JMU Athletics Celebrates Successes of 2022-2023 in New Conferences

James Madison Athletics has established consistent success throughout its history with a marked increase beginning with the 2015-2016 school year. That rise includes an all-sports record (.646) that ranks among the top 20 in the nation, top 100 LEARFIELD Director's Cup rankings and routinely capturing multiple conference titles and vaulting 6-8 teams annually into NCAA competition.

Such consistent and widespread success earned new opportunities for the 2022-2023 competitive year with a new home in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) for most sports along with lacrosse moving to the American Athletic Conference (AAC), swimming and diving to the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association (CCSA) and field hockey taking on top competition as an independent program.

The results of the past year continued JMU's pattern of balanced competitive excellence while validating a move to align with peer institutions, which included rising to college football's highest level, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). In its first season of FBS competition, JMU went 8-3 overall and 6-2 in the Sun Belt, finishing first in the loaded East Division and setting a new standard for transitioning from FCS to FBS while earning an AP national ranking of 25^th.

JMU captured its first Sun Belt regular season and tournament championships in volleyball and later added the same titles in women's basketball. The Dukes also earned the AAC regular season title in lacrosse, becoming the first team other than Florida to claim the honors. Lacrosse reached the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Championship and finished with a top-10 national ranking. Volleyball, women's basketball and lacrosse were joined by swimming and diving, track and field and women's golf as programs competing in NCAA Championships.

Overall, JMU posted a .655 winning percentage across all of its sports to rank second in the Commonwealth of Virginia by a narrow margin behind Virginia (.659). The Dukes placed second in the Bubas Cup, the Sun Belt's ranking of success in all sports among all 14 member institutions. James Madison was the only school in the league with every sport finishing .500 or better and had a league-high five teams compete in SBC title games. The Dukes were third among Sun Belt teams and 147^th overall in the Director's Cup standings, with ineligibility for football bowl game participation impacting the potential for more points.

Academically, student-athletes across the department posted a 3.184 cumulative GPA. There were 91 total President's List honors and 195 total Dean's List honors for JMU student-athletes and 133 graduates for the year. JMU also posted a single-year APR of 993 while 11 of 17 programs had a 1,000 single-year score and all 17 hit the department benchmark of 960 or higher in the multi-year score.

2022-23 By the Numbers/Department Snapshot

.655 winning % all sports
147^th in Learfield Director's Cup final standings, third in Sun Belt
3 conference regular season titles
6 NCAA appearances
3.184 Department GPA
92 NCAA Graduation Success Rate
72% Department Federal Success Rate
All 17 programs hit department goal of 960 or higher in multi-year APR
11 of 17 programs achieved perfect 1,000 single-year APR
993 department single-year APR
91 President's List and 195 Dean's List Student-Athletes
133 Graduates (Winter 2022, Spring 2023, anticipated Summer 2023)
731 student-athletes achieved a 3.0 semester grade point average in at least one semester (includes duplications)
6,352 department hours of community service, including 25^th of 100+ Division I Helper-Helper schools and fifth in the Sun Belt
7 All-Americans
36 College Sports Communicators Academic All-District
8 Conference Players of the Year
3 Conference Coaches of the Year
4 student-athletes drafted in professional drafts while 11 additional former student-athletes had their first professional opportunities.

Accomplishments

JMU teams have compiled a 220-114-9 cumulative record for a .655 winning percentage. Over the past 8 years combined, the Dukes have won at a .646 clip across all sports, a figure that ranks top-20 nationally among all Division I programs. JMU narrowly finished second (.659 to .655) among the 14 Division I institutions in Virginia, achieving its 10^th top-three finish in the last 11 years. The Dukes led all Commonwealth women's sports with a .704 winning percentage (139-57-5) and ranked third among men's sports with a .585 mark (81-57-4).
JMU finished second in the standings for The Bubas Cup, which is awarded by the Sun Belt to the best overall institution for competitive success, as measured by Sun Belt-sponsored sports. JMU's score was boosted by first place in volleyball and women's basketball, second in women's tennis, third in cross country, a tie for third in both football and women's soccer and fourth in men's basketball. JMU was the only Sun Belt school to have every sport finish .500 or better.
Multiple sports are not included in the Sun Belt. It was announced on Nov. 10, 2022 that swimming and diving will compete in the CCSA for the 2022-2023 competitive year. Lacrosse joined the American Athletic Conference for 2022-2023 and immediately won the league's regular season title. Field hockey competed as an independent for the 2022 season and will continue independent in 2023 before joining the Mid-American Conference (MAC) in 2024.
JMU ranked 147^th in the final Learfield Director's Cup, which measures NCAA postseason success. JMU finished third among the 14 Sun Belt schools, despite having no access to points for FBS bowl participation, whereas JMU's previous top-100 rankings were boosted by deep FCS football runs. JMU was also fifth among Virginia institutions.
JMU had three teams ranked in national polls in 2022-2023 with field hockey entering the top 25 on Sept. 13, rising as high as 17^th on Oct. 4 and finishing 22^nd. Football received votes in both the coaches and AP polls on Sept. 25 before then achieving the first AP national ranking in program history at No. 25 on Oct. 9. Lacrosse began the season ranked 12^th in preseason top-25 polls and rose as high as fourth. Volleyball also received votes in the AVCA Poll on Nov. 21, which is unofficially the first votes appearance in the Division I poll in program history. Three fall sports were regionally ranked with cross country as high as 14^th in their region, men's soccer ninth and women's soccer 10^th. Both men's and women's basketball achieved rankings in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Polls with the women as high as sixth and the men as high as 15^th. Track and field was also regionally ranked as high as 14^th in the spring and was joined by women's tennis fifth in its region.
In major professional sports drafts, Tyler Clegg of men's soccer was the 27^th pick of the third round (85^th overall) in the 2022 MLS SuperDraft in December. Joe Vogatsky was a 14^th round pick (424 overall) of the Toronto Blue Jays in the Major League Baseball Draft. Mairead Durkin of lacrosse was drafted and selected to play in the 2023 Athletes Unlimited lacrosse season. During the June 2023 XFL Draft, the Vegas Vipers selected Jamare Edwards from the 2022 Dukes' squad. Several former JMU football players also factored heavily into the 2022 XFL Draft in November with Ben DiNucci selected in the first stage of the draft by the Seattle Sea Dragons. In the formal draft, Rashard Davis joined DiNucci in Seattle in the seventh round (No. 54) of the offensive portion while John Daka was picked in the second round (No. 13) on defense by the Houston Roughnecks. Recent grad Liam Fornadel was taken in the ninth round of the offensive line draft (No. 72) by the D.C. Defenders.
In other pro sports updates, Kevin Kelly was a Rule V Draft selection of the Colorado Rockies and quickly sold to the Tampa Bay Rays. In late March, Kelly officially made the MLB roster and made his pro debut in early April, becoming the 13^th Major Leaguer in JMU baseball history. In early June, Nick Robertson was called up by the Dodgers to become the 14^th JMU Major Leaguer. Jack Cone promptly followed his spring season by signing with the Washington Wild Things of the independent Frontier League as did Kyle Novak with the Joliet Slammers. Several players from JMU's 2022 football squad had NFL camp invites, including: Kris Thornton, Devin Ravenel, Todd Centeio, Jordan Swann and Terrance Greene. Swann signed a contract with the Baltimore Ravens as a result, while Centeio signed with the XFL's Orlando Guardians. Former kicker and all-time NCAA record-holder Ethan Ratke signed his first pro contract with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL. Following a successful season with the XFL's Seattle Sea Dragons, Ben DiNucci signed with the Denver Broncos for 2023. Liam Fornadel was named All-League in the XFL with the D.C. Defenders. Kat Buchanan signed to compete with Athletes Unlimited lacrosse. Both Ebony Wiseman and Iris Rabot made professional women's soccer debuts with Wiseman on Coventry United Women FC of the Barclay's Women's Championship and Rabot on Pomigliano C.F. of Series A.
JMU continued its upward fundraising trajectory, collecting $4.7 million in annual fund donations and $6.3 million in total giving for FY23. Those figures come after hitting $4 million in FY22 ($5 million total fundraising) and $2.9 million in FY21. The figures are highlighted by a jump of over 1,000 total donors from just shy of 4,600 in FY22 to 5,633 in FY23. The department collected $231,153 as part of its annual giving event, this year a week-long campaign dubbed "Reaching New Heights." The campaign featured more than 500 gifts, including more than 40 first-time gifts.
On June 14, JMU celebrated its JMA Awards, with top honors going to Male Athlete of the Year Todd Centeio of football and Female Athlete of the Year Isabella Peterson of lacrosse. Casey Carter Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors went to men's tennis' Holden Koons and women's tennis' Kylie Moulin tied with Katelyn Morgan of lacrosse.
On. Oct. 26, JMU and Old Dominion announced a formal partnership with TowneBank for the TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge, forming a year-long, all-sports rivalry between the schools with a trophy awarded to the program with the best record in head-to-head competition across all sports. JMU won the first competition 16.5-7.5.
JMU set a program record with 7,708 season tickets for football in its first Sun Belt season in 2022. A Bridgeforth Stadium single-game attendance record was broken on Oct. 22 against Marshall with 26,159 fans in attendance. JMU ranked 86^th out of 131 teams in attendance in its first FBS season with an average of 22,966 per game, which ranked fourth in the Sun Belt.
On May 16, JMU announced a record for priority deadline football season ticket sales of 8,125 for the 2023 season, topping the previous priority deadline high of 6,241 by 30% and passing the previous year-end total of 7,708. After the priority deadline, season tickets hit capacity at 8,718 in July.
Football went 8-3 in its transitional FBS season and finished in first place in the East Division of the Sun Belt, though ineligible to earn the East's spot in the league championship due to transitioning rules. Memorable accomplishments included a 44-7 domination of Middle Tennessee in JMU's first-ever FBS game and first time hosting an FBS opponent. The Dukes went on to upend Appalachian State to win their first Sun Belt game and then toppled Texas State for their first home Sun Belt win. JMU became the first program ever in its first season of FBS transition to be AP ranked when it was No. 25 in the Oct. 9 AP Top 25. The Dukes also became just the third transitioning team to go 5-0 in its first season, though the other two played multiple FCS opponents to achieve the 5-0 mark. JMU clinched first place in the Sun Belt East by routing No. 23 Coastal Carolina 47-7 in its final game, which also marked the program's first home win over an AP-ranked program. Quarterback Todd Centeio was added to both the Maxwell Award and CFPA National Performer of the Year midseason watch lists, each representing awards given to the top player in college football. He was later added to both the Manning Award and Davey O'Brien Award watch lists for top quarterback performances. Wide receiver Kris Thornton was also a mid-season add to the Biletnikoff Watch List for best pass catcher. Thornton and Isaac Ukwu were recognized as All-Americans. On the day following the CFP National Championship, ESPN ranked JMU No. 24 on its "way too early" 2023 preseason national rankings.
Media coverage of JMU football quickly validated the relevancy gained by playing FBS football. Over the course of the full 2022 season, JMU generated nearly 12,000 media mentions for a total publicity value of $24.1 million, a reach among traditional circulation of 920.6 million and a digital circulation of 13.9 billion. JMU made a quick impression with its 44-7 win over Middle Tennessee to open the 2022 season generating $1.5 million worth of paid media coverage, including $1 million on the single day of the win. There were 110 media mentions for a reach of 13.6 million as well as 1,100 social media mentions for a reach of 1.3 million to go with 4.2 million total impressions. Similarly, over the three days following JMU's comeback win at App State in its Sun Belt opener, JMU football generated another $1 million worth of paid media coverage with 519 mentions and a total reach of 84 million. Again, social media mentions hit 1,100 with a reach of 1.5 million and 17 million total impressions. JMU made another splash being ranked No. 25 in the AP Poll on Oct. 9, just five games into its season. JMU gained another $1.1 million of media value Oct. 8-10 with 1,400 media mentions and 13.8 million media reach. There were 2,200 mentions on social media with a reach of 2.2 million and 7 million total impressions.
Men's soccer went 8-8-4 and finished seventh in the highly competitive Sun Belt, as proven by an RPI of 54 despite the seventh-place standing. JMU upended No. 5 ranked and second-seeded Marshall in the Sun Belt quarterfinals for their first top-five win since 2019 and followed that with a dominant 5-0 win over Georgia State in the semifinals before dropping a 2-0 decision in an evenly played game in the championship match against Kentucky, which went on to earn the overall No. 1 seed in the NCAA Championship. Tyler Clegg was named to the All-Region Team.
Women's soccer had a strong first Sun Belt campaign, going 12-4-5 and finishing as runner-up in the Sun Belt Championship with a double-overtime setback. The Dukes placed second in the East Division in the Sun Belt standings, achieved a No. 10 regional rank on Oct. 17 and were 80^th in the RPI. Alexandra Blom was named Sun Belt Goalkeeper of the Year. Four Dukes were All-Region, including Alexandra Blom, Brittany Munson, Lexi Vanderlinden and Amanda Attanasi.
Volleyball captured JMU's first Sun Belt Championship in any sport and advanced to the NCAA Tournament with the league's automatic bid. The Dukes went 24-5 with a 15-match winning streak headed into the NCAA Tournament and also won the Sun Belt Regular Season Championship. The only Sun Belt loss came with a weekend split at traditional Sun Belt power Texas State early in league play, which snapped the Bobcats' 14-match conference win streak. The Dukes went on to defeat Texas State again in the title match. JMU holds the best RPI in the Sun Belt at 21, which is also the best in program history. The Dukes enter the NCAA Tournemanet with the 18^th-best win percentage in the nation. Lauren Steinbrecher was named Sun Belt Coach of the Year to go along with Sophie Davis Defensive Player of the Year.
Field hockey went 10-7 while competing in 2022 as an independent team. The Dukes finished No. 22 in the national rankings and 27^th in the RPI, playing against a schedule full of nationally-ranked opponents, going 4-5 against ranked teams. Three Dukes were named All-Region with Eveline Zwager, Diede Remijnse and Kara McClure, with Zwager then being named a Third Team All-American.
Cross country placed third in the Sun Belt Championship and ranked 14^th in its region through the first few weeks of competition. The Dukes placed eighth out of 34 teams at the ECAC Championships and 19^th of 32 squads at the NCAA Southeast Regional.
Men's basketball finished fourth in the Sun Belt at 22-11 overall and 12-6 in the league to earn the fourth seed for the league's tournament. JMU advanced to the semifinals for just the second time since 2000 but fell to South Alabama. The Dukes achieved a rank as high as 15^th in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll and finished 95^th in the NCAA NET ranking. Terrence Edwards was named Sun Belt Sixth Man of the Year. Mark Byington was named VaSID State Coach of the Year. Combined with women's basketball, JMU tied for its most total basketball wins in program history with 48.
Women's basketball was picked sixth in the Sun Belt preseason poll and flipped the script to claim the league's regular season title and tournament championship, finishing 26-8 overall and 13-5 in the conference. JMU also finished 101 in the NCAA NET ranking. The Dukes moved up as high as sixth in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 Poll after a 16-game winning streak. Kiki Jefferson was named Sun Belt Player of the Year after leading the league in scoring during the regular season. Peyton McDaniel added Sixth Woman of the Year honors. Jefferson added tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament Team by McDaniel in leading the Dukes to the title and earning their first NCAA trip since 2016. The Dukes had the seventh-best wins turnaround in the nation (+12), ranked top 10 in the nation in road victories and have won their most recent meeting against every Division I program in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The second "full capacity" season in the Atlantic Union Bank Center and first year in the Sun Belt resulted in positive attendance numbers as men's basketball averaged 4,306 fans per game, good for third in the league. The final six home conference games with students returned from winter break saw 5,374 fans per game. The women averaged 2,216 fans per game, which also ranked third in the Sun Belt.
Swimming and diving went 5-3 in dual meets and narrowly finished second in its first CCSA Championship meet. KR Li was named CCSA Diving Coach of the Year and Maddie Yager named both Female Diver of the Championship and Diver of the Year. Five individuals advanced to the NCAA Zone Diving meet. Alexa Holloway finished 13^th in the 3-meter and Maddie Yager 13^th on the 1-meter at the Zone meet.
Men's golf tied for eighth at the spring Sun Belt Championship with freshman Owen Kose the top finisher in 12th. JMU had Daniel Cheng claim medalist honors at the Furman Intercollegiate to highlight the fall schedule. The Dukes then had third- and fourth-place tournament showings during the spring season.
Women's golf's fall competition was highlighted by Kendall Turner claiming medalist honors at the Charlotte Invitational. The Dukes reeled off three wins in the spring at the Oyster Shuck Match Play, the Golfweek/AGT Intercollegiate and the ECU Ironwood Invitational. JMU was the top seed heading into the Sun Belt Championship in April and finished eighth, with Amelia Williams the top individual in 12^th. Turner was First Team All-Conference in the Sun Belt and advanced to the NCAA Raleigh Regiona, where she placed 37^th among 60 golfers for the second-highest finish ever in a regional by a JMU golfer.
Women's tennis went 15-8 overall, including 9-1 and second place in the Sun Belt. The Dukes advanced to the title match of the Sun Belt Championship, finishing as runner up. JMU ranked fifth in the ITA Atlantic Region with Kylie Moulin individually ranked 13^th.
Men's Tennis held a 12-10 record, including 3-5 in the Sun Belt for seventh place. Holden Koons finished ranked ninth in the ITA Atlantic Region.
Softball went 28-19 overall and finished sixth in league play at 13-11. Hannah Shifflett and KK Mathis were each named First Team All-Conference in the Sun Belt with Mathis also named All-Region.
Lacrosse posted a 19-3 record and went 6-0 in its first season in the American Athletic Conference to capture the regular season title. JMU advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals, including a second-round win over national power Maryland. The Dukes rattled off 17 straight wins after a season-opening setback at No. 1 North Carolina. Shelley Klaes picked up her 200^th win as JMU head coach with a February win over UConn. JMU won the regular season title in the American with Isabella Peterson named Attack Player of the Year and Mairead Durkin Defensive Player of the Year JMU's coaching staff was named AAC Coaching Staff of the Year as well as IWLCA South Region Staff of the Year. Peterson and Durkin were also preseason watch list members for the Tewaaraton Award with Rachel Matey added as part of the first round of in-season additions as well as Tai Jankowski and Kat Buchanan also added on the second round of additions. Unofficially five is the most Dukes ever on one season's watch list. Peterson and Durkin made the final list of 25 watch list while Peterson reached the final five finalists. Peterson and Durkin were named First Team All-Americans by USA Lacrosse Magazine, Inside Lacrosse and the IWLCA. Matey and Jankowski were Third Team All-Americans by the IWLCA with Matey adding honorable mention All-America honors from Inside Lacrosse and . Peterson, Durkin, Matey and Jankowski were First Team All-Region, while Buchanan was Second Team.
Baseball went 31-25 and finished seventh in the Sun Belt after being predicted 10^th. The Dukes earned a first-round win in the SBC Championship before falling in the eight-team, double elimination portion.
Indoor track and field placed seventh at its first Sun Belt Championship. Miranda Stanhope became the first individual athlete to claim a Sun Belt title in any sport with a gold finish in the 3,000-meter run. She also grabbed a silver medal in the 5,000-meter. Rachel Lloyd earned a bronze medal in the pole vault. JMU went on to finish as runner up at the ECAC Indoor Championships.
JMU placed ninth in the Sun Belt outdoor track and field championships. JMU sent two to the NCAA East Preliminary in Shelby Staib (javelin) and Skyla Davidson (triple jump).
JMU announced Delethea Quarles as new Director of Track & Field and Cross Country and also hired Rebekah Ricksecker as cross country head coach. Among coaching contract updates, Paul Zazenski of men's soccer was extended through the 2026 season, Steve Secord through the 2026-27 men's tennis season, Dane Pedersen through the 2026-2027 swimming & diving season, Lauren Steinbrecher of volleyball through the 2027 season and Sean O'Regan through the 2027-2028 women's basketball season.
JMU inducted its Hall of Fame Class of 2022 on Sept. 9 with a group featuring: standout swimmer (1997-2001) and coach (2004-2013) Samantha Smith Barany; former women's basketball head coach Kenny Brooks (2003-2016) and one of his star athletes, Dawn Evans (2007-2011); football quarterback Rodney Landers (2005-2008), long-time women's soccer head coach Dave Lombardo (1990-2017), baseball catcher Jake Lowery (2009-2011), track runner Anthony Wallace (2000-2003) and golfer Jay Woodson (2000-2004).
At the Sun Belt's Fall Honors Banquet, JMU earned top honors with the Student-Athlete Graduation Rate Award for the highest student-athlete graduation rate among Sun Belt schools and also claimed the Institutional Graduation Rate Award for the highest graduation rate among the entire student body at the university. Additionally, JMU was one of several institutions to receive a Graduation Achievement Award for its student-athletes exceeding the graduation rate of the university's overall student body.
JMU SAAC President Felicity Ryan served as chair of the Sun Belt SAAC mental health subcommittee.
91 student-athletes were named to President's List and 195 to Dean's List across both semesters of 2022-23 academic year with 55 instances of a perfect 4.0 grade point average for either semester. Altogether 133 student-athletes graduated (13 in fall 2022, 89 in Spring 2022 and 13 anticipated in Summer 2022). The department posted an overall GPA of 3.184. As part of that average, there were 731 total semesters of a 3.0 GPA registered by JMU student-athletes across the fall and spring.
A total of 36 student-athletes were honored as College Sports Communicators (formerly CoSIDA) academic All-District selections.
All 17 teams exceeded the department's multi-year APR benchmark of 960; in fact, all 17 finished above 970 for the first time. The department posted a 993 single-year APR score, an increase of three points over the previous year, which exceeds the NCAA revenue distribution requirement of 985. Eleven of 17 programs had a perfect single-year score of 1,000 with men's and women's golf achieving the mark for the fourth year in a row for each.
The JMU Student-Athlete Leadership Program (Dukes LEAD) hosted 15 workshops designed to enhance the overall student-athlete experience, seven of which stemmed from engaging JMU alumni in providing resources and networking opportunities to student-athletes in attendance. Additionally, the professional toolkit, a virtual module-based career readiness program, was established in partnership with the University Career Center. The professional toolkit modules provide resources coupled with action items to complete based on academic year.
As a part of the JMU Student-Athlete Leadership Program (Dukes LEAD), the Dukes Leadership Academy has progressed to two cohorts of coach-selected participants, further developing transformational leadership skills through topics such as core values, crucial conversations, strengths-based leadership, and resilience.
Also an element of the Dukes Lead program, JMU student-athletes participated in 6,352 community service hours with an average economic impact of $202,017 from May 1, 2022, through April 30, 2023, engaging with 110 unique organizations and causes. JMU Ranked 25th in community impact among all NCAA Division I programs partnering with Helper Helper. Based on the community engagement tracking platform's annual report, 7 JMU programs had top 10 finishes within their sport: Field Hockey (1), Volleyball (2), Men's Soccer (3), Lacrosse (5), Women's Golf (5), Men's Golf (6), and Softball (10). Additionally, JMU Athletics placed fifth among 14 Sun Belt institutions in the league's annual community service competition.
The Michael Battle ('81, '83M) and Cecelia Battle Summer Leadership Scholarship was awarded to Kali Findlow, Cheerleading, and Paige Miller, Track and Field, for pursuing a full-time internship during Summer 2023. Findlow is spending the summer at Warfel Construction in Winchester, Va., and Miller will oversee the kid's camp programming at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in S.C.
The Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) successfully executed the first JMU Athletics Gala, complete with a social hour, awards ceremony, and banquet dinner to celebrate a tremendous year in athletics. SAAC teamed up with Dukes Let's Talk, Dukes Excel, and Hilinski's Hope to promote key activities during Mental Health Awareness Week. SAAC also participated in Go Gold, a fundraising initiative benefiting the Children's National Hospital during Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, successfully donating $2,070.00 in the pursuit of eradicating pediatric brain cancer. Additionally, SAAC promoted a variety of black-owned businesses in the Harrisonburg community through the DEI Subcommittee.
Rodrigo Robles (men's soccer) was one of two Sun Belt student-athletes selected to attend the NCAA Student-Athlete Leadership Forum in April in Baltimore. Assistant AD Cassidy Clements also joined Robles as a facilitator at the event.
Ana Tsiros of women's golf was named one of eight recipients among all sports in the Sun Belt for the league's postgraduate scholarship awards.
JMU spent 2022-2023 building a new broadcast control room in the Atlantic Union Bank Center in order to better meet the needs of ESPN broadcasting. The control room will launch in Fall of 2023.
As part of recognizing 50 years of Title IX, JMU held a year-long initiative to devote one week to each female sports program to highlight key moments made possible by Title IX.
JMU launched the "Dukes Do Better" sportsmanship campaign prior to the start of fall sports as a way to focus on appropriate fan and competitor conduct at sporting events.
Lauren Sander was named the Virginia Athletic Trainers' Association Athletic Trainer of the Year. She works most closely with volleyball and oversees the Dukes Let's Talk program, supporting mental health for student-athletes.
JMU shared news of launch of the Montpelier Collective, a non-profit organization that supports community involvement for student-athletes while also providing opportunities to benefit from their Name, Image & Likeness (NIL).
JMU debuted the Duenkel Athletics Complex at Sentara Park in September and officially dedicated the named facility in March. The expansion added game day locker rooms, concessions and improved sports medicine space. In March, JMU debuted an expanded Veterans Memorial Park softball stadium with seating up to 1,500 in addition to improved lighting, expanded press box and new wall padding. The university anticipates completing a renovation to the Convocation Center this summer, which will include the competition venue for volleyball, training space for track & field as well as offices, locker rooms, meeting rooms, sports medicine and strength and conditioning for men's soccer, women's soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, cross country, track & field and volleyball.

Award Lists

Conference Champions (2)

Volleyball
Women's Basketball

Conference Regular-Season Champions (3)

Volleyball
Women's Basketball
Lacrosse

NCAA Appearances (6)

Cross Country
Volleyball
Swimming & Diving
Women's Basketball
Track & Field
Lacrosse

All-Americans (7)

Kris Thornton – Football
Isaac Ukwu – Football
Eveline Zwager – Field Hockey
Isabella Peterson – Lacrosse
Mairead Durkin – Lacrosse
Rachel Matey – Lacrosse
Tai Jankowski – Lacrosse

Conference Players of the Year (8)

Alexandra Blom – Women's Soccer (Goalkeeper)
Sophie Davis – Volleyball (Defensive)
Kiki Jefferson – Women's Basketball
Peyton McDaniel – Women's Basketball (Sixth Woman)
Terrence Edwards – Men's Basketball (Sixth Man)
Maddie Yager – Swimming & Diving (Diver)
Isabella Peterson – Lacrosse (Attack)
Mairead Durkin – Lacrosse (Defensive)

Conference Coaches of the Year (3)

Lauren Steinbrecher – Volleyball
Lacrosse (Coaching Staff)
KR Li – Diving

Conference Rookies of the Year (1)

Todd Centeio – Football (Newcomer)

VaSID Players of the Year (4)

Sophie Davis – Volleyball
Sophie Davis – Volleyball (Defensive)
Alexandra Blom – Women's Soccer (Defensive)
Todd Centeio – Football (Offensive)

VaSID Coaches of the Year (2)

Lauren Steinbrecher – Volleyball
Mark Byington – Men's Basketball

VaSID Rookie of the Year (1)

Cameron Arnold – Men's Soccer
Kaelon Black – Football (Offensive)

College Sports Communicators Academic All-District (36)

Mia Pham – Women's Soccer
Ellie Johnson – Women's Soccer
Amanda Attanasi – Women's Soccer
Sam Clark – Football
Drew Painter – Football
Tyler Stephens – Football
Isaac Ukwu – Football
Caroline Dozier – Volleyball
Jaydyn Clemmer – Volleyball
Miëtte Veldman – Volleyball
Mezie Offurum – Men's Basketball
Kseniia Kozlova – Women's Basketball
Peyton McDaniel – Women's Basketball
Steph Ouderkirk – Women's Basketball
Amira Williams – Women's Basketball
Grace Bousum – Swimming & Diving
Jordyn Schnell – Swimming & Diving
Karen Siddoway – Swimming & Diving
Maddie Yager – Swimming & Diving
Kylie Moulin – Women's Tennis
Daniela Voloh – Women's Tennis
Hope Moulin – Women's Tennis
Holden Koons – Men's Tennis
Hannah Shifflett – Softball
Todd Mozoki – Baseball
Lizzy Fox – Lacrosse
Katelyn Morgan – Lacrosse
Kate Owens – Women's Golf
Diede Remijnse – Field Hockey
Eveline Zwager – Field Hockey
Nick Schlickenrieder – Men's Golf
Maddy Hesler – Track & Field
Sofia Lavreshina – Track & Field
Rachel Lloyd – Track & Field
Shelby Staib – Track & Field
Miranda Stanhope – Track & Field

Other Awards:

Maddie Yager – CCSA Female Diver of the Championship
Kiki Jefferson – Sun Belt Women's Basketball Championship Most Outstanding Player
Sophie Davis – Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Most Outstanding Player

Calendar