Bourne-King Dynamic Propels JMU Athletics

HARRISONBURG — There are aspects to Jeff Bourne’s job as athletic director at James Madison that differ from the ones other ADs deal with.

But perhaps the most unique quirk is Bourne reports to senior vice president for administration and finance Charlie King instead of directly working with the university president.

“It’s rare that you get the athletic director reporting to the business guy,” King said. “But we did that years ago because of the vision [former JMU president] Dr. Lin Rose had for facilities with where we wanted to go, and you’ve got to be hand-in-hand with how you finance those things.”

For Bourne, it probably benefits him and the athletic department that King loves college sports.

Still, to make projects like the expansion of Bridgeforth Stadium or the new $88 million Atlantic Union Bank Center a reality, Bourne had to get along with King, who is tasked with assuring whatever it is JMU athletics wants to accomplish is done responsibly when it comes to finances and also fits the trajectory of the whole university.

Facility upgrades and major coach’s contracts — although he left a year later, think former football coach Mike Houston’s 10-year extension in 2017 — are both items requiring the athletic department and school to be on the same page.

“It’s interesting because Charlie’s personality and mine, and he’d be the first to say, are very different,” Bourne said. “I think at least parts of our personality, and then I think parts of our personality are very similar, but anytime you put a good team together, you have strengths and weaknesses. I’ve really appreciated his support most of all, but I do also appreciate his perspective in where he’s coming from.

“He looks after the entire university, not just athletics, so he has a good way of putting perspective for where we are within the context of the university. And that was one of the first things I did not have when I came here from Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, because those two programs are very independent of their university and there was very little interaction between the two. Athletics was there and the rest of the university was over there and I wouldn’t say they were isolated, but they were much more separated. Here, there’s a lot more integration and close-knit dialogue.”

Bourne said he emails, texts and calls with King regularly during the course of a week whereas in his jobs at Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech, he’d speak with university administrators about once a month.

Geoff Polglase, the deputy athletic director at JMU, said the dynamic between Bourne and King enables the athletic department and university to progress positively together.

“I think we see athletics as being part of what makes up the overall university and its profile,” Polglase said. “But I don’t think any of us in athletics would ever envision that we’re an island onto ourselves. I think so much of what has been accomplished here in athletics would not have been possible over the years without the collaboration, support and contributions from so many different areas on our campus. Likewise, I think we look at ways in which we can support our colleagues when it’s appropriate and when it makes sense.

“It’s what JMU is. When we do things, we do them well. When we pursue something, we’re going to pursue it to the best of our ability and that’s part of the culture that goes all the way back to [former president] Dr. Ron Carrier.”

Bourne said even if he and King disagree, the conversation always ends positively, either having managed opposite viewpoints or at least leave knowing where each other stands. Both Bourne and King said the great relationship between the two of them is one reason why Bourne has stayed in his job for 20 years and why King has stayed in his job even longer.

JMU has had two presidents — Rose and Jonathan Alger — since Bourne arrived two decades ago.

“I’m glad he’s been here,” Bourne said of King. “I’d be the first to say that no way are we where we are today in intercollegiate athletics at JMU without his help.”

King said: “He and I have been really good partners, and I don’t know about him, but I’m not going to work very much longer, but I know we’ll leave this university with some really top-notch facilities and a great athletic department.”

King said Bourne works well with Alger, too. And Polglase said Bourne’s ability to connect with whomever he’s working with — whether it’s Alger, Colonial Athletic Association commissioner Joe D’Antonio or an intern that just started working with the athletic department — only helps JMU in the long run.

“There are accomplishments at the measurable level,” Polglase said. “Obviously, winning championships and student-athletes performing at an incredibly high level academically at an institution that is so rigorous when you look across the board at the graduation rate of our athletes and cumulative grade-point average of our athletes.

“But beyond that he’s managed to do it with the culture of how we work together and how we challenge and support each other in a very professional, collegial way, is really impressive to me. People like to work here. People like to work for Jeff even when there’s still an extremely high level of expectation for any of those different measuring areas whether it’s competition, academics or delivering the support services that we do. So I think the greatest achievement for him is that he’s led people, coaches and staff to making all those things happen while they really enjoy coming to work here and really enjoy being part of this institution.”

UNC-Wilmington athletic director Jimmy Bass said Bourne is the same way at the conference level when the athletic directors in the CAA get together for their annual meetings.

In 2010, Bass was a first-year athletic director in a room full of veterans.

“Jeff was one of the ones that embraced the new guy on the block,” Bass said. “Jeff, then and now, is the voice of calm reason when we are in that room. When we go into executive sessions with just the athletic directors, which is the 10 of us and the commissioner, the first amendment is freely exercised in that room and again, Jeff is always the calm and reasoning voice.”

New Hampshire athletic director Marty Scarano said the same thing about Bourne during football meetings.

“He is very thoughtful and very intelligent obviously, and comes from that background of analytics with his accounting background,” said Scarano, who like Bourne is celebrating 20 years as an athletic director at his school this month. “He’s very diplomatic and classy and a level-headed individual, so he’s not the fiery guy in the room that’s going to get angry and disparage anybody, but when he speaks everybody listens.

“It’s like those old Merrill Lynch commercials. When he represents himself, he’s not the hollow vessel, he’s thoughtful and what he adds to the conversation is really important.”

And everybody that works with Bourne said he’s likable because he doesn’t have to be in a working environment to form a bond with his colleagues.

Bass and Scarano said Bourne has no problem playing sommelier for the group.

“After those meetings, there are times that at the end of the day that it’s really essential we find something to calm our nerves,” Bourne said with a chuckle.

“Everybody turns their wine menus and hands it to Jeff,” Bass said. “Jeff is always the one responsible for choosing the wine for our dinners at our CAA meetings. That’s one of the things we all joke about because we’re all very appreciative of his knowledge. They are always compliments to the dinner and conversation we have.”