Survey - Should JMU move to FBS (Harrisonburg) (Madison: home, schools)

[QuinDuke]

Hello, as college football fans are aware, one of the big topics of discussion in the sport this offseason has been conference realignment. James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, plays in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA). The CAA competes at the Division 1 level in all sports, and its football teams are classified as Football Championship Subdivision, a step below the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) classification (which means fewer scholarships) within Division 1. The CAA has seen its share of changes, losing Georgia State to the FBS-level Sun Belt, Virginia Commonwealth to the Atlantic 10, and Old Dominion to the FBS-level Conference USA. A JMU alumni has put together a survey with the intent of gauging the level of potential support a JMU move to a Football Bowl Subdivision conference might receive.

If you are a JMU student, alumni, fan, or resident of Harrisonburg and the surrounding areas in the Valley, please consider filling out the survey at the link. Once the results have been tabulated, they will be presented the public at large, including alumni groups, and the administration.

[url=http://kwiksurveys.com/?u=jmufbs/url]

Thank you!

[khuntrevor]

I thought that was just an all girls school?

[lammius]

I thought they were planning to move up already. Didn't they just add like 15,000 more seats to their stadium?

[QuinDuke]

JMU became a coeducational institution in 1966. The current female male ratio is approximately 60/40, of a student population in excess of 19,000.

The administration has not publicly expressed a desire to move up. Last year, JMU opened an expansion of Bridgeforth stadium, adding a second tier to the home side stands, enclosing the north end zone, and adding suites, enhanced club seats, and a large video scoreboard. Capacity increased to 25,000+, and plans exist to add a second tier to the visitor's side, boosting capacity to 44,000, if sufficient demand exists.

[lammius]

If they haven't expressed a desire to move up, aren't their actions doing that? You don't build a 44,000 seat stadium to play against William and Mary and New Hampshire.

[CAVA1990]

Originally Posted by khuntrevor

I thought that was just an all girls school?

Aren't most universities turning into all girl (actually woman) schools? My alma mater plays in the Pac-10 and its biggest and fastest growing demographic group is made up of Asian gals. All you need is about 100 guys who can play football really well.

Is the newly remodeled stadium big enough for FBS?

[QuinDuke]

Originally Posted by lammius

If they haven't expressed a desire to move up, aren't their actions doing that? You don't build a 44,000 seat stadium to play against William and Mary and New Hampshire.

Many alumni who support a move agree that this actions speaks louder than the lack of formal announcements on the move. However, for at least the previous 5 seasons, JMU has been selling out its opener, Homecoming, and Parents Day, and would usually be at 90%+ capacity for the remaining home games, so demand has been there.

[QuinDuke]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

Aren't most universities turning into all girl (actually woman) schools? My alma mater plays in the Pac-10 and its biggest and fastest growing demographic group is made up of Asian gals. All you need is about 100 guys who can play football really well.

Is the newly remodeled stadium big enough for FBS?

I've seen stats that suggest that the female/male ratio, which used to be outsized due to the school's origins as a teacher's college, and then nearly balanced in the 90's, has now started trending towards a significantly larger female population, but that's true everywhere except, for the moment, the service academies.

The two most-often stated potential destinations are Conference USA and the Mid-American Conference. JMU's average home attendance for this past year was 25,002. The average home attendance for Conference USA's football games was 26,059; for the MAC, the average attendance was 17,033. JMU's average home attendance of 25,002 would have been second in the MAC, after Temple, which is leaving for the Big East; I don't remember where it would rank them in CUSA, but it should be just below the midpoint.

[car54]

Originally Posted by QuinDuke

...The current female male ratio is approximately 60/40, of a student population in excess of 19,000...

Sounds like a feller would have a pretty good shot around there!