The James Madison Dukes men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Founded in 1908 as the State Normal and Industrial School for Women at Harrisonburg, the institution was renamed Madison Coll ...

Harrisonburg, Virginia Harrisonburg is an independent city in the Shenandoah Valley region of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. It is also the county seat of the surrounding Rockingham County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. At the 2 ...

. The school, a member of Division I of the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

, joined the

Sun Belt Conference The Sun Belt Conference (SBC) is a collegiate athletic conference that has been affiliated with the NCAA's Division I since 1976. Originally a non-football conference, the Sun Belt began sponsoring football in 2001. Its football teams participa ...

on July 1, 2022 after having been a member of the

Colonial Athletic Association The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I whose full members are located in East Coast states from Massachusetts to South Carolina. Most of its members are public universi ...

since that league's establishment in 1979. The Dukes are led by head coach

Mark Byington Mark Byington (born April 22, 1976) is an American basketball coach and former college basketball player. He is the head men's basketball coach at James Madison University. High school playing career Mark Byington played high school basketball at ...

. The Dukes play their home games at the on-campus

Atlantic Union Bank Center Atlantic Union Bank Center is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia that plays host to the James Madison Dukes men's and women's basketball teams. It seats 8,500 and opened for the 2020–21 ...

which seats 8,500 fans and opened in November 2020.

History

The James Madison Dukes men's basketball team was founded in 1945, but was not a fully developed program until the late 1960s as

became a fully coeducational institution. The 1969–1970 season was the first as a varsity intercollegiate program. The Dukes were led by Cleve Branscum during the team's first two seasons, compiling a record of 20–17. The program was guided by new Administrative Director Dean Ehlers for the 1971–1972 season. Ehlers hired

Lou Campanelli Louis P. Campanelli (August 10, 1938 – January 31, 2023) was an American basketball coach. He served as head coach at James Madison University from 1972 to 1985 and the University of California, Berkeley from 1986 to 1993. Early life Campanelli ...

following the season, but remained at James Madison as the A.D. until 1993.

Lou Campanelli era

Taking over as the James Madison head coach in 1972, Lou Campanelli led the Dukes program for thirteen years (1972-1985). Campanelli coached the Dukes to two NCAA Division II basketball tournaments and then three NCAA Division I basketball tournaments after the school transitioned from Division II to Division I. In the Dukes' first ever appearance in the NCAA Division I tournament in 1981, Campanelli coached the team to a win over Georgetown. The Dukes would win a game in each of the Dukes’ following appearances in the NCAA Division I tournament under Campanelli. Lou Campanelli was hired as the head coach at

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

in 1985. Campanelli finished at James Madison with a record of 238–118.

John Thurston era

John Thurston was hired as the fourth head coach of the James Madison Dukes men's basketball team in 1985. Thurston had previously served as an assistant coach under Campanelli with the Dukes since 1975. Thurston successfully turned the program around in his second season at the helm, guiding the Dukes to a 20–10 record, a berth in the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitational Tournament (NIT) is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Played at regional sites and traditionally at Madison Square Garden (Final Four) in New York City ...

, and was named Colonial Athletic Association Coach of the Year. However, with a 6–11 start to the 1988 season, James Madison University President Ronald E. Carrier announced that Thurston's contract would not be renewed at the end of the season and Thurston resigned hours later. The Dukes replaced Thurston with interim head coach Tom McCorry to finish the 1988 season.

Lefty Driesell era

In 1988, the Dukes hired former

Davidson Davidson may refer to: * Davidson (name) * Clan Davidson, a Highland Scottish clan * Davidson Media Group * Davidson Seamount, undersea mountain southwest of Monterey, California, USA * Tyler Davidson Fountain, monument in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA * ...

and

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

head coach Lefty Driesell to lead the program. Driesell led the Dukes for nine seasons, compiling a record of 159–111 and taking the Dukes to the NCAA tournament in 1994.

Sherman Dillard era

In 1997, James Madison hired

Sherman Dillard Sherman Dillard (born September 1, 1955) is a former American basketball player and current coach. He was a head men's basketball coach at Indiana State University and at James Madison as well as an assistant at Maryland, California and Georgia Te ...

to lead the men's basketball program. Sherman Dillard played basketball at James Madison under Lou Campanelli from 1973 to 1978. Prior to accepting the position at JMU, he had been the coach at

Indiana State Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified among "D/PU: Doctor ...

. He led the Dukes through the 2004 season, guiding the program to one regular season title in 2000 and compiling a record of 93–106.

Dean Keener era

The Dukes hired

Dean Keener Dean Keener (born September 18, 1965) is the former head coach for the men's basketball team at James Madison University. He is a 1988 graduate of Davidson College where he served as a team captain and played on Davidson's 1986 NCAA Tournament t ...

in 2004 to be the program's next men's basketball head coach. Keener came from

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, where he was an assistant on the 2004 National Runner-Up team. He had also been a one time assistant coach at JMU under Sherman Dillard for the 1999–2000 season. Under Keener, the Dukes compiled a record of 31–85. During the 2008 season, Kenner resigned as the head coach, but he led the team through the end of the season.

Matt Brady era

James Madison hired

Matt Brady Matt Brady (born October 1, 1965) is an American college basketball coach who is currently an assistant coach for the Maryland men's basketball team. He is a former head coach at James Madison and Marist. Career Early career After playing ...

to be the head coach of the men's basketball program in 2008. In his first season, Brady led the Dukes to an 18-win regular season and earned the program's first postseason berth since 1994 in the newly created

CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament The CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) was an American men's college basketball postseason tournament founded by Collegeinsider.com. The tournament was oriented toward schools that did not get selected for the NCAA Division I men's ...

. Under Brady in 2013, the Dukes won their first CAA tournament since 1994, earning a berth in the NCAA tournament. As a 16 seed, the Dukes defeated

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

in the First Four before being defeated by

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

in the second round. Matt Brady led the Dukes to a share of the regular season CAA title in 2015 but the Dukes did not win the CAA Tournament and were invited to the CIT tournament. Brady was fired following the 2016 season, despite winning 21 games.

Louis Rowe era

In 2016, James Madison hired JMU men's basketball alumnus and former assistant coach

Louis Rowe Louis Rowe (born December 26, 1972) is an American basketball coach who most recently was the head coach of his alma mater, James Madison University, being introduced as the head coach on March 31, 2016. Rowe had been an assistant at James Madiso ...

to be the program's tenth men's basketball coach. Rowe led the Dukes for four seasons before being let go at the end of the 2020 season. Under Rowe, the Dukes compiled a record of 43–85.

Mark Byington era

In March 2020, James Madison hired

to lead the Dukes men's basketball team. Before coming to JMU, Byington was the head coach at

Georgia Southern Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hin ...

. In his first season at JMU, Mark Byington lead the Dukes to a share of the regular season title, the team's first since the 2015 season. In the first season of his tenure at James Madison, the Dukes opened their new on-campus arena, the

. On December 7, 2021, Byington's Dukes defeated

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

for the first time in program history in front of a sold out home crowd.

Rivalries

Historically, James Madison's rivals had been in-state members of the

: William & Mary, VCU,

George Mason George Mason (October 7, 1792) was an American planter, politician, Founding Father, and delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention of 1787, one of the three delegates present who refused to sign the Constitution. His writings, including s ...

Old Dominion Old Dominion most commonly refers to: *The Old Dominion, a nickname for the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia ** Colony of Virginia *Old Dominion University, a public university in Norfolk, Virginia **Old Dominion Monarchs, the athletic teams represe ...

, and

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

. Now members of the

, the Dukes only remaining conference rival from the old CAA is Old Dominion. However, James Madison has continued to schedule its former conference rivals in non-conference play. James Madison and Old Dominion's basketball rivalry is also a part of their all-sports rivalry known as the

Royal Rivalry The Royal Rivalry refers to the U.S. college rivalry games between the James Madison Dukes and the Old Dominion Monarchs of the Sun Belt Conference. It is an intra-conference match-up between two Div. I FBS public universities, James Madison Un ...

James Madison vs. In-State NCAA Division I Schools

James Madison vs. Sun Belt Members

This reflects the Dukes' record against the current Sun Belt Conference's membership as of the 2022–23 season.

James Madison vs. CAA Members

James Madison also maintained competitive series against the other members of the Colonial Athletic Association during their tenure in the CAA. Source:

Postseason results

NCAA Division I tournament results

The Dukes have appeared in the NCAA Division I tournament five times. Their combined record is 4–5.

NCAA Division II tournament results

The Dukes have appeared in the NCAA Division II tournament twice. Their record is 0–3.

NIT results

The Dukes have appeared in the

(NIT) five times. Their combined record is 0–5.

CBI results

The Dukes have appeared in the

College Basketball Invitational The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI s ...

(CBI) once. Their record is 0–1.

CIT results

The Dukes have appeared in the

(CIT) twice. Their record is 2–2.

References

External links

* {{Sun Belt Conference men's basketball navbox