I wrote a column a few weeks ago about the possibility of JMU moving to Division I-A. JMU A.D. Jeff Bourne -- speaking for himself, not the university -- said he thought a new Mid-Atlantic league of like-minded football schools was a possibility if the big-time programs realigned into four 16-team conferences. JMU and other serious I-AA football schools -- such as Delaware and App State -- would join up with I-A programs like Marshall. Schools like Richmond and W&M likely would be content to stay in I-AA. What do you think? Should JMU move? Is is worth spending millions more and losing some traditional rivals?
JMU to Division I-A?
- Thread starter dnrsimmons
- Start date
In short yes. I want JMU to compete at the highest level possible in athletics as well as academics. I hope the new president keeps JMU an undergraduate focused university but we need to have more doctoral programs to move us into the national university category. I see JMU competing on the field and in the classroom with the UVAs, Marylands, Dukes of the world, not competing on the same field as Richmonds and William and Mary's. We are a larger public university and should be competing with the schools that have the same ideas and visions. Not a knock on the other schools, just the reality of different cultures and emphasis.
Also a yes here. I feel that the sky is the limit should JMU choose to move up to Division I-A in football. Not only would new rivalries form sooner rather than later, but the national attention brought to the school through greater media attention given at the I-A can only help the university as a whole.
It would also be nice as a fan to have a conference comprised of schools looking to compete at the same level. Visiting other schools like W&M, Richmond, and others in the CAA really shows the widening divide between schools that wish to move forward and those that wish to stay put or move down in the long run.
It would also be nice as a fan to have a conference comprised of schools looking to compete at the same level. Visiting other schools like W&M, Richmond, and others in the CAA really shows the widening divide between schools that wish to move forward and those that wish to stay put or move down in the long run.
JMU should move up only if it can get in a BCS league.
Right now, JMU is in the national-title conversation every year, and it's hard to beat that. True, I-AA doesn't get much national exposure, but how much national exposure does the MAC or Sun Belt get? If you go I-A without a BCS bid, you're just paying for 22 more scholarships and, most likely, more travel to be less competitive (nationally) and just as anonymous. It makes more sense to stay where you can win and waste less money -- unless JMU gets in a BCS league.
Right now, JMU is in the national-title conversation every year, and it's hard to beat that. True, I-AA doesn't get much national exposure, but how much national exposure does the MAC or Sun Belt get? If you go I-A without a BCS bid, you're just paying for 22 more scholarships and, most likely, more travel to be less competitive (nationally) and just as anonymous. It makes more sense to stay where you can win and waste less money -- unless JMU gets in a BCS league.
I've always felt that being non-BCS FBS was pointless, playing what amounts to meaningless exhibitions week after week, that UMass is taking a step backwards.
However, there's no way a team without current ties to an FBS conference in a weak media market makes that jump overnight. Moving to an intermediate step with like-minded, REGIONAL teams could energize a significant alumni base (largely based in DC) that by-and-large, do not care about JMU athletics once they graduate.
We could then get more games against other I-A teams (maybe in FedEx), and get alumni to show more interest and attract the attention of the larger conferences and DC media market...anything's possible, but, as they say, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
This post was edited on 11/22 8:44 AM by Dukie95
However, there's no way a team without current ties to an FBS conference in a weak media market makes that jump overnight. Moving to an intermediate step with like-minded, REGIONAL teams could energize a significant alumni base (largely based in DC) that by-and-large, do not care about JMU athletics once they graduate.
We could then get more games against other I-A teams (maybe in FedEx), and get alumni to show more interest and attract the attention of the larger conferences and DC media market...anything's possible, but, as they say, it's a marathon, not a sprint.
This post was edited on 11/22 8:44 AM by Dukie95
Sorry, but going to a non-FBS playing in a mid-tier bowl has better coverage and visibility (plus money) than D-1AA champ game.
It's time to make the move up. I agree that a bowl game is better than a national championship. We need to be in a conference with other mid major schools. We need to build out the rest of the stadium to get to 40,000. The TV money and quality of games would be great. We would get 12 reg season games and 7 home games many years.
It is hard to talk about moving up to 1-A if we lose to ODU. How can you move to 1-A if you can no longer consistently make the 1-AA playoffs (last year being the exception at 7-4 regular season) even with an ever expanding number of 1-AA playoff teams(moving to 24 teams soon I believe?).
This post was edited on 11/15 8:49 AM by Jeremybozz
This post was edited on 11/15 8:50 AM by Jeremybozz
This post was edited on 11/15 8:49 AM by Jeremybozz
This post was edited on 11/15 8:50 AM by Jeremybozz
There are a lot of teams that have never made it to the FCS playoffs and yet still moved up. Success at the FCS level doesn't mean success at the next level or the lack of success doesn't mean that you will not be successful at the next level. All about recruiting and schemes.
