The Breeze
JULY 1, 2022
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WHAT’S INSIDE
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Friday, July 1, 2022
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LFE: Step into the Sun
Why the Sun Belt?
Realignment visualized
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How the Dukes got here
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Sun Belt coaching pedigree
The Breeze
JMU’S AWARD-WINNING NEWSPAPER SINCE 1922 1598 S. Main St. Harrisonburg, VA 22801 PHONE: (540) 568-6127 FAX: (540) 568-7889
COVER PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY:
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ESPN ups exposure
FBS finances defined
Analysis | JMU and NIL
Meet Commissioner Gill
JMU’s rekindled rivalries
step into the sun STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF CHARLOTTE MATHERLY
ONLINE MANAGING EDITOR SAVANNAH REGER
COPY EDITORS EMMA JOHNSON & MADISON MILLS
EXECUTIVE EDITOR SHIRIN ZIA FAQIRI
SPORTS EDITORS MADISON HRICIK & GRANT JOHNSON
CULTURE EDITOR AVERY GOODSTINE
PRINT MANAGING EDITOR ASHLYN CAMPBELL
PHOTO EDITOR ABI MIDDLETON
ART DIRECTOR ANNA GOULD
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Letter from the editors By MADISON HRICIK & GRANT JOHNSON The Breeze
The title symbolizes a fresh start, a new beginning. Step into the Sun recognizes the
change that both JMU Athletics and we as reporters are facing. Change can be hard — leaving the CAA means no more FCS playoff runs, and with the jump, there’s no football Sun Belt conference championship or bowl game to cover this year. Strangely enough, the CAA’s postseason ban on JMU sports in 202122 has prepared us for that, just a little bit. But, change is change. And we’ve chosen to accept the change with open arms. Since this project’s original inception in
Madison Hricik Sports Editor
Grant Johnson Sports Editor
Friday, July 1, 2022
The big-time move calls for big-time content. We, sports editors Madison Hricik and Grant Johnson, present Swtep into the Sun, a special edition of The Breeze marking JMU’s move to the Sun Belt Conference. The goal of this special edition is not only to help JMU Nation get accustomed to its new conference but also shed light on the Dukes for fans around the Sun Belt. And, let’s face it — all this conference movement got a little confusing, even for us covering it. We hope this can also bring clarity to when, why and how JMU JMU's Athletic Director at formal Sun Belt acceptance Nov. 6. Breeze file photo joined the Sun Belt, and what’s next for the university and every Sun Belt counterpart affected by November’s realignment. The July 1 release is symbolic. It’s when JMU’s entry into the Sun Belt became official. It’s also the day Southern Miss, Old Dominion and Marshall joined and UT-Arlington and Arkansas Little Rock departed the conference. Last year, July 1 first allowed student-athletes to profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL), which has drastically altered the landscape of college athletics. JMU officially joined the Sun Belt Conference on July 1, 2022. Savannah Reger / The Breeze
November, we’ve pieced together all the stories that define JMU’s move to the Sun Belt. We wanted to answer as many questions as we could through our own voices. We believed in telling authentic truths about this move, and what it will bring to JMU. We look into the finances involved, revamped rivalries and analyzing what may come next for the Dukes regarding NIL. This content isn’t stopping after July 1 — there’ll be additional stories released online throughout July. A video series, Word on the Belt, is also accompanying Step into the Sun. Word on the Belt features student and professional media who are experts on the Sun Belt teams in a sit-down interview format. So, for more insight on JMU’s new conference counterparts, stay tuned throughout the summer and beyond for these deep-dives into Sun Belt teams’ history and 2022 outlooks across all sports. We’re excited to bring together a new era of sports reporting and content. We’re ambitious — we want to tell stories from every angle we can find. JMU Nation, let’s step into the sun.
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Sun Belt 101
Why JMU accepted the Sun Belt’s invitation By GRANT JOHNSON The Breeze Half of the Sun Belt Conference is in another time zone. It didn’t support football until this century. Three — four, initially — of JMU’s top-performing athletic programs aren’t sponsored by the conference. It’s costly to uproot from one conference to another — $1.25 million in JMU’s case — and even more so to move to a higher football division: $23 millionplus in expenses specific to the move up over the span of seven years. In spite of it all, JMU accepted the Sun Belt’s invitation last November. On the surface, it might look like a leap of faith or a money-hungry move to play football at higher stakes. In reality, JMU’s move to a Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) conference has been a long time in the making, Athletic Director Jeff Bourne said at a Nov. 6 press conference, when the move to the Sun Belt was formally announced. President Jonathan Alger said years of strategic financial planning made the jump possible, along with recently increasing JMU’s national status as an R2 Carnegie research institution. Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill said at the same press conference that JMU was an attractive option because of its consistent success not only in football but across its broad spectrum of athletic programs; the school’s size and academics also fit what the Sun Belt wants to build. Its facilities, which greatly improved after the $140 million Atlantic Union Bank Center opened in November, 2020, also made JMU appealing, Gill said. There’s now truly an eastern footprint in the Sun Belt, something Gill said he’s wanted. That said, here are some of the main reasons JMU jumped to the Sun Belt, all cited by Bourne at the Nov. 6 announcement.
JMU fans celebrate the Dukes at the spring game in April. Savannah Reger / The Breeze
Conference support
Put simply, Bourne has expressed he feels more supported by Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill and his commitment to supporting athletics and winning championships than he did in the CAA. JMU’s positioning in the Sun Belt surrounds it with more programs who support their athletic programs across multiple sports.
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Regional rivalries
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The revamped East division of the Sun Belt rekindles JMU with multiple foes from the CAA that have, like JMU, grown too big for their former conferences. Old Dominion and Georgia Southern join the Dukes, in addition to a former FCS power not from the CAA but one JMU Nation is familiar with: Appalachian State. Bourne said these matchups will create more fan excitement.
Increased national exposure
The Sun Belt has a media rights deal with ESPN, dubbed the “Worldwide Leader in Sports.” It draws a much larger audience than FloSports, where JMU sports were primarily viewed in the CAA, allowing JMU’s brand to be seen in front of more people.
Size & identity alignment
There are four private schools in the new-look CAA following JMU’s departure. There are none in the Sun Belt. Bourne said aligning with mid- to large-sized public schools akin to JMU gives the Sun Belt an identity the Dukes didn’t share with everyone in the CAA.
Still, Bourne said, JMU’s goal is to be competitive and win championships across all its programs. Success out the gate in some sports, namely football and baseball, might be difficult based on competition that’s much tougher than what the Dukes faced in the CAA. Georgia Southern in 2014 ran the table their first year in Sun Belt football (9-3, 8-0 Sun Belt), but the conference looks to be much more competitive now. Even still, former JMU football head coach Mickey Mathews told The Athletic in June he could see JMU in the ACC in 20 years. Only time will tell. CONTACT Grant Johnson at breezesports@gmail.com. For more sports coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.
How did JMU get here? Phase I: Power 5 shakeup
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The ripples of conference realignment found JMU just over three months after it began Disclaimer: All movements reflect each school's football conference realignment. Graphics
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Journey around the sun
The dates that defined JMU's move to the Sun Belt
By MADISON HRICIK The Breeze
Fall 2021
Nov. 7, 2021: JMU men’s basketball removes nationally broadcast logos from conference games Nov. 6, 2021: JMU formally accepts Sun Belt invitation & student-athletes protest CAA ban
Oct. 21, 2021: Sun Belt and C-USA reportedly show formal interest in JMU Sources of Yahoo Sports share that C-USA is interested in offering JMU membership two days before Jeff Bourne meets with the media for basketball media day. He doesn’t comment on which conferences he’s spoken to.
JMU formally announces its acceptance of the Sun Belt’s invitation. Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill publicly announces the potential reinstatement of men’s soccer to the conference. JMU student-athletes protest the CAA’s ruling to oust JMU during the homecoming football game after creating a petition to request a waiver to continue postseason conference play.
Nov. 5, 2021: General Assembly approves JMU’s FBS financial plan Oct. 29, 2021: JMU BoV approves FBS jump JMU’s Board of Visitors unanimously approves both JMU football’s FBS jump and the school’s Sun Belt invitation, completing the first step in the university’s realignment process. JMU didn’t formally accept an invitation to the Sun Belt at this time.
Nov. 10, 2021: CAA Board of Directors rejects studentathlete petition to request a waiver for postseason play CAA officials deny the waiver request from student-athletes, citing that the conference is using “a process that is well-established and that JMU leadership supported in several prior conference realignment scenarios” in a press release. Student-athletes again take to social media to express their disappointment.
JMU gets full approval from the Virginia General Assembly Intercollegiate Review Commission on its financial plan to move conferences.
Nov. 3, 2021: CAA bans JMU from conference postseason play
Friday, July 1, 2022
JMU Athletics removes CBS Sports Network logos from men’s basketball games originally scheduled to broadcast nationally, with the exception of JMU vs. U.Va.
CAA officials vote to disqualify JMU sports from postseason conference play if the Dukes accept the Sun Belt invitation. JMU shares the news with student-athletes two days later, and the student-athletes take to social media in protest.
Feb. 2, 2022: JMU and the Sun Belt announce full membership by July 2022 JMU Athletics announces all athletic programs will compete as Sun Belt members beginning July 1, 2022 — except lacrosse, field hockey and swim & dive — after JMU football reached its minimum five FBS games by scheduling MTSU.
Feb. 11, 2022: JMU lacrosse announces affiliate membership with AAC JMU lacrosse announces affiliation with the AAC beginning July 1, 2022. Graphics by Shirin Zia Faqiri / The Breeze
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Present Feb. 16, 2022: NCAA Division I SAAC releases urgent request to reinstate postseason play for JMU and Stony Brook The NCAA Division I SAAC signs an urgent request to allow JMU and Stony Brook programs to compete in conference tournaments. The schools then release a joint statement in support for the reversal.
July 1, 2022: JMU officially joins the Sun Belt
Feb. 22, 2022: Marshall’s Board of Governors files a lawsuit against C-USA’s arbitration
JMU formally becomes part of the Sun Belt, along with Marshall, ODU and Southern Miss.
Marshall Athletics files a lawsuit against C-USA to allow the Thundering Herd to join the Sun Belt on July 1, 2022, after months of negotiations.
Feb. 15, 2022: C-USA includes Marshall, ODU and Southern Mississippi in conference football schedule announcement In C-USA’s full football schedule release, the conference includes Marshall, ODU and Southern Mississippi as institution members; Commissioner Judy MacLeod releases a statement on the decision to require the three members in the new season.
Feb. 11, 2022: Marshall, ODU and Southern Mississippi move to terminate C-USA membership on June 30
March 30, 2022: C-USA, Marshall, Southern Miss, ODU reach a legal settlement Marshall, ODU and Southern Miss reach an undisclosed settlement with C-USA to allow the schools to join the Sun Belt with JMU on July 1. The settlement ends a five-week lawsuit that would’ve prevented the three schools from joining the Sun Belt until 2023.
The Sun Belt Presidents and Chancellors spring meeting approves sponsorship for beach volleyball and swim & dive for the 2023-24 year and will explore sponsoring field hockey in 2023-24.
April 7, 2022: Sun Belt Commissioner formally announces reinstatement of men’s soccer Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill announces a nine-team league for men’s soccer, including multiple nationally ranked programs. The first season with its new teams begins in fall 2022. Read the full timeline at breezejmu.org. CONTACT Madison Hricik at breezesports@ gmail.com. For more sports coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.
Friday, July 1, 2022
Marshall, ODU and Southern Mississippi announce the termination of their C-USA contracts effective June 30, and C-USA responds threatening legal action.
June 6, 2022: Sun Belt announces beach volleyball, swim & dive and potentially field hockey as sponsored sports in coming years
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Lexie Barrier (2016-20) was a women’s basketball Duke before being hired by O’Regan. Breeze file photo
Neil Harrow spent his previous seven seasons coaching at Troy before coming to JMU in April. Courtesy of Troy Athletics
New perspectives New perspectives
Women’s basketball coach hires new assistants with opposing backgrounds
Friday, July 1, 2022
By JACKSON HEPHNER The Breeze
In preparation for his first season in the Sun Belt Conference, JMU women’s basketball head coach Sean O’Regan hired two assistants with vastly different backgrounds. In April, he hired Neil Harrow, who’d spent the previous seven seasons with Troy, which finished first in the Sun Belt last season (249, 13-2 SBC). Then in May, O’Regan made another splash — he hired one of his former JMU players, Lexie Barrier (2016-20). The common denominator between the two coaches? Experience in JMU’s new conference. “I’m really pumped about them,” O’Regan said. “I think they’re going to really help us, and that’s the whole deal.” Each coach’s resume brings something different to JMU’s program as it prepares to compete in a new-look Sun Belt. While those familiar with JMU may recognize Barrier, others might not be too familiar with what Harrow accomplished at Troy. “[Harrow] to me is a very high-level assistant coach — very experienced, very enthusiastic for the game of women’s basketball,” O’Regan said. “[Barrier is] very similar, very enthusiastic … We’ve got a deep relationship that we’ve spent years building, and I trust her with everything.” In Harrow’s seven years at Troy, his teams played against current Sun Belt members like Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina and
Louisiana, all bi-yearly. O’Regan cited that experience as one of the many reasons Harrow became one of his top picks, but Troy did more than that during Harrow’s tenure. When he joined the Trojans ahead of the 2015-16 season, the team was on the precipice of a dramatic turnaround, led by head coach Chanda Rigby. Harrow described working for Troy during those championship runs as a little bit of a “fair y tale.” He credited Rigby for the Trojans’ dramatic turnaround from a bottomthree team in all of Division I to a perennial conference champion in a few years. Troy, led by Rigby and Harrow, won five Sun Belt championships in seven years. “He is a proven winner,” O’Regan said. “Being on a championship-level team, you know what it takes.” Harrow, though leaving behind success at Troy, expressed excitement about his new job at JMU, due in part to JMU’s 202223 personnel. It’ll pose problems for some teams, Harrow said, in part because of the Dukes’ across-the-board size, akin to last year’s Sun Belt champion — University of Texas-Arlington. “There’s nobody like Kiki [Jefferson] in the Sun Belt,” Harrow said of the 6-foot-1 senior guard who recorded her 1,000th point last year. “I think [JMU is] going to have everything we need to compete for a championship.” While Harrow brings experience from his time coaching in the Sun Belt, O’Regan’s
newest hire, Barrier, knows what it’s like to play under him. From 2016-20, Barrier started in 96 of her 127 games, racking up 1,216 career points, which currently ties Jefferson for 21st most in program history. Now, she’s back after a year as a recruitment coordinator with another soon-to-be Sun Belt foe, Marshall. “It feels amazing, honestly,” Barrier said about being back in Harrisonburg. “Having played here, I just kind of know a little bit about pride and tradition. It’s just something I’ve always loved and enjoyed being a part of, so to be back, it feels good to do it all over again.” Barrier is the second former Duke that O’Regan has hired, the first being Kayla Cooper Williams (2015-20), in 2021. Barrier’s been teammates with multiple players on the 2022-23 roster, including Jefferson. “We’ve talked about this throughout her playing career, [asking] in the end, ‘Could she end up coming back here and coaching with us?’” O’Regan said. “There are a lot of good assistant coaches out there, but none of them have that deep relationship with me and knowledge of our program and knowledge of what this place is.” Barrier brings a new perspective — even through playing as a Duke — from her time away. Marshall was her first job opportunity, one where she was given the chance to develop her coaching style on her own and work with her first women’s team.
Fast for ward to now, Barrier said she never envisioned facing her old employer at Marshall. She said she’s still look ing forward to JMU-Marshall matchups because it’s a chance to see ever yone again who kickstarted her coaching career. “I’m looking forward to building with this staff and this group of girls,” Barrier said. “I’m looking to get a ring.” With Barrier and Harrow, JMU’s coaching staff for the next season is all set for its first foray in the Sun Belt. The man who brought them together is locked in for the foreseeable f ut u re — O’Rega n sig ned a t h ree-yea r extension in June, which runs through 2025. When speaking of his new boss, Harrow only had praise for O’Regan, saying he’ll succeed no matter what conference he’s in. With Harrow and Barrier on board for the 2022-23 season, O’Regan expressed conf idence in both of his new coaches’ potential to elevate the program. “ You’re on ly a s good a s t he people around you,” O’Regan said, “and I really bel ieve t hat t hey a re goi ng to help us k ind of snap back to where we shou ld be and hopef ully go up anot her level.” CONTACT Jackson Hephner at hephnejt@ dukes.jmu.edu. For more coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @ TheBreezeSports.
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ESPN+ to bring increased exposure to JMU Athletics By LOGAN SKINNER The Breeze While JMU Athletics has recently been no stranger to the spotlight, the Dukes have previously struggled to find a streaming service to launch JMU into a national brand. As the Dukes transition to the Sun Belt, JMU joins the conference’s partnership with ESPN, earning the university about $100,000 per year, according to USA Today. ESPN+ may be a new platform for the Dukes, but the success of JMU’s past endeavors with College GameDay and a smattering of nationally televised games on ESPN suggests the partnership will be successful. “College athletics, if you’re talking from a brand standpoint, it’s about relevancy,” Kevin Warner, JMU assistant athletic director for communications, said. “What makes you the most relevant in the sports landscape? That’s ESPN … It’s no secret that most people are still consuming their sports content on ESPN.”
JMU’s history with ESPN
Seven Sun Belt football games eclipsed a million viewers on ESPN networks and ESPN+ during the 2020 season. In July 2021, the Sun Belt extended its partnership with ESPN through 2031. The new deal increases the number of the conference’s football games shown on TV in addition to streaming on ESPN+ by 50%, with 40% more games broadcast on Saturdays, per the Sun Belt’s July 21, 2021, press release. With over 22 million ESPN+ subscribers as of May 2022, JMU student-athletes will have more eyes on them than ever before, which could lead to name, image and likeness (NIL) opportunities. “The value you’re bringing from an NIL standpoint is all about your exposure,” Warner said. “If a brand were to want to partner with you, what visibility do you bring that brand? That has to do with what kind of stage you’re playing on, what attention you’re getting based upon your achievements, and it can tie in a little bit of personality.” Former JMU softball pitcher Odicci Alexander gained visibility from ESPN’s coverage of the 2021 Women’s College World Series (WCWS). She’s amassed more than 96,000 Instagram and 33,000 Twitter followers to date and signed an endorsement deal with Under Armour in August 2021. “None of that happens without ESPN,” Warner said. “Look at how many people were talking about Odicci Alexander … There was tremendous talk about that Women’s College World Series run.” JMU Athletics events were originally livestreamed on the free service MadiZONE. In 2019, the CAA signed a four-year, sevenfigure deal with FloSports to become the first conference to make a direct-to-consumer streaming service its primary media partner. Of the 10 CAA-member schools, JMU was the only one that opposed the deal, according to the Daily News-Record. “To go from a free consumer model to a model that was charging over $12 a month, we thought was really going to hurt our brand and hurt our fanbase,” Warner said. “We had a model where we felt like we were making revenue and maximizing how many people
could watch it versus a model where the league revenue significantly increased.” The FloSports paywall negatively affected JMU’s viewership on the platform compared to its viewership on MadiZONE, Warner said. As reported by the Daily News-Record, the Dukes averaged 7,186 viewers for home football games broadcast on MadiZONE from 2015 to 2018. JMU’s average viewership for home football games dropped to 4,851 on FloSports from 2019 to 2021. ESPN+ charges $6.99 per month, almost half the price of FloSports. “The product when we’re on ESPN+ — from a James Madison standpoint — the viewer is going to get the same product they’ve been receiving in terms of the product itself,” Curt Dudley, JMU director of broadcast services emeritus, said. “The biggest difference is the delivery platform. You had FloSports, which was not user-friendly and not a very popular brand, versus ESPN+, which is user-friendly and is a popular brand and comes with a lot of weight to it.” JMU Athletics events will no longer air on NBC Sports Washington as they did previously under FloSports. Instead, any TV broadcast will air only on ESPN networks. “Their support has been really helpful as we’ve grown,” Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill said of the conference’s “tremendous” partnership with ESPN. “I do think it will be an asset for JMU and do think it will be something great for their fans in terms of, it will be kind of easier to find things.” JMU Athletics hired Corey Spector as its broadcast coordinator beginning in 2021 and brought on Kelly Bowmaster as director of live productions this spring. Both were brought on to raise the quality of JMU Athletics’ broadcasts,
which Dudley said helped build JMU’s internal production operation. Furthermore, Dudley said, JMU Athletics plans on increasing its number of broadcasts, which means it’ll need multiple commentators, producers, camera operators and other media personnel to broadcast multiple games simultaneously. The increase in broadcasts produced by JMU on ESPN+ will bring attention to some of the less watched sports, like golf, which the Sun Belt Conference produced, Gill said — “not every conference does that.” Tennis, Gill said, can be seen on ESPN+ but not always on linear TV. Beyond athletics, Warner said that JMU as a university will benefit from increased exposure on ESPN. “This partnership with ESPN is not just a sports thing,” Warner said. “It brings tremendous visibility for James Madison University and people around the country noticing us. CONTACT Logan Skinner at skinnela@dukes. jmu.edu. For more sports coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.
Friday, July 1, 2022
When it comes to national exposure on ESPN, FCS teams get limited opportunities compared to their FBS counterparts. The FCS typically has national broadcasts on ESPN and ESPN2 for the quarterfinals and semifinals of the FCS playoffs, and ABC broadcasts for the FCS Championship and Celebration Bowl. “If you look at the analytics from our FCS playoff appearances, we were always on that upper-tier of the other schools in the FCS,” Warner said. He coordinated the 2015 and 2017 College GameDays featuring JMU with ESPN. “Even our College GameDay appearances were higher than a lot of FBS schools in terms of the viewership numbers.” College GameDay’s visit to JMU in 2017 drew 1.8 million viewers, trailing only the opening weekend matchup between then-No. 1 Alabama and then-No. 3 Florida State for the most-watched College GameDay broadcast of that season. The Dukes finished No. 2 in the FCS that season, losing to North Dakota State in the National Championship. According to HeroSports’ data for the 2021 FCS Playoffs, the Dukes drew 666,000 viewers on ESPN2 for their quarterfinal matchup against Montana and cracked 1,150,000 viewers on ESPN2 against North Dakota State, a Friday night game in the semifinals. For all 2021 college football games, ESPN averaged 1,733,000 viewers and ESPN2 averaged 643,000 viewers. The 2019 FCS Championship between JMU and NDSU had 2,680,000 viewers on ABC — the most-watched FCS game of all time.
National exposure
10 FBS specific revenue
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- $1,588,129
2024-25 - $2,494,978
- $3,431,038
Disclaimer: The numbers — which are projected except 2021-22— are via a pro forma JMU submitted to the Intercollegiate Athletic Review Commission on Nov. 5. Infographic by Grant Johnson / The Breeze
Level up
JMU's FBS jump to bring increased revenue, costs
Friday, July 1, 2022
By GRANT JOHNSON The Breeze
Just two years ago, JMU played basketball in a gym that could front for a high school team. Just one year ago, the latest conference realignment wave hadn’t crashed college athletics yet. When the Texas- and Oklahomainitiated late-July crash came, JMU Athletics was much more prepared than the year prior. It christened a nearly $140 million basketball arena in November 2020, the Atlantic Union Bank Center (AUBC) — an upgraded basketball facility was the No. 1 recommendation for JMU to become an attractive addition to a larger conference, according to a 2013 FBS feasibility study called the Carr Report. The report’s completion is required by the NCAA for universities to move football divisions. So, when the Sun Belt Conference extended an invitation to JMU in November 2021, director of athletes Jeff Bourne had done the prerequisite work — not just by building the AUBC but through biweekly 7:30 a.m. meetings with Charlie King, JMU’s then-senior vice president of administration and finance. At these meetings, the topic of moving to the FBS surfaced regularly, Bourne said Nov. 6 when JMU formally accepted its Sun Belt invitation. Well before the November announcement, JMU’s athletic department’s pockets and onfield successes had jutted out of the CAA like a sore thumb. The Dukes were ready to make the leap. But everything good comes at a cost. “Let’s face it — this is expensive,” Bourne said at a Feb. 2 press conference, when JMU was announced to have an accelerated timetable to play a full FBS football schedule in 2022. “To be able to maintain competitive athletic programs at this level takes resources.” The expenses required for an FBS program balance out with new revenue streams only available at the highest level of college football. Bourne has said, money aside, the Sun Belt brings multiple perks, and not just in football: revamped regional rivalries, namely
with Old Dominion and Appalachian State; alignment with mid- to large-sized public institutions akin to JMU; and more national exposure via the Sun Belt’s ESPN deal, which runs through 2030-31. Here’s what JMU has to pay to sustain these perks.
Cost to contend
King presented a pro forma — a calculation of projected financial results — to the Intercollegiate Athletic Review Commission of the Virginia General Assembly on Nov. 5. It outlines JMU’s projected costs and revenue that will result from the FBS jump. First, JMU paid a $1.25 million one-time buyout to leave the CAA; this only impacted the 2021-22 fiscal year. Beginning July 1, there’ll be a $1.2 million increase in travel expenses, stemming from additional flights and charter buses needed in an FBS football schedule that includes an extra nonconference road game. This figure was calculated assuming travel expenses for field hockey, lacrosse, tennis, track & field and swim & dive won't change. Sun Belt game officials will cost JMU $135,000 more starting July 1. Kevin Warner, JMU assistant athletic director for communications, said this cost stems from a new officials consortium for the Sun Belt, which has pay and travel increases. These increases don’t apply to other gameday operations, like clock managers and the football chain gang, he said. July 1 will also begin a $603,000 increase in football salaries over three years. JMU football head coach Curt Cignetti’s salary will increase by $225,000 over three years, and the 10 football assistant coaches’ salary pool will grow by $378,000 over the same period. These increases bring JMU’s median coaching salaries in line with its Sun Belt counterparts. Three new football support staff positions will be added — one each year from 202224 — with $50,000 salaries each: an assistant director of operations, director of recruiting and director of player personnel. JMU will spend $95,000 to bolster football recruiting, while scholarship expenses are
on track to increase 3% in-state and 1.75% out-of-state in line with JMU’s annual tuition increases. Warner said in an email that JMU football may not need to add 22 more scholarships over 2-3 years like previous transitioning teams because some scholarship players with extra COVID-19 eligibility are still on the roster. The maximum number of football scholarships FBS programs can support is 85, versus 63 in the FCS. The pro forma says JMU will increase its football scholarships by six, then 11, then five yearly until 2024-25, but, Warner said, it’s a guide and not a formality. Since COVID-19 eligibility and transfer players’ scholarships are fluid, he said JMU football currently has somewhere between 63-85 players on scholarship but is “scaling up” to the FBS’s 85-scholarship cap. Baseball will receive a $35,000 increase in its salary pool. Expenses relating to managing facilities, summer school and books are also acknowledged in the pro forma. In total, JMU is projected to pay over $23 million in FBS expenses between July 1, 2022, and 2028-29, the last year outlined in its fiveyear FBS transition window.
Lucrative horizons
To balance the expenditures, the FBS move provides JMU with more revenue streams. It’ll bring in about $600,000 more than its FBS expenses — $4.3 million in FBS revenue versus $3.7 million in expenses — in 2028-29. Here’s how it’ll get there, as outlined in the pro forma: Initially, JMU’s FBS-specific expenses will outpace its gains — it’s not until 2027-28 that it’ll flip. This change comes when the Sun Belt’s conference distributions for JMU — money from its ESPN deal and shares from the College Football Playoff (CFP) — increase to $2.5 million. JMU will receive $600,000 from the conference until 2023-24, $1.5 million annually for the next three academic years starting in 2024, then $2.5 million for the last two years each of the transition. JMU didn’t receive any conference distribution money from CAA football with its subscriberbased FloSports streaming partnership and
no CFP shares as an FCS conference. Other revenue streams will come from JMU’s gameday operations: football season and single-game tickets and club seat prices will increase by 8% this fall, then 4% annually. Basketball tickets will also rise 4% annually. The pro forma doesn’t say JMU will begin charging students. JMU is allotting $125,000 for a Nike contract that will be renegotiated in fiscal year 2026, which begins July 1, 2025, after the university’s first full year in the Sun Belt. This is assuming JMU’s waiver to get “full FBS status” one year sooner — July 1, 2023, instead of the same date in 2024 — gets denied. If the waiver is passed, JMU football will be eligible for bowl games, a Sun Belt conference championship and the 85 scholarship maximum next July. Bourne said June 27 that JMU won’t take action regarding its waiver status until “maybe December.” JMU currently has “full FBS membership” starting this July 1, which allowed the Dukes’ football schedule to feature 10 FBS opponents. Football money guarantees for road games are also anticipated to increase from what JMU previously received facing FBS programs in the CAA. These guarantees are ways for smaller programs to fund their athletic department while the bigger school exchanges the payment for, usually, an easy home win. Money guarantees aren’t skyrocketing for the Dukes right away, though: The last Power 5 team JMU faced on the road in the CAA, West Virginia in 2019, paid the Dukes $550,000. JMU plays Louisville on Nov. 5, 2022, and will receive $600,000 for making the trip. The Dukes face U.Va. at Charlottesville in 2023 for a $550,000 return. On the other hand, JMU will pay Middle Tennessee $700,000 to trek to Harrisonburg on Sept. 3, a price “more aligned with what you see scheduling FBS teams,” Bourne said Feb. 2, but since it’s a one-way contract with no future game hosted by the Blue Raiders, JMU won’t get a return on its investment. When JMU hosted Morehead State as an FCS team last fall, the Dukes doled out $150,000.
11 +$3,115,784
+$3,261,916
2025-26
+$4,300,242 2027-28
2028-29
2026-27 - $3,508,916
“The reason we play those games, like Louisville and others, is there’s a revenue component behind them,” Bourne said. “We’ll continue to look at that philosophy — again, we try to be realistic with the opponents that we play. We have not made the trip to Michigan or Alabama — I don’t know if those opponents are in the cards.” There’s another revenue source, one Bourne expects to keep growing: donorship. He said one donor who’d given $100 to JMU Athletics annually increased his gift to $1,000 the morning of the Sun Belt announcement. The pro forma assumes athletics contributions will grow 6% during the transition window, then stabilize to 4% for subsequent years. JMU Athletics is on pace to fundraise over $3.5 million this year by mid-July, Warner said, which would be a new record. Even so, he said, donorship must keep breaking records to pay its increased expenses. “This will all come back to roost eventually on our alumni, fans and ticket holders,” Bourne said Nov. 6. “[It’s] very, very critical.”
- $3,580,414
get below the 55% cap within its seven-year FBS financial plan as well as justifications for going FBS via a pro forma. The commission was created in 2015
- $3,672,696
under Virginia Del. Kirk Cox’s HB 1897 to ensure a Virginia university’s move to a higher division or adding a sport doesn’t financially burden students too heavily.
Lighten the backpack
Charlie King, former senior vice president of administration and finance, presented JMU's financial plan in Richmond on Nov. 5. Savannah Reger / The Breeze
- $3,746,635
JMU was the first school to go before this commission. Maggio said JMU was around a 58% subsidy percentage in November 2021; the disparity from the USA Today number, he said, likely exists because some would-be fees like spirit groups — costs related to the Marching Royal Dukes, for example — and debt from capital facility projects before the commission’s creation can be exempt from the calculation presented, according to Cox’s bill. JMU was closer to 55% than the 70% subsidy cap imposed on Virginia FCS programs. “It wouldn't take much movement in order for them to get below [55%],” Maggio, who was a notetaker during JMU’s presentation to the commission, said. The pro forma suggests JMU will be at 54.1% subsidy by 2028-29 and already below 55% the year prior. “When the members [of the commission] looked at that, they saw that as being sort of, somewhat favorable,” Maggio said. If JMU fails to meet the subsidy percentage progress requirements as determined by Virginia’s auditor of public accounts (APA), who does an annual report on compliance, it results in “reduction of the financial and administrative operations authority granted to the institution,” according to HB 1897. “The APA is sort of our watchdog on this,” Maggio said. “If [JMU] were to fail entirely on that, then the consequences are — one of the things would be [they] lose some of their decentralization authorities that they have.” In JMU’s case, however, missing the 55% didn’t surface as a likelihood — Maggio said no one on the committee opposed King’s pro forma, and commission members voted unanimously to approve JMU’s FBS jump. What’s left for JMU is the aftermath tied to leveling up: more revenue, more costs and heightened stakes. As Bourne said Nov. 6, through all the pomp of the Sun Belt announcement and Homecoming weekend: “We have a tremendous amount of work to do internally.” “They're looking to this to be next as a natural progression for them,” Maggio said. “They believe that it'd be beneficial for the program, and so the data that they provided seems to support that.” In 2029, Maggio said, that'll be known. CONTACT Grant Johnson at breezesports@ gmail.com. For more sports coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @ TheBreezeSports.
Friday, July 1, 2022
JMU brought in the 61st most revenue among the 230 highest-earning college athletic programs in 2019-20, according to the latest annual report by USA Today that compiles detailed revenue and expense numbers for each school. JMU’s earnings are in line with Group of 5 programs like UNLV, South Florida and now-Big 12-bound Houston and Memphis. Five other CAA teams are on the list, and all 12 Sun Belt teams that were in the conference in 2020 made the cut as well. JMU’s was higher than all 17: $58.2 million in athletics revenue, offset by an equal price of expenses, or money spent to ensure revenue generation. Of the revenue, over $45 million came from student fees in 2019-20, USA Today showed. That’s 77%. To make the FBS jump as a Virginia institution, JMU’s subsidy percentage — the sum of school funds and student fees, or “subsidy,” divided by other athletics revenue — can’t exceed 55% by the end of its transition window. Tony Maggio, a legislative fiscal analyst for the Virginia House of Delegates’ house appropriations committee, said 55% was settled on after looking at national data, like the USA poll, that showed most Group of 5 schools hover around that percentage. As such, JMU, led by Charlie King and President Jonathan Alger, presented to the Intercollegiate Athletic Review Commission on how the university could
+$4,339,319
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Graphic by Shirin Zia Fa
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Analysis | JMU to face new NIL outlook in the Sun Belt By CRAIG MATHIAS The Breeze
Cam bri ee aL he /T Bre
Friday, July 1, 2022
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On July 1, JMU officially became a member of the Sun Belt Conference. Last year, that same day was the first that college athletes could profit off their name, image and likeness (NIL). A year later, NIL deals have asserted themselves as a prime player in college sports — whether people are in favor of them or not. Moving to the Sun Belt allows student-athletes at JMU to better reap the benefits that come with NIL. While opportunities for JMU studentathletes may be more lucrative compared to the CAA, JMU Athletic Director Jeff Bourne said on June 27 that JMU and other schools not in the top 25-30 rankings — referring to football — are at a severe disadvantage compared to schools with more resources because they use NIL as a recruiting tool, not in its organic form. “We’re going through this as an industry nationwide; JMU is not isolated in any way,” Bourne said. “It’s nice that this affiliation [with the Sun Belt] is behind us — now I can turn my attention to these other issues.” However, other Sun Belt programs are doing their best to keep up with NIL’s fluidity. The University of Louisiana has recently implemented an NIL training program as it looks to further advance its student-athletes’ progress in NIL deals. The University Lucrative Training Resource Advantage (ULtra) program details how Louisiana’s student-athletes will become exposed to more NIL deals both locally and nationwide under ULtra. Jaci Russo, head of ULtra, stressed in an article from the Daily News-Record that it isn’t just a money dump for studentathletes. ULtra isn’t a collective designed to pay recruits large sums of money to join the school; rather, it’s a focus on helping the student-athletes both during and after their academic careers. Another advocate of NIL deals for college athletes is Shyra Johnson, CEO of Team Empire Sports — a sports and marketing agency that prepares athletes for business opportunities after their playing careers end. Considering the possible opportunities and challenges each student-athlete can face with NIL deals, Johnson said in an email to The Breeze that while deals are there for the taking, withholding both the ever-changing reputation in the NIL world and the duties of a student-athlete will be difficult. “Most athletes think a brand is the merchandise they plan to produce or the product they are associated with, but I remind them that they (the athlete) is the brand,” said Johnson. The challenges student athletes will face it attempting to balance building their reputation within the NIL space, all while being a student athlete. There is time to fit it within their schedule, but that’s why having an agent is helpful because they are there to
guide the athlete to accomplish their goals within NIL.” [sic] Similar to Bourne, a common fear of college football fans is that lucrative NIL deals are luring players away from smaller schools to the Alabama’s, Clemson’s, etc. of the country. However, Johnson said this isn’t something for smaller schools to be concerned about as every school stands out with what they can offer to its studentathletes. “All athletes and companies are relevant during the NIL era,” Johnson said. “What allows the athlete and business to stand out is the power of the campaign or project both the athlete and the company put together. There are just as many companies as there are athletes — it is up to who the athlete builds within their team to create opportunities for themselves.” JMU has had its fair share of athletes cash in on NIL since last July. Women’s basketball senior guard Kiki Jefferson has recently announced a partnership with Universole, a sneaker company in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, while men’s basketball redshirt senior guard Vado Morse has been partnered with Campus Mogul, an apparel company that allows college athletes to create custom clothing to maximize building their brand. JMU baseball’s Nick Stewart has also taken advantage of multiple NIL opportunities. He’s a CleanFuego athlete, which is a baseball training company based out of Rockville, Maryland, and has dealings with Liquid IV and Dude Wipes. These aren’t the only JMU studentathletes with NIL deals, but they’ve created an income for themselves while earning a college degree. These revolutionary deals not only create more opportunities for the student-athletes themselves but for their families and possibly their communities if a significant sum of money is earned. Some speculate this factored into former JMU linebacker Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey’s transfer to the University of Texas for his final year of eligibility. Tucker-Dorsey retweeted a reply saying he got offered a mega NIL deal to play for the Longhorns. While many JMU fans might be disappointed to see a talent like TuckerDorsey leave the program, it’s clear he took a better opportunity both athletically and financially, and Tucker-Dorsey’s situation could become a recurring theme for JMU athletes. While the move to the Sun Belt increases the Dukes’ spotlight via ESPN networks, schools in the SEC, ACC and Big Ten may retain control of the top recruits based on the respective pedigrees of each school. According to an article from Front Office Sports, Ohio State has now eclipsed 1,000 NIL deals among its student-athletes. Nevertheless, if the Sun Belt continues to move in the right direction, it’ll allow JMU to better combat the stronghold Power 5 programs currently possess with NIL. Success in their inaugural Sun Belt season could pave the way for the Dukes to take better advantage of NIL down the line. CONTACT Craig Mathias at mathiack@dukes. jmu.edu. For more sports coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.
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Behind the scenes By MADISON HRICIK The Breeze
Before earning the commissioner position, Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill was an athletic director for Richmond and American, including a solid relationship with JMU Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne. Gill saw it all, helping guide the Dukes to their new era. He looked at JMU’s geographical location, the school’s interest in ESPN and the profitability in a top-tier FCS program before offering JMU a chance to join his conference. In a one-on-one interview with The Breeze, Gill answered questions about his view of JMU’s realignment — the backstory, the chaos that ensued and the nationwide reaction. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Q: How soon did you start having conversations with other schools?
Gill: We, as a conference, started having conversations immediately. Once we all got over the shock of Texas and Oklahoma, then we’re like, ‘All right well, what does this mean for us and how do we think about it?’ So, we started having weekly, and in some cases bi-weekly, calls about our conference, and it took us some time to figure out what we [wanted] to do.
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Q: How do you coordinate scheduling for the conference across all sports?
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Gill: That’s the tricky thing about scheduling, that kind of constant communication. We have to make sure that we have all of the nonconference schedules, and we’re talking to schools about dates. We all use a consistent scheduling software called Gridiron that helps us keep things into perspective because the thing that's important for us is you're trying to get your nonconference games, really, in weeks one through four, or if it's not weeks one through four, you're trying to get them in a week where another Sun Belt school will have a nonconference game. The thing that's hard is when you get deeper into the season, like a Week 10 [game], you've got one nonconference game that makes the schedule a challenge. And so you're really trying to work with your schools to make sure you get in that nonconference game outside of Week 4. So, you don't necessarily have to have a bye week early [with] a school playing 10 games in a row and so, it really is complicated, but ... we're constantly communicating with our schools because that's also important in terms of the nonconference because we've got to sign the officials and make sure that we get the right officials to the right spot. Once we finish with this year, then we'll move right on to the next year, trying to figure out all the nonconference, figure out how the conference games can fit in around that. And it's kind of a consistent kind of cycle where it almost never stops. It's a little bit like the hamster wheel, in terms of scheduling.
My reach out was later in the fall after we’d done some groundwork to understand who’s interested and if there’s some reciprocity there, and I would reach out and follow up in that regard.
Q: How did you manage media looking for information about realignment decisions?
Gill: That [was] really hard, because you don’t want to share anything, but you want to be responsive. It’s kind of a big challenge to figure out where that line is between, being responsive and not giving too much away. I’ve always just tried to treat people the way I’ve wanted to be treated, and try to be as forthcoming as I can. Then if I can’t say something, [I’ll] just say, ‘I can’t really speak on that right now,’ and follow up with them in whatever kind of space that they’re talking about.
Q: How do you cultivate relationships with coaches and student-athletes in the conference?
Gill: Student-athletes are hard because a lot of times those relationships are a one-off. I’ll make sure I go try to talk to as many as I can during media day in football, but we don’t have a big media day for all the sports. So, I say “hello” to them at the championships and those kinds of things.
Gill: We’re still dealing with those impacts because we haven’t finished up all our schedules. By now, we would’ve been done with them. So, that uncertainty certainly caused us to delay, and we’re delivering them a little later than we would normally — I would say months, to some extent. We’re still kind of working through the basketball schedule, but that would be something we would be done with by now. But it’s not in every case — we released our football schedule on March 1 just like we were planning to, so that wasn’t delayed in that regard. It’s not every sport, but some of the sports aren’t on the same schedule they would be.
Q: What made you decide to keep divisions in the Sun Belt, despite the change elsewhere?
Gill: I don’t necessarily think that’s in our best interest. At the end of the day, we’re going to decide to create a format that’s best for the College Football Playoff. That’s what we’re trying to do. How do you get access? So if we find a way to do that, we’ll certainly make changes if we need to. That being said, part of the reason we put this conference together was so that we could create regional rivalries. So scrapping the divisions, or at least not scheduled in the divisional way, kind of goes against that. It’s great because JMU will play six football games within its division right there in the East and then [go] outside of the region, so they have one away trip outside their region. So, we might be the unicorn in that regard, but we’re OK with that.
CONTACT Madison Hricik at breezesports@gmail.com. For more sports coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.
Friday, July 1, 2022
I think one of the tough parts about being a commissioner is your relationship with student-athletes just isn't the same. I appreciated the relationship with student-athletes when I was an [athletic director] much more than the ones I have now because I don’t get to see them grow up. I think that’s one of the more challenging parts of my role, as someone who considers themselves a people person and really likes to engage and talk to folks. I don’t necessarily get to do that as much as I would really like.
Q: What was the effect of the C-USA suit in terms of Sun Belt scheduling?
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JMU/Richmond meet for a cointoss before kickoff in 2008. Photos courtesy of Scott Lemn
Old foes meet again JMU’s move to Sun Belt rekindles history with past opponents By WILL MORAN The Breeze
New conference, old rivalries. JMU’s move to the Sun Belt Conference means it will once again play teams it has a storied history with, such as Appalachian State, Georgia State, Georgia Southern and Old Dominion. Some teams have played recently, and it’s been some time for others since the last matchup, but with the conference realignment, those rivalries are back. Former JMU fullback Willie Lanier (198790) faced once-old foes Appalachian State and Georgia Southern many times. Lanier said those were the premier CAA programs and, whenever the schedules came out, the Appalachian State and Georgia Southern games were the ones JMU would most prepare for. This was because of the intense rivalry JMU had with the two programs. The rivalry with Georgia Southern, however, was especially bitter. “In Statesboro, [Georgia] … their field sat down below grade, so the fans were sitting literally 10 feet above [our] heads,” Lanier said. “They would throw batteries at us on the sidelines. That’s how intense they were.” Lanier said he believes that intensity will pick right back up where it left off. He’s also excited for JMU football and the chance for his alma mater to prove itself — Lanier believes the Dukes will “shock some people” this season.
Friday, July 1, 2022
Prominence at Bridgeforth
Graphics by Ashlyn Campbell / The Breeze
JMU and Appalachian State first faced off in 1980 and played every season until 1992. The Dukes were 3-9 versus the Mountaineers during this time frame and are 4-12 overall. The action between the two FCS powerhouses from the Blue Ridge Mountains picked up in the early 2000s, as both teams emerged as perennial FCS title contenders. JMU won its first FCS National Championship in 2004, followed by three Appalachian State titles in a row from 2005-07. En route to their third national title, the No. 1 Mountaineers, as they were the two years prior, defeated the Dukes 28-27. In an attempt to set up the game-winning field goal, JMU fumbled on a run on the left hash of the 10-yard line with 22 seconds left. This sent the Dukes home in the first round of the 2007 FCS playoffs in a “heartbreaker,” then-junior JMU center and current head football coach at Bridgewater College, Scott Lemn (2004-08), called it. The Dukes met the Mountaineers again in 2008. At the time, Appalachian State was again ranked No. 1 in the nation, but JMU was No. 5. Lemn said the anticipation was heightened, albeit a regular season game, because Appalachian State was coming off
three national titles while JMU hadn’t gotten out of the first round of the playoffs for the last two years. Lemn said there was a feeling of redemption for the Dukes as they sought to make a “national statement.” However, it didn’t look like JMU would make that statement after 30 minutes of play. JMU trailed 21-0 at the half, but Lemn said the team didn’t feel extreme pressure during the intermission. “There was a calm in the locker room and that came from the coaching staff, too,” Lemn said. “We just operated business as usual … I just remember [head coach Mickey Matthews’] position was, ‘We got a half of football; I like the effort and energy we are playing with; we gotta execute.’” It was a basic halftime speech, Lemn said, but it worked. The Dukes brought the opening second-half kickoff back for a touchdown. The defense then forced a punt. Soon after, redshirt senior quarterback Rodney Landers scampered 62 yards for another JMU touchdown, making it 21-14. The momentum shifted in JMU’s favor in a matter of minutes, Lemn said. The Dukes completed the comeback and downed the Mountaineers 35-32, making the statement that Lemn and the rest of the team had hoped for. “This was really the first big game of national prominence in Bridgeforth during my time,” Lemn said. “[With] how excited the fanbase was, obviously they stormed the field. That part was awesome.” JMU football hasn’t sustained a losing season in 20 years, and Lemn doesn’t foresee the Dukes breaking that streak in the Sun Belt. “I would anticipate JMU coming out and doing pretty well in that league. That is what has been expected from the college,” Lemn said. “There’s a really high standard of excellence.”
Basketball growth On the hardwood, the most history comes against Old Dominion. JMU and ODU have faced off 86 times dating back to 1972, when JMU hall of fame member Gary Butler (196973) prepared them for the Dukes. Butler played when the team began its transition from Division III to Division II in 1972. During that season, the Dukes faced the Monarchs for the first time — a big step up from their normal competition, Butler said. “We had been playing Bridgewater, Eastern Mennonite, some northern schools,” Butler said. “We were upping the game a little bit and making our schedule better and that year, the 1971-72 season, VCU and Old Dominion were the big games on our schedule.” ODU holds the all-time advantage over JMU at 58-28. Butler’s freshman year, 1969-70, was the first season JMU had a basketball program.
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The move to the Sun Belt means JMU will be up against historical rivalries such as Appalachian State, Georgia State, Georgia Southern and ODU.
He said that team never would’ve expected it to become what it is today. “That was the first NCAA varsity program in [1969], and we got better each year. We never had a losing season,” Butler said. “When we got to play VCU and Old Dominion and Roanoke, we felt good because we were moving up, but there is no way as a Division III team at that time we ever could have [envisioned it] … It happened really fast.” Butler has witnessed the growth of JMU basketball since its inception and has high
new-look Sun Belt. “We have a lot of unknowns on our team coming up, but we have a good trio of players coming back that I think we should be competitive,” Butler said. “I think the renewed rivalry across the board in every sport, you are gonna see some great contests.”
‘Win-win’ for baseball Outside the bounds of Bridgeforth Stadium and the Atlantic Union Bank Center, JMU baseball has most of its now-Sun Belt history with Coastal Carolina, Georgia State and Old Dominion. Jake Lowery (2009-11), former JMU slugger, remembered them being well-coached teams that brought it both at home and away. The Dukes have faced Coastal Carolina and Georgia State only a handful of times but have a strong history with Old Dominion. JMU has played the Monarchs 111 times, dating back to 1975, with Old Dominion holding a 59-51-1 advantage. JMU knocked off the Monarchs in the CAA Championship game 10-1 in 2011, a moment Lowery re m e mb e r s a s a big series for JMU because ODU was such a talented group. This ODU
roster featured pro players such as Kyle Hald, an 18th round selection by the St. Louis Cardinals. Because of this win, JMU got the automatic qualification into the NCAA tournament — the last time the Dukes made it into the NCAA. Lowery said JMU was able to defeat the Monarchs largely due to ODU’s pitching fatigue. He added that coming out of the loser’s bracket forced ODU to use up a lot of their pitching strength, allowing JMU to jump out to a lead and win the championship. The conference change is something Lowery thinks will benefit his alma mater, and he said he’s “excited” for JMU and ODU to be in the same conference again. Heading into the Sun Belt is a step up for the Diamond Dukes. Seven of the 12 teams in the conference finished with a winning record, and four qualified for NCAA Regionals. JMU finished above .500 at 27-26 but it was against lesser competition, and it’s losing some top players from last season, like Travis Reifsnider and Chase DeLauter. Even still, Lowery said the overall move and what it’ll bring excites him. “I think it is a win-win for the school, winwin for the program,” Lowery said. “They are going to play a bit more towards the West Coast and central and the South where baseball is good, so I am excited for everyone.” JMU’s baseball program, along with their basketball and football program, has been competing for a long time. Over the course of many years of competition, it’s inevitable to face the same opponents. And with the rise in conference realignment, these opponents come back more often. JMU, unlike most teams in the latest realignment wave, will see some familiar faces yet again. As for when these rivalries will re-emerge, Lanier believes it will happen “instantly.” “One day one it will feel like the old days,” Lanier said. CONTACT Will Moran at moranwp@dukes. jmu.edu. For more coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter @TheBreezeSports.
Friday, July 1, 2022
JMU Dukes vs William & Mary Tribe in 2008.
praise for the program and JMU in general, which he called “the premier university in the state of Virginia.” The Dukes proved that growth on the court early on last season. They were undefeated against teams from the commonwealth, including the first victory in program history against U.Va. Despite its in-state success, JMU struggled at the tail end of the 2021-22 season as a result of injuries to key players, but Butler believes they’re primed to make a run this year in the
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from kickoff to the alma mater
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