HARRISONBURG, Va. – After guiding James Madison to its finest males’s basketball file in program historical past with 32 wins and advancing to the Second Spherical of the NCAA Championship, Mark Byington has departed as head coach to just accept the identical place at Vanderbilt, based on Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne.
“We employed Mark Byington in 2020 with the hope of discovering the best match for JMU and reinvigorating and revitalizing our males’s basketball program,” Bourne stated. “For sure, he completed that with flying colours, redefining the trajectory of JMU males’s basketball, matching the tradition of our college and positioning James Madison to be a mainstay on the nationwide scene. I’m grateful to Mark for his dedication to our establishment and want him properly on his subsequent transfer. As for JMU, we have now a top-50 program with among the finest arenas within the nation and a shiny future. I am extraordinarily optimistic for what lies forward for JMU males’s basketball.”
“To JMU followers, alumni and college students, after I took the pinnacle coach job 4 years in the past, I knew we might do nice issues collectively. Though there have been unbelievable challenges comparable to CoVID, altering conferences and evolution of modifications in school athletics, we had been capable of take this program to unbelievable heights. Your assist and enthusiasm lifted this program to unimaginable success. I’ll miss the nice individuals and campus group tremendously, however I’ll at all times have particular recollections of the way in which I used to be handled, welcomed and supported whereas I used to be the coach. JMU Athletics had a lot success and nationwide consideration this 12 months, and I’ve little question it would proceed its elevation. Most of all I wish to thank my gamers. I like you all and it was a privilege to be your coach. Go Dukes!!!!”
Byington went 82-36 in 4 seasons at JMU, inheriting a program that received 9 video games within the 12 months previous to his arrival and incrementally bettering in every season main as much as a breakthrough 2023-24 marketing campaign. His first two seasons had been stuffed with adversity, guiding the Dukes to a first-place end within the Colonial Athletic Affiliation (13-7) whereas navigating CoVID-19 begins and stops. In 12 months two, JMU went 15-14 whereas studying simply previous to the season that it could be ineligible for the CAA Match resulting from exiting for the Solar Belt Convention.
In 2022-23 in his first season again within the Solar Belt, the place Byington had guided Georgia Southern to a 131-97 file in seven seasons previous to leaving for JMU, the Dukes went 22-11 (12-6 SBC) with a top-four end within the league and a top-100 spot within the NCAA NET rankings. The win complete was the second finest in program historical past behind the 24 in 1981-82 and the semifinal look within the Solar Belt Championship was JMU’s first semifinal look in a league match since successful the CAA in 2013.
Previous to the NCAA Second Spherical loss to Duke, James Madison shared school basketball’s finest successful share and most wins with prime total seed UConn and owned the nation’s longest successful streak at 14 video games. JMU completed 32-4 to smash this system’s wins file of 24 and captured its first Solar Belt Championship after successful three video games in Pensacola because the No. 2 seed.
The Dukes opened the season with a win at No. 4 Michigan State and went undefeated in non-conference play at 13-0, incomes this system’s first AP High 25 rating and climbing to as excessive as No. 18 within the nationwide ballot. Terrence Edwards Jr. was named Solar Belt Participant of the 12 months and TJ Bickerstaff Newcomer of the 12 months, whereas Noah Friedel was Most Excellent Participant of the SBC Championship.
JMU has engaged Collegiate Sports activities Associates as search advisor and has commenced a nationwide seek for a brand new males’s basketball head coach.