Angie Cooksy: 0:12

Welcome back to another episode of the Bradley University Podcast. I am one of your hosts, Angie Cooksy. I serve as the Vice President for Enrollment Management, Marketing and Communications here at Bradley.

Ben Jedd: 0:21

And I am Ben Jedd, AVP of Marketing and Communications.

Angie Cooksy: 0:25

Ben, you know what we haven't talked about in a while? Your music skills.

Ben Jedd: 0:30

We haven't, because I, unlike Angie, do not play the drums.

Angie Cooksy: 0:34

But do you have really great basketball skills?

Ben Jedd: 0:37

I I do not. Well, I mean, sixth grade, I wasn't like the worst, you know.

Angie Cooksy: 0:44

What does that even mean? I played sixth grade basketball. Like I mean, did you come off the bench in sixth grade? No, I were like a starter.

Ben Jedd: 0:51

I did not grow between like sixth grade and junior in high school.

Angie Cooksy: 0:55

So there's hope for the city.

Ben Jedd: 0:56

Which is a real bummer for anybody.

Angie Cooksy: 1:01

My 12-year-old is uh in that space of life right now. And he's like, Did I grow? Am I taller today?

Ben Jedd: 1:06

And I'm like, Just say yes. Just say yes. That's the right answer. Absolutely, you are.

Angie Cooksy: 1:11

So if you have not listened to the show before, Ben and I have the genuine and unique privilege on this campus to interview the amazing humans that are doing really great things in and around campus every single day. We record in the lower level of University Hall at Hilltop Studios, which is a space for our faculty and our staff and our students to have access to the technology of today and be able to record a podcast or to record a music video or to just have exposure into the things that people are doing each and every day. And so we're thankful for for the space. And our guest today is Brian Wardle, who is the men's basketball coach here at Bradley University. Brian, welcome to the show.

Brian Wardle: 1:49

Angie, Ben, thanks for having me on. I appreciate it.

Angie Cooksy: 1:51

We are so excited.

Brian Wardle: 1:52

And you play the drums.

Ben Jedd: 1:53

She does.

Angie Cooksy: 1:54

I don't.

Brian Wardle: 1:56

No. It's because it's funny when you talk about music. Uh what a lot of people don't know is my dad was a bass player. And he was he left home at 17. He was going to go to UNLV to play the bass. He got a scholarship to UNLV. He's from North Las Vegas.

Angie Cooksy: 2:10

Like the stand-up bass?

Brian Wardle: 2:12

Yeah, like the school band at UNLV. No, not the stand-up bass. I'm talking about electric bass guitar. Okay. So he left home at 17, became a professional musician, and toured the whole country and played in a band, met my mom on the road at a club in Chicago, and that's how my parents met. And but I come from a very musical family. And so my mom and dad were very musical. And then they had Amy, my older sister, and I, and we played sports. We didn't do any music. So it was just it was crazy how that worked out. But um that's that's great if you do play the drums, it's fun.

Angie Cooksy: 2:44

No, this is just Ben's favorite thing to do at the beginning of every one of our shows. Because in the space, if you've not yet been in Hill Tusk Studios, there are active instruments in here. And so there's a full drum set, there are random like microphones and all sorts of gear. And so Ben, every single episode likes to inquire about yet a new instrument. So that is that's our thing. I like it, but it's um so we are gearing up for another basketball season. Is it what year is this for you?

Brian Wardle: 3:12

Year 11.

Angie Cooksy: 3:13

Okay.

Brian Wardle: 3:13

That's crazy. Um, yeah, I came to Bradley in 2015 uh after being a head coach up at Green Bay, and we actually just played Green Bay in an exhibition game. It was the first time I've been back up there in the arena and offices since I left. Uh it was a that was a special place, and and obviously coming to like Peoria is kind of like a bigger Green Bay. It's a blue-collar Midwestern city, family-oriented. Um, a lot of passion here, a lot of hardworking people that want to support each other and give back. And it it's just bigger. Peoria is bigger than Green Bay. So it's been it was a very easy transition to me. I grew up outside Chicago my whole life and then lived in Wisconsin for Marquette and the Green Bay coaching. So it was an easy transition to be at Bradley and Peoria, and it's been a great run. We've had a lot of fun and and it's gone by fast, very fast.

Ben Jedd: 4:01

So you've been coaching at Bradley now for 11 years. Uh and I know this is like monumental, but like how what is the biggest change you've seen in college basketball in that time?

Brian Wardle: 4:14

Oh, just I mean, obviously the transfer portal and NIL. Yeah. You know, when the NCAA transitioned to the transfer portal where kids can transfer as much as they want, whenever they want. And then the NIL where you know the NCAA tournament was making billions and billions of dollars. So eventually we knew some of the money was going to go back to like some football players and basketball players because of all the money that was being made. But um, you know, right now it's just no regulation. So it's a little bit of the wild, wild west. So that's been a big adjustment the last five, four or five years in coaching. It's so, and I would honestly say every five years in coaching, and I've been doing this over 20-some years, it changes a little bit. And and and it's probably like that in higher education and everyone's profession, there's always tweaks, there's always technology changes, there's rule changes, there's different things that happen in your business that that you have to adapt to, and and that's what we've had to do with that.

Angie Cooksy: 5:05

I have certainly had the uh the privilege of watching you be here for the last 11 years. And I think one of the things I hear so much, not only from your players, but also people in the in the community, is really admiration for the culture that you've built in the program, in the athletics, you know, buildings. What does being a coach mean to you and how are you building that culture on your teams?

Brian Wardle: 5:28

Well, what it means to me, the joy I get, the fulfillment I get out of coaching is watching men grow in confidence and and grow in their belief in themselves and and mature and seeing them from the 17, 18-year-olds to the 22, 23-year-olds when they leave. That's that's the greatest joy you get as a coach. It's kind of like watching your kids grow up in a way. Um and it's obviously changed a little bit with the transfer portal and NIL, to be honest, because you don't see freshmen make it to senior year a whole lot, but we've been able to do that at Bradley. So that speaks volumes to the school, too, the university, the campus, the people. But that's that's probably the thing that I enjoy the most is watching them grow and mature and and see their confidence grow in who they are and their belief in themselves. Um but culture to me is what you see, feel, and hear. And it's something that you have to, I think, exemplify through your actions every day. Your culture, you I drive the culture, the head coach. So the leader of whatever business or department you have, you got to drive the culture every day. And so it's an everyday commitment to what you want in your program. And so for me, I I'm a big process-driven guy. Um, so we commit to the process, we have an unselfish attitude. It is ideal meritocracy in my program. It's best idea wins. Not my idea, best idea. Um, there's an unselfish attitude, there's a do the extra mentality. We work very hard, we always do the extra. So whatever's on the schedule, we want to do a little bit more.

Angie Cooksy: 7:01

Yeah.

Brian Wardle: 7:01

And so you got to do it every day. It it and people watch. I mean, every anyone nowadays can say words. I'm big on actions over words because it's such a words-driven society. People can say it all, they can put it on the wall, but are you really doing it every day? Are you being real every day to each other and and communicating, being honest, and and being trustworthy with and building trust by being honest? So I think that's what you see with our culture is it's very hardworking, it's very unselfish. It's the there's some fun in it, there's a lot of laughs, there's a lot of real talk, there's confrontation, there's intensity, but it's all about, you know, we care about each other and we're all here on the common goal. And and I think that's what we've tried to do with Bradley, and and and you have to do it every day. Every day.

Angie Cooksy: 7:45

You mentioned every day a couple of times. And I think people think they know what it means to be a division one basketball coach because they see you, right? You're a very visible person in the community. They see you on the TV, they see you on the court, but that's actually just a really small part of your job. That's not what you're necessarily doing every day. So, what is what does a day look like in your life?

Brian Wardle: 8:05

Yeah, I mean, it's a great question because you know, I live, I live it. I just don't love it. I live it. Um, but it doesn't define me. Yeah. I think my faith, my family is what defines me. I have three beautiful kids. I've been married over 20 years to Alicia. Um, you know, I I love the community. I love going, you know, I love to compete. So I'm a competitive guy, so I love watching sports. I love, you know, I love the movies, I love uh plays. I've love me. I mean, you'd be amazed at how much stuff I go to because I just I have I enjoy entertainment and and being entertained. So um my life is gets a little crazy. It's different. So like every month it's kind of different, but for the most part, when practice starts, you know, I'm I'm an early morning guy. I wake up at 5 45, 6 every day. I try to get a workout in two or three days a week to try to stay somewhat in shape, especially while I'm getting older.

Angie Cooksy: 8:55

You know, it's it's maybe he can train us.

Brian Wardle: 8:57

That would be awesome.

Ben Jedd: 8:58

We've been talking about we are not doing I have jogged every day for the past four months. I have jogged every day.

Angie Cooksy: 9:05

You did not inform me of this. That's impressive.

Brian Wardle: 9:07

I'm really proud of myself.

Angie Cooksy: 9:08

I'm really proud of you too.

Brian Wardle: 9:10

And as you get older, you know. I know you you you gotta start eating healthier and working out more. So I try to do that, but really it's get up at six. Uh sometimes I go in the office real early, sometimes I drive my son to school or who's 13, my youngest, and he's in eighth grade. And then I get in the office around eight, eight thirty. Um, and then we prep all morning, whether it's watching practice film, preparing practice, which takes over an hour or so. And people don't understand how much time goes into forming a good practice plan. Um, players come through. You have meetings, you have meetings maybe with marketing, with ticketing, maybe somewhere on campus, practice at 1, 1:30 usually, and that goes to about 3:30, 4. And then maybe have some come here and do a podcast at 4.

Angie Cooksy: 9:56

Weird how that happened today.

Brian Wardle: 9:57

But I do, yeah, I do a lot of fundraising. So I'm in the community a lot. So after practice, I might go meet two or three Bradley alums or boosters to the program or people in the community that want to support Bradley. And so I do a lot of fundraising, then dinners at night. So, you know, you learn how to say no, though. I think that's a big thing that as I got older as a head coach, I learned how to say no. You can't be at everything. And so you pick maybe two or three nights a week to be at events, to be with alumni or boosters, and then the other night's got to be with your family because that balance is important. You can't you can't let this coaching business overrun you and take away what makes you you. And so I'm very cautious of that.

Ben Jedd: 10:38

So, what do you think makes Bradley unique when you're talking to a recruit or something? Like what stands out to you specifically about Bradley?

Brian Wardle: 10:46

I, you know, the funny thing that we really we not just the people, you know, we always emphasize it's a you feel it's a big city, but with like a small town feel to it, especially when you're a Bradley basketball player. A lot of people know who you are, as you know, the city and and the community is very supportive of us and love ball. So that's a big selling point for us. But I think what's cool about the campus is like you have an urban feel up on the hilltop, but you can go 10 minutes away and you're in the country.

Angie Cooksy: 11:13

Yeah.

Brian Wardle: 11:14

And you're fishing and hunting. And so I got guys on my team that love to fish and hunt. And so I'm like, all right, well, you can come here. You got the whole city vibe if you want it, and then you also got the rural vibe if you want it. And that to me is is unique when you go to I've been to a lot of campuses, and it's either like you know, this is a college town and that's it, this is a city, that's it, this is the country, that's it. We have a little mix of both. And I think what we do uh we try to do on visits and to showcase our city is you try to show them all the different spots of Peoria, too. Not you show them campus, you show them downtown, you show them Carverina, then you you might go to the heights, you might go out to Grand Prairie. We try to show them the whole city because I think it's it's unique that way and it's a good selling point.

Angie Cooksy: 11:57

I love that. Um, you've obviously worked with a lot of students at Bradley over the last 11 years. Can you share maybe one student story or maybe an alumni story that you had an opportunity to foster that really kind of exemplifies the Bradley experience for you?

Brian Wardle: 12:12

Well, I mean, just seeing a guy like I would I think of like a guy like Koch Barr, who's a 6'10 kid I brought in. He was in the States at a prep school, but he was from South Sudan. And Koch is one of the greatest human beings ever met, has the biggest heart you've you've ever met in your whole life, is someone that wants to give back so much. Koch was not a great student. He bet he really got better every year at prep school, improved. We we barely got him into Bradley. Um, and we had to pull a few strings, and and that's what's special about Bradley. They gave this young man an opportunity, admissions did. And he came in and we gave him support, tutors, and he left here like a 3.5 student. Yeah, completely changed person from 18 to 22 years old, became a graphic design major, designed some things for Bradley University, designed a uh a logo for me for my camp and playing professional basketball still in Europe, but has an unbelievable future in graphic design and doing work on the side, and and just the person he became is special because he felt at home here in Peoria. People really on campus treated him well, professors treated him really well, worked with him. Um, the community, our a lot of our supporters took care of them, and and that's unique, that family feel you get when you're here. And to look a man like Kotch Bar to see how far he came is that's special to me to see that.

Angie Cooksy: 13:36

That's that's super cool.

Ben Jedd: 13:38

So, what's something again? Angie Angie said you're a known commodity in the area. What's something people may not know about you?

Brian Wardle: 13:47

Oh, I don't know. I'm I'm pretty relaxed when I'm at home and I like to have a good time. Okay. I'm a fun guy, and I think what people see is in the game. So, and I'm very intense. I'm an intense, passionate coach. I love to compete. Um, I take a lot of pride in my work and what I do and trying to put a winning product on the floor for Bradley and Peoria. And so what people don't realize is when they get me off the court, a lot of people are like, oh man, you're like, you're actually a good, you're really funny. You like to have a good time. You're pretty cool. You're reacting. Oh, thanks. You're not a jerk. Did I really scare you that much in the game? You know, I have a deep, loud voice. I get it. I'll yell sometimes, but it's like, yeah, my you know, that I don't think my players understand me because I am the same person every day. I am who I am, I'm real. There's no phony bone in me. And I think people realize that off the court when they spend time with me. And so that's what's been fun about being a Pior Rogue for 10 years now, going on a 11. It's just people have really gotten to know me and my family and and understand who I am as a person. And and that I'm, you know, I'm not that bad of a guy just because I yell at a ref once in a while.

Angie Cooksy: 14:52

I mean, I've been in the fans. There's some fans yelling at the refs too. So I don't think sometimes you're the only one, right? Speaking of the fans, though, how important is the student section to the men's basketball experience? And what would you say to our current students to to maybe get them engaged in a different way or in a new way as we move forward?

Brian Wardle: 15:10

Yeah, you know, it's always been one of the goals of our department is how do we keep engaging the students? And it's been um it's been something at Bradley where we've really had to be innovative to get the students because we have a lot of serious students here. We have a lot of because it's a great education and they're here to get their degree. So I get it, but how do we get them to the game? It's one mile down the road, the free bus trips, parking in the pit, walk right up. We try to make it as convenient as possible for all the students to get down to a game. And we've had some unbelievable crowds in the past. Now, consistency is not always there, but when Valley Play comes in January and February, our student section starts to come out even more. But we need them not just in the big games, we need them all the time because they bring the energy. I mean, we have a lot of older fan base, Angie and Ben, as you guys know. We love all our fans, yeah, but guess what? The young ones energize the older ones. And so to have the students there up yelling, making signs, screaming, dancing, that energizes everyone. And so our our some of my biggest wins here have been our biggest student crowds. So that that is extremely important, and we're hoping our our students can come out and support this team. This team will be entertaining. We're gonna be fun to watch because I think we'll get better as the year goes on, and we have a lot of entertaining players.

Angie Cooksy: 16:23

So I'm excited for this.

Brian Wardle: 16:25

It should be fun. It should be fun. Nice.

Angie Cooksy: 16:26

Yeah. Um, one of the things that we wrap up every episode with is you know, we talk a lot about what makes Bradley special and you know, all of those kind of stories that are connected to it. Um, but we always like to put our our guests on the spot a little bit and ask what is it in your role or in the classroom or as a human that you are unapologetically exceptional at being honest.

Brian Wardle: 16:51

Um being very direct. Uh to a fault sometimes. I gotta probably pick my spots. I've gotten better, I've gotten better as I've gotten older, but I think the one thing I'm I'm I think is a staple of our program and me as a coach is just the realness of our of how I am with players. I I think young people get lied to and manipulated so much nowadays with cell phones and social media. They they're seeking real, they're seeking honesty. They want someone that's gonna tell it like it is, and I I think I I unapologetically do that pretty well. Put it that way.

Angie Cooksy: 17:27

It's not an easy phrase to say. No, it's not.

Brian Wardle: 17:30

It's not. And it's you know, I always believe confrontation promotes growth, and sometimes you gotta have a little confrontation to grow and get better and advert and have that adversity, and especially in sports, especially in competition, tough talks. Yeah, we have a lot of hard talks at times, and that's something I think though that has helped my culture be strong, build trust, build care and love is is those hard talks.

Ben Jedd: 17:53

That's great. Uh I have I have college students, so how how do students handle that? Do they do they appreciate it? Like do they do they welcome the tough talk, or is it Yeah? I mean, I think if you treat every if you treat everyone the same. I mean, knowing 19-year-olds, like I think they actually want that. Yes.

Brian Wardle: 18:13

I do. I agree. I think they want honesty and and direct talk. Yeah, I don't think they want to be BSed or, like I said, manipulated. They see that happening and they get that all the time on social media and and Snapchat and all that. I think you just have to be real. You have to be yourself, whoever you are. Like you can't be someone else. And I think people will tell you as a coach, oh, you can't be emotional and you can't show passion, you have to be calm, demeanor all the time and talk quietly. Well, that's I've tried that before. We went like one and nine in 10 games, okay? I but be true to who you are. Yeah. You know, Ben's not Brian, Brian's not Angie. You know, you have to be true to who you are, lead that way every day. Be real, be consistent for your students and for your players so that they know that they're getting the same person every day, prepared, ready to work, cares. And I think if you do that, you can have those honest talks with them because they're the younger generation is a lot tougher than they get credit for. Like generation Z, you read, and and you know, and I'm almost 50. I mean, it's my that are like they're not very tough. No, they're tough and they want to get better. They're one of the groups, at least in basketball and sports, that wants to be in the gym and work hard. They love individual work, they love being in the gym, and they are tougher than they have give credit for. So, but they just just talk to them and be real, be consistent, and be there every day for them, and you can have those tough talks, I believe.

Angie Cooksy: 19:36

Um, as we wrap up today, is there anything that you would like to share that maybe we didn't ask you or anything that you want people to know or hear?

Brian Wardle: 19:44

Oh, just you know, I no, I I just love the you know, I love this community, and I think it's Bradley University in the Peoria is special. It's unique, and I think I'm super excited for President Shad and what maybe he could do. To bring the city and the university even more together. Yeah. Because I think it's a special city and a special place to be. And I think there's a huge, huge upside to Bradley. That's that's growing, and I think it hasn't been tapped into since I've been here. And so I'm really excited to see where Bradley goes these next two, three, four years. Cause I think it's going to be fun for our students and fun for the community.

Angie Cooksy: 20:21

It's been fun for us. We've been putting Bradley Shields on everything we can find. Yeah. Put Bradley Shields on. So we're uh that's my new favorite thing on campus is I take pictures of where I find the new shields and then I send them to people and ask where.

Brian Wardle: 20:33

Have you gotten the script yet?

Angie Cooksy: 20:35

I don't have a Bradley Athletics.

Brian Wardle: 20:36

Yeah. So we gotta get, and that's one of the things the students told me. So I there's a group that students came through Renko and I spoke to them that are going to be hosting for admissions students on campus. Sure. And they said, Coach, can we sell, can we get Bradley Script gear? Like, because it's only for some reason, I don't know how this all works, but it's in Bradley Athletics. I said, Well, yeah, we got to get it into the student center. We got to start giving it away, selling it. We got to start getting this.

Angie Cooksy: 21:01

We know some people who can help us. Yeah, we can make that happen. We can make that happen.

Brian Wardle: 21:05

Let's talk about this because we need to get this more because it seems like the students want to wear this more.

Angie Cooksy: 21:11

We'll we'll get on your calendar and we'll we'll talk about that.

Brian Wardle: 21:14

We need to do it.

Angie Cooksy: 21:14

Yeah. Um, thank you so much. Ben, he's mentioning Peoria. I feel like we need to figure out where we're going to dinner. Like, what is our favorite place to go eat tonight?

Ben Jedd: 21:22

Do you have a recommendation for a restaurant in Peoria? Oh boy, I don't want to get in. Yeah, you're talking about it.

Angie Cooksy: 21:27

I feel like you're putting him on the spot. You can't ask you.

Brian Wardle: 21:29

Well, here I will give you my top three. Okay. Well, I mean, like Alexander Steakhouse is a staple. Yeah. Um, but like, you know, like uh connected is it like a special dinner or no?

Angie Cooksy: 21:42

I just thought I'd just killing some time.

Brian Wardle: 21:45

The place, the place uh over by me that I've I've loved is Touche. It's right on Knoxville. Have you ever been there?

Angie Cooksy: 21:51

I haven't, but it's on my list.

Brian Wardle: 21:52

Yeah, try it out. Okay.

Angie Cooksy: 21:53

Um it's a good spot.

Ben Jedd: 21:56

Cool.

Angie Cooksy: 21:56

All right.

Ben Jedd: 21:57

Coach, thank you so much for joining us today.

Angie Cooksy: 21:59

As always, this is the Bradley University Podcast. If you would like to come and be an uh an episode guest, uh, reach out to Ben Jedd. He is happy to schedule you. Um, we love doing this, and that's probably one of the coolest parts of our job is to get to meet and talk to and interview the people who are genuinely doing amazing work. So, coach, thanks for joining us. Appreciate it. To everybody else, we'll see you next time. Bye-bye.