Reaching New Heights

JMU Nation,

Recently, I noticed a post on social media posing the question, what is the best all-around athletics program outside of the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12 and SEC (the "Power Five")? Pardon my bias, but JMU Athletics possesses a strong claim in this conversation. Consider the evidence:

JMU currently holds a .673 winning percentage across all sports that earn a won-lost record. Over the last eight years combined, the Dukes have won 64.7% of their contests in all sports, good for the top 20 among all Division I institutions.
In its first Sun Belt season, JMU leads the conference's all-sports trophy, The Bubas Cup, through fall sports, with likely high finishes still to be factored for both basketball programs. If the season ended today, the JMU women would be the top seed and the men third. The Bubas Cup ranking doesn't include swimming and diving placing second by a narrow margin in the CCSA Championships on Saturday or our nationally-ranked field hockey and lacrosse programs.
JMU captured its first Sun Belt Championship in volleyball and reached the championship game in every sport possible to date (volleyball, men's and women's soccer) with basketball still to be determined and indoor track and field also coming soon. Cross country placed third and football won the challenging East Division but was ineligible for the Sun Belt title game in our first transitioning season.
Thus far, JMU has been nationally ranked in football (AP debut at No. 25), lacrosse (13), field hockey (final 22, high of 17) and receiving votes in volleyball. Both women's basketball (high of 6) and men's basketball (high of 15) have been ranked in mid-major national polls and other sports have been regionally ranked (men's soccer 9, women's soccer 10, cross country 14).
No other transitioning school has played a full FBS schedule in its first season, but JMU went 8-3, won arguably the toughest division in "Group of Five" football, became the first school to be nationally ranked in year one of transition, the first to start 5-0 without multiple FCS wins and finished with an average computer ranking of 50 among various metrics weighing the 131 FBS programs. ESPN has listed JMU in its early top 25 for the 2023 season.
JMU's combined record of 42-15 in men's and women's basketball is second-best in the Sun Belt, ninth among "Group of Five" institutions and 14^th among the 286 Division I schools outside of the elite programs (Power Five + Big East + Gonzaga).
Few schools boast historic national achievements across a variety of sports. JMU is among a select group outside the "Power Five" to reach both the baseball College World Series (1983) and softball's Women's College World Series (2021). The Dukes have captured four national titles (field hockey, lacrosse, 2 FCS football), reached the men's soccer quarterfinals three times and have other noteworthy victories such as women's basketball's upset of No. 1 Penn State in 1991 and three straight NCAA first-round wins for men's basketball in 1981-1983. JMU is also fortunate to have twice hosted ESPN's College GameDay football show (2015, 2017).
In addition to our achievements, few schools match the behind-the-scenes infrastructure with JMU's overall support personnel, facility infrastructure, approach to student-athlete well-being (integrated health, leadership development, academic support, etc.), academic prestige, emphasis on equity and constituent support.

At JMU, we are all about Reaching New Heights. Our achievements are many, and we truly believe the sky is the limit! A bright future lies ahead, but we can only realize that future with your help.

This week (Feb. 19-24) marks a week of giving for James Madison University. What has previously been JMU Giving Day, has been expanded to a week with the Reaching New Heights campaign so that we can maximize the ability to boost this university toward fulfilling our dreams.

In particular, Feb. 23 has been identified as a day in which JMU Athletics will focus our efforts around giving to our department. Your gift on this day, or any day of the weeklong campaign, to our Proud and True Fund provides scholarships for JMU student-athletes and gives us the resources to ensure the best student-athlete experience in all of NCAA intercollegiate athletics. Gifts can be counted towards your annual Duke Club Proud and True gift as part of our May 15 priority deadline for football season tickets.

With your help, we can strengthen the best all-around athletics program in the country. Please consider a gift to JMU Athletics on Feb. 23 and gifts to other university funds throughout the week as we push towards Reaching New Heights!

Go Dukes,
Jeff Bourne signature

Jeff Bourne
JMU Director of Athletics

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Calendar

Completed Event: Volleyball versus Georgia State on October 4, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 2 , (15-25, 28-26, 25-21, 25-27, 16-14)

Completed Event: Football at Georgia State on October 4, 2025 , Win , 14, to, 7

Completed Event: Men's Soccer at #24 Kentucky on October 4, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 2

Completed Event: Field Hockey versus #9 Duke on October 5, 2025 , Loss , 0, to, 5

Completed Event: Women's Soccer at App State on October 5, 2025 , Tie , 1, to, 1

Upcoming Event: Women's Golf versus Pirate Collegiate Classic on October 6, 2025

Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis at ITA Atlantic Regional Championship on October 9, 2025

Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus Marshall on October 9, 2025 at 6 p.m.

Upcoming Event: Women's Tennis at Wahoowa Invitational on October 10, 2025

Upcoming Event: Field Hockey versus Miami (Ohio) on October 10, 2025 at 2 p.m.

James Madison University | Official Athletics Site

Reaching New Heights

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