James Madison votes to leave Sun Belt for the American

The vote happened Monday morning, and the realignment beat had it right away.

Pete Nakos

@PeteNakos

Conference realignment news: James Madison's Board of Visitors has voted to terminate its membership in the Sun Belt and join the American by July 2028. t.co/0t4fpExraq

On3@On3

NEW: The James Madison Board of Visitors voted on Monday to terminate its Sun Belt Conference athletic membership and apply to join the American. (h/t @libmmercer) t.co/A4OQIIXpNi

The board voted to terminate JMU's Sun Belt membership and apply for admission to the American. This didn't come out of nowhere. On September 25, On3 reported that JMU was one of a handful of schools that had contacted the American about joining, along with Miami (OH) and UConn. At the time, the American said it was "not proactively seeking additional members." Less than 3 weeks later, JMU's board went ahead and voted anyway.

JMU has only been in the Sun Belt since 2022, after leaving the CAA, and it has been one of the league's best football programs from the moment it arrived. The Dukes were in the College Football Playoff field last December, which is a crazy thing to say about a school that was playing FCS football 5 years ago. A program that made the Playoff out of the Sun Belt was always going to look for something bigger, and the American is the obvious move.

JMU also isn't starting from scratch in the American. The Dukes already compete there in women's lacrosse and swimming and diving, since the Sun Belt doesn't sponsor those sports. So the school already has some history with the league before football and basketball move over.

The other half of the story is the guy who built this. Athletic director Jeff Bourne hired Curt Cignetti, who won at JMU before taking over at Indiana, and then hired Bob Chesney to follow him. Nicole Auerbach called Bourne up to ask how he saw both of them coming.

Nicole Auerbach

@NicoleAuerbach

The same man hired both Curt Cignetti and Bob Chesney at JMU. So, I called him up. Here’s why Jeff Bourne knew they’d both be winners: t.co/BtCYwmyGYI

Two home-run coaching hires in a row from the same AD is a big reason JMU is in a position to make this jump at all. The Dukes aren't moving up because they got lucky once. They have kept winning through a coaching change, and that's what makes a school worth adding to the American.

Next comes the paperwork. The vote was to apply, so the American still has to formally admit JMU, and the Sun Belt exit terms still have to be worked out before the July 2028 target. Keep an eye on Miami (OH) and UConn too. If JMU is the first school to move, it probably won't be the last.