National Attention Benefits Dukes

HARRISONBURG — Saturday’s ESPN2 telecast of the FCS championship game averaged 1.562 million viewers.

Those viewers saw James Madison win a national title for the second time in school history when it defeated Youngstown State 28-14.

According to SportsMediaWatch.com, it was the second time in as many games that JMU averaged more than 1 million viewers watching its football team play in the postseason. An average of 1.065 million tuned to ESPN2 to watch JMU’s dethroning of five-time defending national champion North Dakota State in the semifinals on Dec. 16.

And those numbers play a part in what the school’s athletic director, Jeff Bourne, terms as being “relevant.”

Part of his job is to make sure the school stays “relevant” and can capture national attention when it has the opportunity to do so. A run through the FCS playoffs toward a national title gives Bourne some data to show if keeping Madison at the FCS level might be what’s best for the university.

According to SportsMediaWatch.com, the FCS national title game drew more viewers than eight bowl games, seven of which featured Group of Five programs — schools not in one of the major five conferences — including the Bahamas Bowl, where Old Dominion won a bowl for the first time in school history after making the jump from the Colonial Athletic Association to FBS after the 2012 season.

“It makes you think about where you are and where you can remain relevant,” Bourne said. “The secret in intercollegiate athletics is remaining relevant, whether it’s an individual sport program or an entire athletic program. You have to do whatever it takes to remain relevant.

“For us, we’d look at options like that. We always do because we want to evaluate what is the best move for our institution, but having gone through this past weekend, that was an experience that’s very difficult to duplicate.”

The Dukes 65-7 quarterfinal thumping of Sam Houston State was also shown on ESPN2, giving the school three postseason games on national television.

Bourne said he also anticipates more changes to come with conference realignment based on the staggering difference of resources that Power Five programs hold compared to Group of Five programs.

After the 2017 season, the University of Idaho will transition its football program back to FCS following two decades at the FBS level.

“I think the driving factor in intercollegiate athletics across the country will be stimulated by [the] divide of the Power Five,” Bourne said. “What happens with the Group of Five? What happens with the type of benchmarks and grouping that the Group of Five will live in? If there’s rising in operating costs and extra benefits that could be given at the Power Five level, it’s just a matter of time before the Group of Five can no longer can provide the same benefits.

“That divide has taken place and it’s like a wedge, it’s only going to get larger over time in regard to the differences in the programs. Something will eventually have to change.”

What Bourne said he’s interested to look at is the possibility of the Group of Five creating its own playoff.

Last month, ESPN.com reported some Group of Five athletic directors and officials were in favor of adding a playoff specifically for those non-Power Five schools at the FBS level.

“I’d be interested in finding out what that structure would look like,” Bourne said. “Would it model more of the current FBS playoff structure or would it be a true playoff like we have in FCS? This FCS schedule is rigorous. It’s a lot of football games and moving parts, but in the end, you get down to a true champion and I think there’s tremendous value in that as I look at it.”

For now though, Bourne is happy soaking up the glory of doing his part in helping bring the FCS championship trophy back to Harrisonburg. He made the decision to hire JMU coach Mike Houston after Everrett Withers left for Texas State.

JMU finished with a program-best 14 wins and an outright CAA title.

“I would say that the season was epic, in my opinion,” Bourne said. “We just managed to catch lightning in a bottle, at the right time of the season.

“This team got better and better as the season went on. Their play was unbelievable with what they were able to do. Every phase of the game got better, not just one, but all three of them, and that was what was so rewarding as an administrator for me to see.”