JMU Nation

BY JEFF BOURNE, director of athletics

JMU Nation, I’m excited for the future that sits in front of us as a member of the Sun Belt Conference, and I truly believe that it’s the right fit at the right time for James Madison University.

We have evaluated opportunities over a long period of time and have always approached a move to the Football Bowl Subdivision level as one that would be carefully evaluated. In the past, the circumstances have never been perfect. Even heading into the current round of realignment in July 2021, we didn’t know if the ideal scenario was there. But as the Sun Belt emerged in a position of strength with its current group of institutions, particularly in the East Division, we knew this was it—this was JMU’s opportunity.

Many individuals put in a lot of work to make this possible. I particularly want to thank JMU President Jonathan R. Alger and Senior Vice President for Administration and Finance Charlie King for their commitment to this process and for seeing the value to the entire institution, even beyond athletics. I want to thank our athletics administration, which worked with urgency to review and validate our earlier work. And I particularly want to thank our student-athletes and coaches. It is because of them that JMU was such a desired brand during this round of realignment.

There’s so much information I could share in this piece. Instead, I will hit a few key points.

Why the Sun Belt?

Many factors are to be considered with a conference move, including perception of the conference, a profile of institutional peers, geography, sponsored sports, revenue sources, media agreements, evidence of success and more. Ultimately, a few key benefits stood out as JMU made this decision. n The Sun Belt provides significant competitive opportunities for JMU’s sports programs. While football benefits from the move to FBS level, nearly every sport by association steps into a higher level of visibility and stature. We take pride in our approach to fully fund all 18 sports programs and equip each with the resources to be successful. n As a university, JMU has been on a trajectory to increased national reach, particularly with its expected transition to R2 (high research activity) status in the Carnegie Classification. The Sun Belt is a natural fit to boost such aspirations and thrust our university into the national dialogue. n The Sun Belt is composed entirely of likeminded institutions. While the Colonial Athletic Association is filled with universities of all different sizes, structures and aspirations, the Sun Belt contains large, public institutions with significant athletic investment. n The Sun Belt, and particularly the East Division, offers a natural opportunity to build rivalries within a geographic footprint. College sports are built on rivalries. It infuses energy and passion into games, increases overall interest, boosts ticket sales and more. Several of these institutions were past JMU rivals or frequent opponents, and we’re excited to renew these relationships.

Sun Belt Commissioner Keith Gill (right) was present at the Nov. 6, 2021, news conference announcing a new chapter in the illustrious history of JMU Athletics.

Why is this a good decision for JMU? Most significantly, 1) it allows JMU student-athletes across all sports to compete at the highest level; 2) it aligns JMU in a conference with institutional peers among a group of primarily large, public universities; 3) it offers the opportunity to build regional rivalries within a geographic footprint that also makes financial sense for the university; and 4) it allows the athletics program to align with the university’s expected transition to R2 (doctoral university – high research activity) status in the Carnegie Classification. When will JMU officially join the Sun Belt? JMU will transition most of its sports to the Sun Belt on July 1, 2022. It is working with the Sun Belt to formalize the transition as early as possible. Can JMU still compete for Colonial Athletic Association championships the rest of the year? JMU was extremely disappointed to learn, just prior to finalizing its agreement with the Sun Belt, that its sports programs would be prevented from competing for CAA championships for the remainder of JMU’s membership in the CAA, beginning with the men’s soccer championship that JMU was scheduled to host. While a bylaw stating such has been on the conference’s books for many years, much has evolved in the overall landscape of intercollegiate athletics since that time. In an era emphasizing student-athlete welfare, this recent vote of the league’s presidents runs counter to such emphasis. Eight other Division I conferences currently contain full members that have officially declared they are moving to a different league. All eight conferences still allowed departing schools and their student-athletes to compete for their league’s championships this fall. By extension of the CAA’s decision, JMU will not host the four championships it was scheduled to host (men’s soccer, women’s basketball, lacrosse and softball). Additionally, the league elected to remove JMU from any conference games in its package of national men’s basketball broadcasts on CBS Sports Network. JMU made an impassioned plea to the CAA’s council of presidents arguing why it was justified and appropriate to allow JMU studentathletes to compete, but instead the league’s presidents made a self-serving decision for the sole benefit of their own institutions. Will all sports move up a division or just football? This can often be a misunderstanding in the public eye. JMU is already an NCAA Division I institution. The division is subdivided into three groups: FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision, or the highest level), FCS (Football Championship Subdivision) and institutions that do not sponsor football. All JMU sports continue to be Division I and can compete in the NCAA Championship for Division I as before. The football subdivision is the only change. How long will it take to fully transition to FBS? Currently, the NCAA requires a two-year period for an institution to fully transition from FCS to FBS. The notification must occur by June 1, meaning that JMU’s transition would officially begin on July 1, 2022, and end on June 30, 2024. So JMU would be fully FBS, including bowl eligibility, for the 2024 football season. All other sports would be immediately eligible for postseason play upon joining the Sun Belt. Will JMU add women’s sports in order to meet Title IX compliance? No, a previous FBS feasibility study in 2013 declared that JMU was not required to add women’s sports. The department closely evaluates its Title IX compliance on a regular basis with the help of a national consultant. JMU is in good shape because it fully funds all of its sport programs in the areas of scholarships, coaching staffs and cost of attendance.

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BY ETHAN RATKE (’20)

In December 2017, the Weber State game defined my career. I never imagined that my sixth game starting would end the way it did. However, my career leading up to that moment was far from perfect.

Throughout the 2016-2017 school year, my confidence in my abilities were low. I considered leaving the sport multiple times. I spent most of my first year as the backup’s backup.

As the third- or fourth-string kicker, opportunities to set yourself apart become limited.

The biggest reason I stayed was because of a moment in the weight room. Twice a week, the freshman players lifted at 5:30 a.m.

Before college, I had barely touched a weight.

Even though I was lifting lighter than others, each rep was hard. To succeed in the weight room, it was all about effort.

After a workout, our strength coach Big

John singled me out. I thought he was going to give me a hard time, but instead he was praising me. “If you all worked as hard as

Ratke, we would win a national championship,” he said.

I hadn’t felt that good in months. On the field, I felt invisible, but finally someone noticed my effort. After that moment, I decided to stay for the spring season.

We had finally made it to my first fall camp in 2017, and I was ready to start fresh.

The morning we were to begin, I received a message to meet Coach Mike Houston before practice. He gave the news to me straight: Our team had reached capacity with the number of players for fall camp in accordance with NCAA guidelines. Someone on the team needed to leave camp until further notice, and that someone was me.

As a backup kicker, I understood. Immediately after, I was taken back to the dorm to pack my things. I was numb. This felt like confirmation that I was the least essential player out of over 100 guys.

When I got home, I talked to my parents, who encouraged me to be positive. I decided I would let it go if I wasn’t brought back in two weeks. After five days, I got the message that someone on the team had left. I promptly got my stuff and moved back to the dorms.

Being pushed so close to the edge of quitting changed my mindset completely. I wanted to play the game I love. I was done worrying. This fearless mentality improved my kicking. I swung my leg carefree. I started hitting kickoffs into the end zone and making more field goals in practice. My timing improved too.

We had made it halfway through the season to our matchup against William & Mary. As we ran up the score, Tyler Gray attempted one of his many kickoffs. In the middle of his backswing, he collapsed. His season was over. I was the next man up.

I played well going forward. Coach Houston, the special teams coach, Gray and all of the other players were Ratke kicks the encouraging. With the first field goal of ball during a game against New Hampshire the Weber State game, in November I felt locked in. When 2019. the snap came, I swung, and the ball went right down the middle of the uprights.

The clock was stopped with one second left, fourth down. When we jogged out to the field, I knew it was going in. Every hardship in the past year led to this moment. I was the least essential player, and now I had the opportunity to win this game.

Since then, my career changed. In 2018, I earned all-conference accolades, but that year ended with a coaching change. Under the new head coach, Curt Cignetti, and the new special teams coach, Grant Cain, I was propelled farther in 2019. They helped push me as we made a return trip to the FCS National Championship. I ended the season as an All-American and broke records I never thought possible.

I would have given up if it wasn’t for the team, the specialists, Houston, Roy Tesh, Gray, J.C. Kimes, Big John, my family and my friends. I stood on the shoulders of those who kept me in the game.

James Madison men’s basketball made history on Dec. 7, 2021, knocking off Virginia for the first time in program history in front of a raucous, sellout crowd.

In a thrilling game that went down to the wire, the Dukes used outstanding defense and clutch shots to top the Cavaliers, 52-49. The Dukes held the Cavaliers to just 14 points in the first half. JMU withstood a late charge from the Cavaliers to pick up its first win in 12 matchups vs. UVA.

The teams traded the lead four times in the final two minutes, before Takal Molson sunk consecutive jumpers to put JMU on top for good. After UVA’s half-court heave at the buzzer missed, JMU students rushed the court and the arena became a sea of purple euphoria.

The win marked the program’s first win over an active ACC team. It also was the first victory over a Power 5 program since the Dukes beat Penn State in 2001. The game was televised nationwide on CBS Sports Network.

Tom Kuster, James Madison associate athletics director, is one of two winners of the Colonial Athletic Association’s 2021 John H. Randolph Inspiration Award.

The award recognizes people who, through strength of character and human spirit, serve as inspirations to all to maximize their potential and ability for success. It is named after former William & Mary Athletic Director John Randolph, who lost a courageous battle with cancer in 1995.

“I can’t imagine another individual who better epitomizes this honor than Tom Kuster,” said Jeff Bourne, director of athletics. “He has been an inspiration to all of us in JMU Athletics during the most difficult and challenging time in our history during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

When the pandemic struck in March 2020, Kuster, who has been a member of the JMU sports medicine staff since 1999, devoted countless hours to creating a plan that would enable JMU student-athletes, coaches and staff to return to activity in a safe manner. In the midst of that work, Kuster began dealing with health challenges, and doctors discovered he had advanced-stage colon cancer. He immediately began an aggressive schedule of treatments, but he has continued to stay engaged with implementing JMU’s pandemic strategies.

JMU softball head coach Loren LaPorte signed a new eight-year agreement in August 2021. Her new contract runs through the 2029 season. “What Loren achieved this spring with her staff and our student-athletes was one of the greatest accomplishments in our department’s history,” said Jeff Bourne, director of athletics. “Beyond the on-field success, our softball players are model citizens who care about being engaged in the world around them. There is endless opportunity for this program to build off the Women’s College World Series appearance, and we’re excited to have Loren at the helm to do that.”

In her fourth season at the helm of the program, the Dukes made their first Women’s College World Series appearance, becoming the first unseeded team to win the first two games to advance to the semifinals. JMU finished with a record of 41-4 and the program’s highest rankings in the national polls at No. 4.

“I am extremely thankful for the commitment of our administration to this program and our staff,” LaPorte said. “We are dedicated to helping our student-athletes become better, stronger versions of themselves, both on and off the field. We were surrounded by the support of JMU Nation, not only at the Women’s College World Series, but throughout the season, and we could not be more grateful.”

In four seasons, LaPorte has compiled an overall record of 148-32 while going 56-4 in the Colonial Athletic Association. The program has made two NCAA Super Regionals and one WCWS. LaPorte and her staff were named the 2021 National Fastpitch Coaching Staff of the Year after their outstanding season.