James Madison has officially accepted an invitation to join the the Sun Belt Conference, it was announced Saturday.
The Dukes, an FCS powerhouse who won the national title in 2016 and has made two title-game appearances since, will begin a two-year transition to the FBS after this season and will join the Sun Belt no later than July 1, 2023.
“We are thrilled to welcome James Madison University to the Sun Belt Conference,” said Keith Gill, Sun Belt Conference commissioner. “This move brings another strong brand and passionate fanbase into the Sun Belt and elevates the Dukes’ storied football program to the highest level of NCAA competition. I am grateful to JMU president Jonathan Alger and athletics director Jeff Bourne for their leadership during this process and look forward to working closely with them moving forward.”
James Madison’s addition brings the number of Sun Belt members to 16, with the Dukes joining Appalachian State, Little Rock, Arkansas State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Louisiana, ULM, South Alabama, UTA, Texas State and Troy, along with new members Southern Miss, Old Dominion and Marshall, which joined the Sun Belt last week.
James Madison, previously a member of the Colonial Athletic Conference, will compete in the Sun Belt in all sports. The Dukes participate in 18 varsity sports.
“As James Madison University prepares and anticipates to earn additional national recognition for our academic programs and excellence, admission into the Sun Belt Conference is a natural and complementary next step for our institution,” said JMU president Jonathan Alger. “We are thrilled to have received and accepted an invitation into this conference, with a new and visionary opportunity for high-level competition within the eastern region. We have always sought to do things the right way as a university for our students, faculty and staff, student-athletes and coaches and the time is right for JMU to move up to the highest level in D-1 athletics and enter the Sun Belt! This is an exciting and historic moment of transition for JMU, and I greatly appreciate the teamwork and diligence of so many people behind the scenes that have enabled us to reach this important milestone.”
James Madison decided to pursue a move to the Sun Belt Conference despite being told by the Colonial Athletic Association that it will be barred from participating in CAA championships before its actual departure.
The Dukes’ withdrawal from the CAA is effective June 30, 2022, the CAA said.
“JMU has been extremely successful during its time as a member of CAA Football and has brought great recognition to the conference. We understand their desire to move to the FBS level and wish them well in that pursuit,” CAA commissioner Joe D’Antonio said in a statement released Saturday.
In a statement released before the vote, Alger and athletic director Jeff Bourne said the CAA’s decision to ban the Dukes from competing for league championships in sports other than football “is completely contrary” to the ideals that stress student-athlete welfare.
“We were thorough and heartfelt in appealing to the league’s council of presidents, but that appeal was denied. Eight other Division I conferences have full members that have publicly announced an exit and yet all eight have allowed the student-athletes at those institutions to continue competing for championships.,” the statement says.
D’Antonio said the decision was in keeping with the league bylaws, which the JMU officials said are outdated.
“To our knowledge, the CAA is alone in this outdated bylaw. JMU has striven to be a good partner of the CAA and to treat other institutions as they would want to be treated, but that ideal is not being reciprocated,” the statement said.
The Dukes, two-time national champions at the Football Championship Subdivision level, will not be barred from representing the league in the football playoffs because different bylaws govern that sport in the CAA, and the league does not play a championship game.
D’Antonio on Thursday noted that the league exacted the same limitations against Old Dominion and Georgia State when they chose to leave the league in 2013.
JMU was scheduled to host CAA championships in men’s soccer, women’s basketball, women’s lacrosse and softball, but the league said it will work with the membership to determine new sites for those championships.
The Dukes’ departure for the Football Bowl Subdivision has been anticipated for years, especially after the Dukes won a pair of Football Championship Subdivision national championships and became regulars atop the FCS polls. They also expanded Bridgeforth Stadium to hold 25,000 fans for football.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report
