HARRISONBURG — Danny Rocco has already made the transition Curt Cignetti is making.

It’s the jump from leading one program in the Colonial Athletic Association to another.

“Every dynamic is so different,” Rocco said. “But I think there are some advantages in knowing the league, knowing the competition, having played the team you just took over and in having played the other teams in the league.”

Following the 2016 season, Rocco departed Richmond after coaching the Spiders for five years to take the same job at Delaware. Rocco won two CAA championships and made the FCS playoffs three times with Richmond while the Blue Hens desperately needed a headman with the chops to rebuild their traditional FCS power of a program.

Delaware went 4-7 in back-to-back years before Rocco arrived.

“You talk about recent history and history,” Rocco said. “And recent history and history are two different things, so most all of us including me were quick to recognize the history and tradition of Delaware football, but not the recent history. There wasn’t much to embrace.”

The challenges Cignetti faces aren’t the same.

He was hired at James Madison this past December to win now on the heels of re-energizing Elon football. Cignetti lifted the Phoenix from a bottom-of-the-standings team into conference title contenders quickly during his first of two seasons there. But with JMU, a squad aspiring to reach the FCS national championship for the third time in four years, expectations are high. The Dukes were picked to capture the CAA crown earlier this week when the league’s preseason poll was released, and most national prognosticators view them as a top-three team.

Cignetti said his work at Elon is one of the reasons why he believes he got the job with the Dukes this time around — he was previously a candidate and interviewed for the position in 2014 when Everett Withers was hired at Madison.

“I probably was more ready now,” Cignetti said. “And [JMU athletic director] Jeff Bourne and I got to know each other at the CAA meetings. He got to see what we did at Elon and as soon as it opened I kind of in my gut knew. I told my wife at dinner that night that we were going to end up there and we did, and I don’t know where the stars aligned, but that’s all the pregame hype there. Let’s see what we do.”

And while the timeline for winning on a national level had a more drawn-out trajectory for Rocco when he got to Delaware, both Cignetti and Rocco have goals of getting their teams to Frisco, Texas.

Rocco said what helped him push the Blue Hens from 4-7 to 7-4 in his first year was the knowledge he already had of his new team and of the CAA — two things Cignetti should be bringing with him to his job leading the Dukes.

“You have a little deeper level of understanding and appreciation for the some of the nuances,” Rocco said. “Like, sometimes, school A has a hard time beating school B, and school C can’t beat that school, but it can beat school A. It’s just knowing those weird dynamics, so you kind of get that already.

“So you’re starting over, but you’ve already got it. You already have learned and understood some of the secrets within the league. You know some of the reasons why it’s hard to play at New Hampshire before going up to New Hampshire. It’s just things like that because you’ve experienced it in a different way at a different school.”

Rocco said he doesn’t see any reason why Cignetti won’t continue to elevate the program at JMU.

“Curt has been successful everywhere,” Rocco said. “But the success he had at Elon I think creates an even stronger platform for him at JMU and his team to be able to pick up, move and advance and he’ll do a great job.”

Cignetti’s staff is comprised of coaches who have experience in the CAA as well.

Offensive line coach Damian Wroblewski, linebackers coach Bryant Haines, running backs coach Matt Merritt, wide receivers coach Mike Shanahan and safeties coach Ryan Smith all followed Cignetti from Elon and Cignetti hired defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman and cornerbacks coach Matt Birkett away from Maine.

“And one of the things I’ll share about my staff is I had four hires this year and all four guys have coached in this league,” Rocco said. “There’s a reason why. There’s an idea that they understand the league. They can add to what you’re doing. They can bring ideas and know what people are saying, how to recruit for and against, the geography and all those things are important and I think it’s something Curt can capitalize on staying in the league.

“If you’re going from Elon to, and I’ll pick the school, Northern Iowa, it’s a new league. It’s a good job, but it’s a new league, different dynamics, different recruiting areas and there’s hiccups. You can’t see around the corners as well as you do when you’ve been through it.”