2018-19 James Madison Athletics Year Another One for the Books

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison Athletics continued a four-year run of significant success across multiple sports, highlighted by five Colonial Athletic Association championships, eight programs achieving NCAA Championship competition, a final ranking of 84^th among all Division I programs in the Learfield Director's Cup and a .668 winning percentage among all sports.

The .668 percentage for 2018-19 was the second best for JMU since a .686 mark in 1982, following a .669 mark the previous year in 2017-18. That followed a .660 mark for 2015-16 and .633 in 2016-17. Over the last four years combined, all JMU teams that compile a won-loss record have aggregated a total record of 939-485-17 (.658).

The Learfield Director's Cup ranks the athletic programs of all NCAA Division I institutions. The scoring system was updated prior to 2017-18 with all scores counted for men's and women's basketball, baseball and women's volleyball. Additionally, only up to 15 other of the highest scores are included in the final score. JMU finished 84th among the 295 schools that earned points in 2018-19. The ranking is second best (81^st in 2017-18) since 64th in 1999-00 and sixth-best finish all-time for James Madison. The Dukes earned 240.0 total points thanks to 73 points for reaching the men's soccer quarterfinals, 64 for the softball Super Regional round, 53 for the FCS Football round of 16 and 25 apiece for qualifying for NCAA women's tennis and lacrosse.

The 84th-place finish for the Dukes in the Director's Cup continued a six-year run of improvement in the final standings corresponding with overall department successes (211 in 2012-13, 189 in 2013-14, 135 in 2014-15, 97 in 2015-16, 87 in 2016-17, 81 in 2017-18 and 84 in 2018-19). JMU finished in the top 100 for just the fifth time since its 85th-place finish in 2000-01, which included each of the last four years. JMU also finished tops among CAA schools (Towson second at 138) for the third straight year after not leading the league previously since 2008-09. It was the seventh time overall leading the CAA in the 26-year history of the award. James Madison placed higher than any school in Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference and the Sun Belt Conference, ahead of all but four of the American Athletic Conference institutions, higher than four schools from the autonomous five conferences (Power 5) and above all Virginia institutions outside of the autonomous five.

Among top records achieved, softball went 51-10 with its Super Regional appearance followed by women's basketball at 29-6 while advancing to the WNIT semifinals. Other programs exceeding 65 percent (in order of winning percentage) include swimming and diving (9-2-1), volleyball (22-7), NCAA quarterfinalist men's soccer (15-5-3), football (9-4) and men's tennis (17-8).

JMU captured either CAA Tournament or CAA Regular-Season Titles in eight sports – men's soccer (both), swimming & diving, women's tennis, lacrosse (both), softball (both), women's soccer (regular season), volleyball (regular season) and women's basketball (regular season).

Eight sports competed in NCAA postseason championships – cross country, football, men's soccer, swimming and diving, women's tennis, lacrosse, softball and track and field. Additionally, four programs finished in the top 15 of the final national rankings for its sport – men's soccer (8), football (9), softball (13) and lacrosse (15).

2018-19 By the Numbers/Department Snapshot

.668 winning % all sports
84^th in final Learfield Director's Cup standings
5 CAA championships
6 regular season titles
8 NCAA appearances
2.937 Department GPA
87% Department Federal Success Rate
3 programs earning NCAA team APR recognition
15 of 17 programs 960 or higher in APR
13 programs improved or equaled previous APR score
58 President's List and 139 Dean's List Student-Athletes
74 Graduates (Winter 2018 & Spring 2019)
Top 5 academic majors among student-athletes: 1) business, 2) sport and recreation management, 3) health sciences, 4) kinesiology, 5) psychology
5,735 department record for hours of community service
10 All-Americans
7 CAA Players of the Year
7 CAA Coaches of the Year
1 CAA Rookie of the Year
7 student-athletes drafted in professional drafts across four different sports
$2,671,570 record intake for Duke Club annual fund & $4,640,081 record in total gifts
439 total competitions across 18 sport programs
247,047 total attendance in 156 total home events in which attendance is recorded across all sports

Summary of 2018-19 James Madison Athletics Highlights:

JMU posted a .668 winning percentage across all sports, which unofficially ranks second in Virginia behind VCU but is second-best for JMU since 1982 (behind .669 for 2017-18). JMU led the state of Virginia each of the previous three years (.660 in 15-16 | .633 in 16-17 | .669 in 17-18) and finished at .668 for 2018-19.
JMU finished 84^th in the final Learfield Director's Cup standings, second-best department finish since 64 in 1999-2000 (81 in 2017-18). Fourth straight year in top 100 (97 in 15-16, 87 in 16-17, 81 in 17-18) and third straight year leading the CAA (Towson second at 138). JMU ahead of all but four AAC schools and finished ahead of every school in the MAC, CUSA and Sun Belt along with first among Virginia institutions outside of the Autonomous 5 conferences.
JMU has had three teams appear in the top 10 of its sport's highest national rankings in 2018-19, as well as five in the top 25 and three more in official regional polls. Football was as high as second and finished ninth. Men's soccer finished eighth through 10^th in three different polls, lacrosse opened the preseason at No. 4 before finishing 15^th while softball opened at No. 21 and finished 13^th after reaching the NCAA Super Regional round. Field hockey was also ranked as high as 17^th early in the season. Cross country was 15^th in its regional poll while women's basketball and volleyball each appeared in top 25 mid-major polls. Women's basketball also received votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches National Poll.
JMU sold 7,515 football season tickets, near a Bridgeforth Stadium record, while both the club and suites were sold out prior to season kickoff. JMU ranked third nationally in FCS for regular season home average attendance at 23,634 as well as third in final rankings with playoffs included (20,911)
As added security measures in Bridgeforth Stadium, JMU announced in April that it will institute a clear-bag policy and walk-through metal detectors beginning with the 2019 football season. The department and university also announced in late May that beer sales will be available to the public for the first time for the 2019 season. As an additional gameday enhancement, the turf on Zane Showker Field was replaced in June, featuring updated departmental branding.
Several Dukes attained opportunities to compete professionally, including: Megan Good drafted in the second round (#10 overall) by the USSAA Pride of the National Fastpitch Pro League and Caroline Sdanowich drafted in the fourth round (#19 overall) by the WPLL Brave in the Women's Professional Lacrosse League. Jimmy Moreland became football's first draft pick since 2013 with a seventh-round selection (#227 overall) by the Washington Redskins. Marcus Marshall (Chiefs, Titans), David Eldridge (Cincinnati Bengals) and Cardon Johnson (Steelers) also earned rookie camp invitations with Marshall earning a contract with the Chiefs. As of April 29, JMU's 11 former players with active NFL contracts ranks best among all FCS schools. Four baseball players were selected in the MLB First-Year Player Draft, the most since 2003. They included Nick Roberton (7^th round, #221 Overall, Dodgers), Shelton Perkins (16^th round, #468 Overall, Orioles), Dan Goggin (17^th round, #508 Overall, Mets) and Kevin Kelly (19^th round, #580 Overall, Indians).
JMU Athletics collected a record total of $2,671,570 for its annual fund along with $4,640,081 in total fundraising, also a record
JMU Athletics had another successful JMU Giving Day, collecting a record $325,156 from a total of 1,163 gifts.
On April 22, JMU celebrated its JMA Awards, with top honors going to Male Athlete of the Year Jimmy Moreland of football and Female Athlete of the Year Haley Warden of lacrosse. Casey Carter Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors went to men's soccer's Thomas Shores and cross country/track & field's Erin Saunders.
Football went 9-4 overall and went 6-2 to finish second in CAA play. JMU ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation most of the season before finishing No. 9. The Dukes earned an at-large bid to the FCS playoffs for their fifth straight appearance and fell in the Second Round at Colgate. CAA and state Defensive Player of the Year Jimmy Moreland garnered attention for his performance at the East-West Shrine Game, earning him JMU's first-ever spot in the Reece's Senior Bowl. JMU had four All-Americans: Jimmy Moreland, D'Angelo Amos, John Daka, Robert Carter, Jr.
Curt Cignetti was hired as new football head coach on Dec. 14 as Mike Houston departed after three seasons to take the helm at ECU. Went 14-9 in two seasons at Elon with two playoff appearances after CAA school was 12-45 the previous five years. Also 53-17 in six seasons at Division II Indiana (Pa.) and 27 seasons as an FBS assistant, four on Nick Saban's first staff at Alabama.
Men's soccer went 15-5-3 and ranked between No 8 and No. 10 in three final national polls. The Dukes captured the regular-season championship in the CAA in its first season under head coach Paul Zazenski, who was named CAA and VaSID Coach of the Year. Nine different student-athletes collected All-CAA honors. The Dukes won the CAA Championship over Hofstra via penalty kicks then went on a road run in the NCAA Championship, recording wins at High Point 3-0, fifth-seeded North Carolina 2-1 and 12^th-seeded Virginia Tech 3-0 before a 2-1 setback at Michigan State in the quarterfinals. The staff was recognized as US Coaches Regional (Atlantic) Staff of the Year.
Following a 1-6 start, women's soccer bounced back to capture the CAA regular-season championship with a 11-8-1 overall record and 7-1-1 conference mark. Joshua Walters, Sr. was named CAA Coach of the Year in his first season.
Volleyball achieved 20 wins (22-7) for the fourth consecutive season and shared the CAA regular-season title before finishing as runner up in the CAA Tournament. M'Kaela White was named the VaSID State Player of the Year, AVCA All-Region and AVCA honorable mention All-American, just the second in program history. Lauren Steinbrecher was the VaSID Coach of the Year and also broke the program record for coaching victories during the season.
Field hockey started the season ranked 17^th nationally and reached the CAA semifinals before finishing at 6-12
Cross country finished fifth in the CAA with Erica Jackson claiming top team honors in fifth place. The Dukes went on to place 23^rd in the NCAA Southeast Regional meet
Cheerleading switched from NCA College Nationals to UCA College Nationals for competition and placed second of 15 teams in All-Girl Game Day division as well as 10^th of 22 teams in the Small Coed Division I competition.
Women's basketball matched the program wins record going 29-6 overall. After losing in the opening round of the CAA Championship due to injuries to its top two players as well as two key reserves, JMU bounced back to advance to the semifinals of the WNIT, including a home win over Virginia Tech and former JMU head coach (and program wins record holder) Kenny Brooks. The Dukes were regular season champions in the CAA and spent most of the season in the top 10 of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll while receiving votes in the Coaches' Poll in the latter stages of the year. The Dukes went 17-1 in the CAA and achieved at least 23 wins overall for the 14^th consecutive season.
Men's basketball went 14-19 and finished tied for eighth in the CAA at 6-12. The Dukes won their CAA Championship opener against Towson on a buzzer beater before falling late against top-seeded Hofstra in the quarterfinals.
Swimming & diving went 9-2-1 in dual meets before going on to capture the 2019 CAA Championship, earning back-to-back titles for the first time since 1995. JMU swept major awards with Swimmer of the Meet Bonnie Zhang, Diver of the Meet Hope Byrum, Coach of the Year Dave Pedersen and Diving Coach of the Year John Wolsh. Zhang became the fifth individual in program history to quality for the NCAA Championships. Zhang was later also named CAA Swimmer of the Year while Faith Anderson was named Diver of the Year and Morgan Whaley Rookie Swimmer of the Year.
With a first-year head coach and after losing two of its top singles players to transfer, JMU women's tennis captured the program's first-ever CAA Championship, a 4-2 win over a William & Mary team that had won the CAA 26 times and was 46-1 all-time against JMU with 34 consecutive wins before the Dukes' title win. Amanda Nord was named Most Outstanding Player of the championship weekend while Shelley Jaudon was named CAA Coach of the Year. Team made first ever NCAA appearance at Duke and finished No. 7 in the Oracle/ITA Division I Atlantic Region.
Men's tennis went 17-8 and reached the CAA semifinals for the program's most wins since 1983. The Dukes finished No. 7 in the Oracle/ITA Division I Atlantic Region.
Softball finished 51-10 and No. 13 in the national rankings while capturing the CAA regular season championship by a margin of 6 ½ games and breezing through the league tournament, winning all three games by run rules and breaking tournament records for batting average, slugging percentage and on-base percentage. JMU became the only unseeded team (and first since 2016) to reach the NCAA Super Regionals, making its second appearance in the last four years. The Dukes won a pair of elimination games against Michigan to win the Ann Arbor Regional before falling in two games at UCLA in the Super Regional. JMU achieved 50 wins for the third time in four years. Loren LaPorte was named CAA Coach of the Year, Odicci Alexander Player of the Year and Megan Good Pitcher of the Year. Good was also named a top-three finalist for USA Softball Player of the Year.
Lacrosse captured both the CAA regular season and tournament championships before falling in overtime against Stony Brook to finish 16-4 and 15^th in the nation. Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe was named CAA Coach of the Year after leading Dukes to third straight CAA title. Caroline Sdanowich was Defensive Player of the Year and Molly Dougherty Goalkeeper of the Year.
Baseball climbed to the top 100 in the RPI early in the season and finished at 31-26, 11-13 in sixth place in the CAA, including qualifying for the CAA Championship. JMU started 5-0 to achieve the nation's longest active win streak at 10 games. JMU won two of three at traditional power Cal State Fullerton, becoming the first team ever to shut out the Titans in consecutive home games.
Track & Field sent seven individuals and three relays to the ECAC Indoor Championships, where the Dukes achieved 11^th place. Senior Erica Jackson won the 1,000-meter run while Nicolette Serratore also achieved All-ECAC honors placing second in the pentathlon. The outdoor season began on March 22. Four Dukes went on to capture individual titles at the CAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, including: Olivia Viparina (3,000m steeplechase), Jantsen Wilson (triple jump), Dominique Johnson (discus) and Nicolette Serratore (heptathlon). All four advanced to the NCAA preliminaries in Jacksonville.
This year JMU has announced the following new or renewed coaching contracts: Dane Pedersen (4.5 years through 2022-23), Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe (4 years through 2022), Steve Secord (4.5 years through 2022-23), Lauren Steinbrecher (5 years through 2023), Paul Zazenski (5 years through 2023) and Sean O'Regan (4 years through 2023) – along with the new hires of Curt Cignetti (6 years through 2024) for football and Tony Martin for cheerleading.
The Union Bank & Trust Center mostly completed ground movement mid-Fall and has now moved on to the build phase. As of mid-April, the 1,500-vehicle parking deck is nearly complete along with major portions of the outer concrete slab of the arena. Steel began in March. On Feb. 1, it was announced that Union Bank & Trust will transition and on May 20 it became official to update the arena name to the Atlantic Union Bank Center.
JMU Athletics completed its largest corporate agreement ever, a $3.5 million partnership for UVA Health System to place its UVA Orthopedics brand on the new arena court apron while also naming the sports medicine area in the new arena.
JMU launched its second ever capital campaign on Oct. 26, 2018 with three giving areas of focus in athletics: 1) the scholarship annual fund, 2) the Union Bank & Trust Center and 3) the student-athlete leadership program.
The JMU Athletics Training Center at Sentara Park opened in mid-October to serve as an all-weather training and practice venue
JMU inducted its 2018 Hall of Fame class Friday, Nov. 9. The class includes: Steve Bates (football), Akeem Jordan (football), Brian Kurlander (wrestling), Shannon Saunders (cross country/track & field), Paula Schuler Flamm (women's basketball), Tamera Young (women's basketball) and the 1981-82 men's basketball team
The Duke Club announced significant changes to its giving structure in mid-November largely as a result of changes to national tax law. The change created two funds: 1) the Duke Club Seat Contribution and 2) the Proud and True Fund, which supports the general scholarship costs for the department. These changes took effect in January of 2019
Thomas Shores (men's soccer) and Meredith Willis (track & field) were honored as CAA Institutional Scholar-Athletes for the year. Meanwhile, Shores, Halle Duenkel (lacrosse), Nicolette Serratore (track & field) and Erica Jackson (cross country) earned CAA Leadership & Sport Excellence Awards.
58 student-athletes named to President's List and 139 to Dean's List across both semesters of 2018-19 academic year. (compared to 35/120 in 2017-18). A total of 32 semesters of a perfect 4.0 GPA were recorded in the department during 2018-19. Altogether 74 student-athletes graduated in spring of 2019.
The JMU Student-Athlete Leadership Program tremendously grew its engagement with the department, averaging 175 student-athletes at its 15 workshops, 100 student-athletes met with Dukes LEAD staff to work on personal career goals, 60 student-athletes signed up to be paired with a mentor, and 40 companies came to campus to spend time specifically with our student-athletes. Workshop content highlights and national speakers included Aaron Cooksy (substance abuse), Derek Greenfield (Diversity & Inclusion), and Fear 2 Freedom (Title IX).
Celebrated 20 years for Jeff Bourne as JMU Director of Athletics in June of 2019.
Field hockey's Alicia Cooperman is serving as the CAA's national SAAC rep for 2018-2020
15 of 17 teams exceeded the department's APR benchmark of 960 with 13 programs matching or improving their mark from the previous year. Lacrosse, women's tennis and volleyball earned team APR recognition from the NCAA, the first ever for lacrosse, second for volleyball and ninth for women's tennis. As a conference, the CAA ranked fourth of 32 Division I conferences.
Football's Riley Stapleton will serve as one of two CAA representatives on the brand-new NCAA Division I Football Oversight Committee Student-Athlete Connection Group
As part of the Dukes Lead program, student-athletes set a department record with 5,765 hours of community volunteerism. JMU ranked eighth for community service among Division I programs subscribing to the Helper-Helper app.
Announced that JMU will offer Cost of Attendance stipends to all incoming and returning student-athletes beginning Fall 2019
JMU continued growing its broadcast presence, managing its own production for five home football TV games on a combination of MASN, NBC Washington and SNY. JMU then added two lacrosse and two softball productions on NBC Washington, Philadelphia and Chicago as well as a total of five games on Lacrosse Sports Network to accompany two games (plus postseason) already on the CAA's LSN package.

Summary Award Lists:

CAA Champions

Men's Soccer
Swimming & Diving
Women's Tennis (first ever)
Lacrosse
Softball

CAA Regular-Season Champions

Men's Soccer
Women's Soccer
Volleyball
Women's Basketball
Lacrosse
Softball

NCAA Appearances

Cross Country
Football (Second Round)
Men's Soccer (Quarterfinals)
Swimming & Diving
Women's Tennis (first ever)
Lacrosse
Softball (Super Regional)
Track & Field

All-Americans

Jimmy Moreland – Football
D'Angelo Amos – Football
John Daka – Football
Robert Carter, Jr. – Football
M'Kaela White – Volleyball
Megan Good – Softball
Kate Gordon – Softball
Odicci Alexander – Softball
Molly Dougherty – Lacrosse
Caroline Sdanowich – Lacrosse

CAA Players of the Year

Jimmy Moreland – Football Defensive
Bonnie Zhang – Swimming
Faith Anderson – Diving
Caroline Sdanowich – Lacrosse Defensive
Molly Dougherty – Lacrosse Goalkeeper
Odicci Alexander – Softball Player of the Year
Megan Good – Softball Pitcher of the Year

CAA Coaches of the Year

Paul Zazenski – Men's Soccer
Joshua Walters, Sr. – Women's Soccer
Dane Pedersen – Swimming
John Wolsh – Diving
Shelley Jaudon – Women's Tennis
Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe – Lacrosse
Loren LaPorte – Softball

CAA Rookies of the Year

Morgan Whaley – Swimming

VaSID Players of the Year

M'Kayla White – Volleyball
Jimmy Moreland – Football Defensive
Kate Gordon – Softball Player
Megan Good – Softball Pitcher

VaSID Coaches of the Year

Lauren Steinbrecher – Volleyball
Paul Zazenski – Men's Soccer

VaSID Rookies of the Year

Kyndel Dean – Football Offensive

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