Triumphant 2016-17 Lifts JMU to State All-Sports Title & Best Director's Cup Finish in 16 Years

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison Athletics continued a recent run of comprehensive competitive success by capturing the Virginia All-Sport Survey for the second straight year with a 63 percent departmental winning percentage in 2016-17 while also achieving the department's highest place in the Learfield Director's Cup standings in 16 years by finishing 87^th.

The Virginia All-Sport Survey is conducted annually by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) as a ranking of the 14 Division I institutions in the Commonwealth and includes a formal award presentation from the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. JMU won 63.3 percent of its contests (227-131-3) to easily outdistance Virginia, which finished second at 59.8 percent.

The Learfield Director's Cup ranks the athletic programs of all NCAA Division I institutions with points earned in 10 men's and 10 women's sports by advancing to NCAA Championship competition. JMU finished 87^th among the 296 schools that earned points in 2016-17 for its best finish since 2000-01. The Dukes earned 228 total points thanks to 100 points for their football NCAA Division I National Championship, 53 points for advancing in the lacrosse NCAA Championship, 50 points for reaching the NCAA Softball regional final and 25 points for qualifying for the NCAA Volleyball Championship.

"We are in the midst of a tremendous run of success across the board in JMU Athletics," Bourne said. "We have worked intentionally to equip each of our sport programs with the resources to be successful, which makes these types of department-wide recognitions even more rewarding. Credit goes to our university administration for the resources and support, to our coaches and staff who work tirelessly every day to pursue excellence as well as to our student-athletes who dedicate themselves to achieving success while enjoying the comprehensive student-athlete experience that we emphasize at JMU."

JMU earned the Virginia All-Sport accolade in consecutive seasons for the first time after winning 66.0 percent of its contests in 2015-16. Prior to that, the most recent survey title for the Dukes had come in 1995 (.611). The 2016-17 recognition marks the fifth survey title for JMU in the award's 39-year history.

In addition to the All-Sport overall title, JMU dominated the women's sports standings, capturing first in that category for the fourth straight year with a .721 winning percentage (160-62), followed by Liberty in second at .558. JMU had multiple teams finish with a winning percentage of 60 percent or better, including football (14-1), softball (52-8), swimming and diving (8-1), women's basketball (26-9), women's tennis (17-8), lacrosse (14-7), volleyball (21-11), field hockey (13-7) and men's tennis (14-9).

The 87^th-place finish for the Dukes in the Director's Cup continued a five-year run of improvement in the final standings (211 in 2012-13, 189 in 2013-14, 135 in 2014-15, 97 in 2015-16 and 87 in 2016-17). JMU finished in the top 100 for just the third time since its 85^th-place finish in 2000-01. JMU also finished tops among CAA schools for the first time since 2008-09 and the fifth time in the 24-year history of the award.

JMU claimed CAA Championships in football, lacrosse, softball and volleyball, including capturing regular-season titles in all four. Those four sports were joined in NCAA Championship competition by cross country, swimming and diving, track and field and men's golf for a departmental total of eight teams represented in NCAA Championships.

2016-17 James Madison Athletics Highlights:

.633 overall winning percentage (227-131-3), best in Virginia among Division I institutions, winning the all-sport title for second straight year and fifth in program history in 39 years
.721 winning percentage (160-62) among women's sports, best in Virginia fourth straight year
87^th-place finish in Learfield Director's Cup, best among CAA schools for fifth time in 24 years of award and best for JMU since 2000-01
4 CAA Championships (football, lacrosse, softball, volleyball)
4 CAA Regular Season titles (football, lacrosse, softball, volleyball)
8 programs represented in NCAA Championships (cross country, football, men's golf, lacrosse, softball, swimming & diving, track & field, volleyball)
2016 NCAA Division I Football National Champions, capturing second title in program history with a final record of 14-1, including 14-0 vs. FCS competition and ending North Dakota State's five-year run as national champions
On strength of football title, JMU finished ninth in the Capital One Cup men's standings among all NCAA Division I institutions
Megan Good honored as NFCA Division I Softball Player of the Year as well as a top-three finalist for USA Softball National Player of the Year
Mike Houston recognized by AFCA as FCS National Coach of the Year
Khalid Abdullah named American Sports Network FCS Football National Player of the Year
Bryan Schor honored as CFPA National Performer of the Year in FCS Football
Jeff Bourne named one of four Under Armour FCS Athletic Directors of the Year by NACDA
11 All-Americans: Khalid Abdullah (football), Rashard Davis (football), Megan Good (softball), Janey Goodman (volleyball), Raven Greene (football), Hannah Hall (field hockey), Mitchell Kirsch (football), Taylor Reynolds (football), Bryan Schor (football), Aaron Stinnie (football), Haley Warden (lacrosse)
7 CAA Players of the Year: Megan Good (softball), Janey Goodman (volleyball), Precious Hall (women's basketball), Ashley Herndon (women's soccer), Olivia Lehman (diving), Bryan Schor (football – offensive), Haley Warden (lacrosse)
3 additional major CAA honors: Taylor Austin (volleyball – defensive specialist), Rashard Davis (football – special teams), Megan Good (softball – pitcher)
5 CAA Coaches of the Year: Mickey Dean (softball), Mike Houston (football, also national coach of the year), Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe (lacrosse), Dane Pedersen (swimming & diving), John Wolsh (diving)
6 CAA Rookies of the Year: Odicci Alexandar (softball), Haley Crawford (women's soccer), Carlyn McNeely (diving), Damon Roberts (men's tennis), Kamiah Smalls (women's basketball), Alexys Taylor (track & field)
Individuals advancing to NCAA Championship competition included Olivia Lehman in the NCAA diving finals, Carlyn McNeely and Hope Byrum in the NCAA Zone Diving Qualifiers, Ryan Cole in the NCAA men's golf regionals and Tessa Mundell in the NCAA track and field preliminary
Cheerleading NCA All-Americans include: Becca Wells, Jake Mitchell, Madison Hertel, Rachel Storm, Megan Messex, Courtney Davis, Maddie Iverson, Julia Garrison, Stephanie Ruby, Jordan Kimball, Megan Wright and Andie Gargiulo
Bryan Schor (football) and Megan Good (softball) were named JMU Male and Female Student-Athletes of the Year while Sabastian Salinas (men's tennis) and Claire Adkins (swimming & diving) were named JMU Male and Female Scholar-Athletes of the Year during the James Madison Athletics (JMA) Awards
Kyle McPherson (26^th round, San Francisco Giants) and Brandon Withers (31^st round, Oakland Athletics) were selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft
Taylor Reynolds (Atlanta), Mitchell Kirsch (Chicago) and Khalid Abdullah (New York Giants) signed NFL free agent contracts with Rashard Davis and Gage Steele also receiving tryouts
Ashley Herndon signed with Portland Thorns FC of the National Women's Soccer League
15 of 16 programs exceeded the JMU Engaged in Excellence benchmark of 960 in the NCAA APR scores. JMU football was recognized by the FCS Athletic Directors Association for the most improved single-year APR score among all CAA football programs. Women's tennis earned national APR recognition for finishing in the top 10 percent in its sport
19 student-athletes in Fall 2016 and 15 in Spring 2017 were named to the JMU President's List
Teams receiving academic performance recognition include: swimming and diving (CSCAA Scholar All-American Team), cross country (USTFCCCA All-Academic Team)
2 Swimming & diving CSCAA Scholar All-Americans: Carlyn McNeely (honorable mention) and Olivia Lehman
2 Women's golf WGCA All-American Scholars: Maddisen Cox, Morgan Cox
8 Field hockey NFHCA National Academic Squad members: Alicia Cooperman (Scholar of Distinction), Sarah Floeter, Megan Guzzardi, Sara Kraeutler, Melanie Kusakavitch, Casey O'Donnell (Scholar of Distinction), Erica Royal, Payton Staylor
1 Cross country All-Academic by USTFCCCA: Carol Strock
Academic All-State honorees include: Claire Adkins (swimming & diving), Olivia Lehman (swimming & diving), Tessa Mundell (cross country/track & field), Nora Raher (cross country/track & field), Elena Romesburg (lacrosse), Sebastian Salinas (men's tennis)
244 Student-athletes received the CAA Commissioner's Academic Award
220 Student-athletes were named to the JMU Athletics Director Honor Roll
The JMU Duke Club eclipsed a record level of $2.3 million in annual fundraising for the fiscal year
JMU Athletics unveiled a rebranded visual identity package in early January, including a new primary logo, expanded secondary logo and wordmark offerings and additional sport-specific logos. The launch occurred in conjunction with JMU's appearance in the FCS championship game on national TV.
JMU student-athletes, coaches and staff combined to complete approximately 5,000 hours of community service, the most recorded in department history.
JMU's "For Glory" video series highlighting each of its 18 sport programs was a finalist for the SVG/NACDA Media Awards.
Volleyball head coach Lauren Steinbrecher was named to the NCAA Transfer Working Group, one of just four head coaches nationwide among all sports selected to the 19-member panel to study transfer policy issues prevalent within the NCAA.
JMU celebrated its first-ever corporate naming partnership of a major university facility with the August, 2016 dedication of Sentara Park (formerly University Park).
JMU saw an increase in average football home attendance from 19,498 (7 games) to 19,844 (8 games), ranking second among all FCS programs to match JMU's best national attendance rank in program history (2014, 2011)

2016-17 VaSID All-Sport Survey

Overall Standings	Win %
James Madison	.633
Virginia	.598
VCU	.562
ODU	.554
Liberty	.545
Virginia Tech	.544
Richmond	.537
Radford	.518
W&M	.511
Norfolk State	.480
Hampton	.453
George Mason	.452
VMI	.396
Longwood	.390

Men's Standings	Win %
Virginia	.698
VCU	.612
ODU	.603
Virginia Tech	.603
Richmond	.589
W&M	.556
Liberty	.525
James Madison	.493
Norfolk State	.481
Radford	.470
George Mason	.446
Longwood	.383
Hampton	.375
VMI	.326

Women's Standings	Win %
James Madison	.721
Liberty	.558
Radford	.556
VMI	.540
VCU	.514
Virginia	.507
Hampton	.492
Virginia Tech	.489
Norfolk State	.479
ODU	.477
Richmond	.476
W&M	.467
George Mason	.457
Longwood	.395

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