Liberty's FBS Jump No Concern For James Madison

HARRISONBURG — James Madison athletic director Jeff Bourne has plenty to think about on a day-to-day basis.

But the debate that leaves Bourne more questions to ponder than concrete answers to rely on is the one between FCS and FBS football and which of the two best fits JMU.

In January, the Dukes won the FCS championship for the second time in school history when they beat Youngstown State 28-14 in Frisco, Texas.

Last month, Liberty — an FCS school located fewer than 100 miles from Harrisonburg in Lynchburg — announced it would begin transitioning to FBS this year and be a bowl-eligible member for the 2019 season.

“I was a little surprised, especially given that they elected to go as an independent versus as a member of a league,” Bourne said last week.

Liberty is the second Division I football school in Virginia to announce a jump from FCS to FBS in the last five years.

Old Dominion played four seasons at the FCS level, including two in the Colonial Athletic Association where Madison makes its home, before joining Conference USA in 2014 to move up to FBS, joining Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia as the state’s FBS programs.

ODU earned its first bowl berth this past season to the Popeyes Bahamas Bowl.

“We always remain diligent and are constantly looking at what’s best for the institution,” Bourne said regarding his school’s prospects of transitioning to FBS. “It doesn’t mean we’re going to decide to stay at the championship level and not ever look at FBS, but I just think for us it’s being strategic and being wise and smart in how we move forward.”

Bourne was named one of four recipients at the FCS level for the Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year Award last week.

“We’ll evaluate every good opportunity that comes along and if it’s the right one, maybe we take advantage of it,” he said. “To go for the sake of going and to try to go as an independent, I have absolutely zero interest in doing that. I just don’t see it being a good move for James Madison.”

Bourne said there are significant challenges for independents at any level. Currently, Notre Dame, Brigham Young, Army and Massachusetts play FBS football as independents.

“If you look at other independents that have made that jump or that decision, they’ve had a pretty tough time,” Bourne said. “UMass is an example.

“For those of us that spend a fair amount of our work hours working in scheduling of competitions, it is very much a challenge to schedule at the independent level. But I do think Liberty is a different place than most institutions primarily because of the financial resources that they have and their ability to be able to buy opponents to come to their place. But they’ll then have to be creative when it comes to going to other FBS sites to play.”

Second-year James Madison coach Mike Houston was on the same page with Bourne when he asked about Liberty’s move.

“To each their own,” Houston said. “I think whatever fits your institution is what fits your institution. If that’s what they think is their future in athletics, then I wish them the best of luck.

“If the right bid comes to us from the right conference at the FBS level, then I think you will see us enthusiastically transition. If that right bid does not come along, I’m just fine with being one of the top FCS programs in the country.”

Bourne said even after winning the national title two months ago, James Madison hasn’t heard “anything new” from any FBS conferences concerning expansion.

The athletic director at JMU since 1999, Bourne added that he believes significant changes at the Group of Five level — FBS conferences with mid-major members — won’t come until those leagues’ television contracts expire.

The American Athletic Conference has the most lucrative television contract, paying $2 million per member school annually, according to The Virginian-Pilot, of the non-Power Five schools. The contract runs through the 2019-20 season.

“I think there’s a significant challenge and unrest right now in what’s happening with syndication dollars in linear TV,” Bourne said. “We know what’s happening to them and they’re almost non-existent. For many conferences, it was always the syndication dollars that helped form and identify potential members for those conferences.”

In the last year, even the Big 12 Conference — a Power Five league — opted not to expand after deciding a few months earlier that it wouldn’t pursue a television network. Potential candidates for Big 12 expansion at the time, such as Houston and Memphis, had strong television markets to offer.

“The money has migrated up,” Bourne said. “Television dollars have migrated to the Power Five and they’ve gone down for everyone else by fairly strong measure and it’s constantly changing. I don’t think anyone can predict with any degree of certainty about where it might end up, but the only thing we all would agree on is that there’s going to be change.

“And I think during times like this it makes a lot of sense to be in a position where you can excel and do extremely well and put your institution in the public eye competing at the highest level and graduating student-athletes at a very high level, so no matter what comes along, your institution is in a position to capitalize on [an] opportunity.”

Bourne said if a bid from an FBS conference were extended to JMU, then the school would evaluate how the potential move would impact its geographical footprint, recruiting base, academic profile and finances before making a decision.

“I think we’re doing things the right way, I really do,” Bourne said. “I know there are individuals that would disagree, but I live and breathe this every day. I’m around it. I see it and again, what we’ve been able to do speaks to the judgments we’ve made.”