Big aspirations for new SBC foe
- Thread starter Jartard
- Start date
We’ve heard this about every other team it seems that has made the jump. The only one to really meet such lofty expectations has been UCF.
Heck, people were saying that about ODU and Charlotte. Lol!
Heck, people were saying that about ODU and Charlotte. Lol!
There is one big thing that will hold JMU back from making gigantic leaps and that is location. No major airport and no major city within 2hrs. Today, P5 leagues are looking for media markets, and while JMU has a lot of alumni in Va Beach, Richmond, and & DC metro, it wont move the needle enough. They do have the top athletic budget in the SBC, so just on that metric, they should compete in all sports right out of the gate. But lets temper the JMU to the ACC talk in the next 20yrs Mickey!!
Not to mention, who knows what the ACC is going to look like in 20 years... Hell, will FBS still even be a thing? Will there be additional divisions, etc? Would the ACC want a third team in Virginia, a second in "rural" Virginia?
JMU is run by smart people, they know their top priority is to get a footing in the Sun Belt and try to become the premiere football program in the league (the same thing Marshall, App State, Coastal, Louisiana, Georgia State, Troy, etc are trying to do). They aren't worrying about 20-plus years from now at this point.
JMU is less than two hours from Dulles International and is an easy drive.What about Shenandoah Valley Airport?
Hagerstown is an even easier drive, almost impossible to screw that one up.
People complain about HTS and Huntington not being easy to get to. 2 hours to a major airport for JMU? We have CRW 45 minutes away. CVG and CMH about 2.5 hours away.
The airport issue is way overblown. Most of the big schools charter direct anyway.
The airport issue is way overblown. Most of the big schools charter direct anyway.
Now we are arguing about airports. Congratulations.
James Madison is a fine program, I'm sure. It will never be in the ACC or any other such conference.
That kind of "little brother" fixation is what got ECU in the mess it is in.
James Madison is a fine program, I'm sure. It will never be in the ACC or any other such conference.
That kind of "little brother" fixation is what got ECU in the mess it is in.
Morgantown is a small enough town and they got an airport just to move into another league. Virginia can do the same for JMU if they become consistently great.
Difference is morgantown's airport was garbage an really had no business existing when a short distance was a REAL airport in Pittsburgh.
VA would actually consider taking care of its own if JMU ever got to the level they're speaking of.
Im sure they do... And Im sure it does not include being a member of the ACC... The same way my 20 year plan doesn't include being a member at Augusta National or my company being in the Fortune 500.
In the real world, JMU has the same odds of becoming the next UCF as they do becoming the next FIU at this point in their FBS existence... Win some Sun Belt titles, become a consistent top 25 team, then adjust the long range plan if conditions show any signs of moving into the P5 being a reality. As of today, it's not, and outside one sports writer's speculation there is no reason to think it will be.
JMU is making a huge leap in competition and that will take a toll over the first few years. I believe those boisterous goals will ease a bit in time. If it were so easy to develop a winning program we would all be like Alabama.
Haha... I'm 37, in relatively good shape/health and upper middle class... So yeah, I'm hoping to make it to 57 at least. #knockonwood
The ONLY way that JMU ever gets into the ACC is if the ACC has a mass exodus of teams. I also don't see UVA and VT being on board with it either. Not happening.
Bwahaha our fans complain about hot dogs, MU would trip over itself rushing to register for being Alabama.
At this point it's not about national titles for about 95% of the teams, but if you can establish a brand or an identity the country embraces, you'll be fine.
Unless VT and UVA depart...with UVA in the Big 10 and VT possibly in the SEC.
Yes, unlikely to happen, but they'd sign off on it because they'd have moved on.
Thing is, I don't recall FIU ever being competitive at their level for any period of time. Look at the two examples of programs who moved up; MU in the 90's and App State as being a primary, modern example of actually competing and winning FCS titles, showing they can, then moving up. CUSA took some teams who really hadn't shown they can compete but rather markets or "potential."
JMU has always been competitive at their level, and given their demographics and location, can continue to be so, even now.
Eh, remember FAU had the 8-4 season with TY Hilton.. then Basie blasted him into the stratosphere with that big hit in the bowl game. Lmfao!
Even Alabama can be bad. Some of you all may not remember the Mike Shula era of Alabama football. He was 10-23 at Alabama. They went through about a decade or so of not being real good.
Minus.. 1992 was it? Alabama had gone something like 30 years without a NC till Saban arrived.
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