For the second consecutive year, James Madison looks like one of the best teams in the Group of 5. And for the second consecutive year, the Dukes are ineligible for the postseason.
Not because of any infractions penalties but because of NCAA transition rules.
Since moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision last year, the Dukes are 12-3, including a 4-0 start this season. But JMU is not eligible for the postseason for two years after transitioning from the Football Championship Subdivision. The Dukes could not play in a bowl game or the Sun Belt Championship Game last season despite having an 8-3 record. This year, second-year FBS transitioning teams such as JMU, Jacksonville State and Sam Houston would only be eligible at 6-6 (or better) if there are not enough bowl-eligible teams.
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JMU’s immediate FBS success and other realignment moves across divisions have highlighted these transition rules, their cost and what the Dukes and the Sun Belt are missing out on as a result.
“It is frustrating,” JMU athletic director Jeff Bourne said this week. “At the same time, I’ve been doing this long enough to know why that rule was put in place.”
The transition rule is in place to discourage schools that aren’t ready from making a jump and also to give them time to build up the necessary infrastructure. There is a price to be paid to make a move across divisions or classifications.
Down, but never out. #GoDukes pic.twitter.com/XIt9d3BecD
— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) September 9, 2023
But JMU was uniquely ready. It was one of the best football programs in the FCS, with five top-three finishes from 2016 through 2021 and an athletic budget and facilities already on the level of other Sun Belt programs.
“It shows how thoughtful and good they were in their approach to transition,” Sun Belt commissioner Keith Gill said. “They were super ready.”
From the moment JMU planned its move to the Sun Belt, it hoped to shorten its transition to one year. It submitted an NCAA waiver for 2023 postseason eligibility, highlighting its successes and infrastructure. It also had the unique position of being a full-fledged FBS program in Year 1. Most transitioning schools spend the first transition year playing FCS opponents, as Jax State and Sam Houston did last year. But the Sun Belt accommodated the Dukes with a conference schedule and enough home games to qualify as an FBS opponent in 2022. Then JMU went out and finished 8-3 and technically won the Sun Belt East Division.
But the waiver was denied by the Division I Council and NCAA Board of Directors in April. Though Bourne wasn’t surprised by the ruling, he’d always held out hope.
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“I look at the facts with the performance,” he said. “Maybe it’s my business background, but you’re either ready or you’re not. If you are, that proves itself on the field. When you look at factors like support operations, budget infrastructure, we’re already at the top part of the Group of 5.
“I looked at a realistic analysis, and it seemed to be on the surface a very easy decision.”
A person involved with the denial vote told The Athletic in the spring that it was a difficult decision but the NCAA boards simply did not want to create a precedent — even though many believe the rule is antiquated. The organization is trying to make rules and decisions more black and white with fewer waivers across the board, which even trickles down to rules like transfer eligibility with Tez Walker at North Carolina.
Finding immediate success after an FBS move is not unprecedented. Georgia Southern in 2014 finished 9-3 and won the Sun Belt championship with an 8-0 conference record. The Eagles couldn’t play in a bowl game as a second-year transitioning school, and the Sun Belt didn’t have a conference championship game. That same year, Appalachian State, also transitioning, finished 7-5 and was ineligible for a bowl.
The rules impact basketball, too. Fairleigh Dickinson went on its NCAA men’s basketball tournament run this year only because conference champion Merrimack was ineligible as a former Division II school transitioning to Division I. That jump includes a four-year transition period, instead of two like the one from FCS to FBS.
“I don’t think there was any doubt by anybody in the committees that would’ve said we’re a team that’s not ready to compete. That’s a given,” Bourne said of JMU. “The issue is merely one of, if they make an exception for us, that opens the door to the likelihood that more programs will try to transition to FBS, and maybe those aren’t in a position to do it.”
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In 2017, Liberty received a waiver to move from FCS to FBS without a conference invitation — which is typically required for an FBS move — because of its resources and infrastructure in place. That has not happened again since, but more FCS schools have impeding moves into FBS conferences, including Kennesaw State next year and a potential for more in Conference USA down the road. (Liberty went through the two-year ineligibility process and did not make a bowl game at 6-6 in Year 2).
On top of the NCAA rule, Sun Belt policy doesn’t allow postseason-ineligible teams to play in the conference championship game. It’s true especially now, when the New Year’s Six spot for the Group of 5 can go only to a conference champion, so a league wouldn’t want to keep itself out of that spot. That policy is why Coastal Carolina played in the Sun Belt Championship Game last year. The Dukes and Chanticleers had the same conference record, and JMU beat Coastal in the regular-season finale. Despite not playing for the championship, JMU declared itself “Kings of the East” and took a team photo on the field with that signage after beating Coastal.
𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭#GoDukes pic.twitter.com/Rn6AZa56Wy
— JMU Football (@JMUFootball) November 26, 2022
“Last year, there was a lot of excitement for the first year of FBS,” JMU head coach Curt Cignetti said of keeping his team motivated and focused. “This year, we’ve got our goals of what we want to get done internally. I really believe, at the end of the day, common sense prevails. We have a number of very difficult challenges coming up down the road. There’s a lot of great teams in the Sun Belt. … Six, seven, eight weeks from now, when we have a clearer picture of who’s done what, common sense will prevail.”
Asked what “common sense will prevail” meant, Cignetti replied, “You read into that what you want.”
The Athletic checked back with JMU officials, who confirmed nothing has changed regarding postseason eligibility. The Dukes can make a bowl game if there aren’t enough 6-6 teams, but that’s it.
“From a coach’s perspective, I understand wanting to remain optimistic and keeping the energy and competition up,” Bourne said. “But the only opportunity I see for us is the at-large bid (if there aren’t enough bowl-eligible teams).”
Despite the lack of postseason opportunities, the Dukes’ FBS move has been an unmitigated success. Season ticket sales jumped from 6,853 as an FCS program in 2021 to 7,708 in 2022 and 8,718 this year. The school had to cap season ticket sales for the first time and has sold out other individual games. The JMU Duke Club booster organization increased its number of donors by almost 1,000 year over year to 5,633 this year while also smashing its fundraising records.
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“We’ve been saying for years our fans were prepared for this move along with us,” Bourne said. “To survive and prevail in FBS, you have to have tremendous fan support. We’re really fortunate to have that here.”
Bourne recently announced he will retire in the spring after 25 years leading the athletic department. He leaves on top with JMU reaching remarkable highs and program firsts in many sports. But the football move to FBS is the crowning achievement. He plans to move to Charlotte with his wife to be closer to family, but he expects to watch JMU compete for bowl games annually once these shackles are gone.
“After this year, we’ll pick up and move on with it,” Bourne said. “The bright light is if we have another really good year, we do stand a chance of a bowl opportunity. There’s an outside chance. All of us here just know we need to take care of business, win as many games as we can and let the chips fall from there.”
(Photo of Jordan McCloud and Ty Son Lawton: Hannah Pajewski / USA Today)
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