaper

sports editor who has turned his attention in semi-retirement to a new passion as a singer/ songwriter

50 JULY 2022 PEORIA MAGAZINE