I never had a little brother. I was one though, and I often thought of how it would feel to have one myself.
 
Throughout my tenure as athletic director here at Bethune-Cookman University, I have had the huge responsibility of making some significant personnel decisions. I have been blessed to have gotten a large percentage of them right, and in some cases I have missed the mark. But in this instance, there was something about a young, energetic sports information assistant from Hampton University that appealed to our management team and me back in the early 2000's.
 
He had a willingness to work under pressure, a creative spirit, and the desire to learn on the job…but most importantly, he fit into our family scheme. This guy had experience in mass communications. He was versatile enough to appear on camera or behind the microphone and could write and relate to the media reps when needed. He fit the bill.
 
To say that he had the spirit was a classic understatement. Because he was so young and naïve, he became everyone's little brother socially, but a proven professional in the office and for over two tenures and 10 years. He was a vital part of the machine that we call Bethune-Cookman Wildcat Athletics.
 
Bryan Harvey helped to build and perpetuate the brand of BCU Wildcat Athletics with his creativity, his innovative thinking, and his approach to thinking well outside of the constraints of the "traditional box."

And just like that ...he's gone!

Let me be clear…He's not dead! He's very much alive and doing well…in fact. We're the ones not doing so well. Because our little brother has left home and taken a huge step towards his dream job and his destiny.
 
In our many talks throughout the years, Bryan maintained that his first dream job as a sports information director was to work either at USC or in the ACC. Well four years into his tenure at Bethune-Cookman, the University of Miami came calling and Bryan accepted a position in Coral Gables with the Hurricanes and stayed for four years until he contacted me about returning home because he wanted to have "greater impact on the lives of student-athletes". Well, just like any little brother can, Bryan came back home, with great experience and made a significant impact on our program in ways untold with his new ideas and energy.
 
For the next six years, we had many more talks about future goals and Bryan's ultimate life goal was to work in the Premiere League Soccer in Europe. Anyone who knows Bryan knows that is his first love. Constantly, Bryan and many of his peers in Europe would always exchange athletic communication ideas and promotional concepts and he would share many of the ideas that they would pick up from us and we from them.
 
After a vacation visit two years ago to London, Bryan returned convinced that eventually he would, in fact have an opportunity to work in pro soccer in Europe. Little did we know that it would happen so soon.
 
At the end of February, Bryan wrapped up his duties as assistant athletic director for athletic communications at Bethune-Cookman University and left all of us a memo of things to do and important items to handle in his stead. He was leaving home. But in leaving home he took the great story of BCU with him to his next stop. He took the DNA and the legacy of Dr. Bethune to another continent. He became an ambassador of our great university to a foreign land. The little brother was leaving us to travel the world. As I looked back to when I left home, I never left a memo nor a list, in fact it seems they were glad I left.
 
This was not the case at all with Bryan Harvey. When I look back at the great moments we shared and the even greater memories of lives Bryan touched via his great work here it became clear to me. I guess I do have a little brother after all, and it took him leaving us for me to realize it. So, as he leaves home to find his destiny we want him to know that we will miss him… Bryan Harvey, home is just a heartbeat away, and we'll always keep a light on for you because, just like all little brothers know, you can always come back home.