They Have Done the UNTHINKABLE... (The Rise of James Madison Football)

[@EmbracetheGrind]

Should the NCAA change the transition rules?

[@Blaze-cz1eu]

yes definitely because JMU did so good this year and the app state come back was unbelievable to watch as a fan!

[@oddoperator3524]

Yes it should not even exist

[@domtom9594]

I would say 1 year translation period so every deal and etc is done.

[@pjposton5001]

Of course. It's stupid to punish a program for improving. I have supported JMU for many years and I know I'm biased, but this is a stupid rule.

[@titansboytc]

Yes

[@williammcconnell8428]

And now that JMU has even done another impossibility (beating the snot out of Coastal Carolina and taking the 1st place spot in their division of the SunBelt) just adds another reason why they should be allowed in the conference playoff. How do you explain why a team has played and finished this way is denied the chance to go further?

[@iredi2214]

In Marshall's first season in the FBS in 1997, we won the MAC Title and played Ole Miss in the Motor City Bowl. Going 10-3 on the season. The rule was changed after this. I hate it. I tip my hat to JMU.

[@davidr5658]

The "Marshall Rule" needs to go with the new transfer rules now in place.

[@iredi2214]

@@davidr5658 Facts

[@seltzerwater9174]

to continue with the sunbelt discussion, it would be interesting to see a video covering south alabamas season. went from a previous best regular season record of 6-6 to currently 9-2 with 10-2 being a real possibility. to put things in perspective, they had 9 wins total for 2020 and 2021

[@therealnathnath154]

Almost beat UCLA on the road too. SAU is i think the best example of a ‘typical’ move-up, not immediately competing nor a consistent laughing stock. A decade passes and now they’re on-level with their conference. Clearly there’s not an inherent advantage or disadvantage post-move-up, so a special ruleset seems redundant. To deny them the FCS playoff rights in ‘stage1’ of the transition seems more than enough.

[@haydenhorton9036]

They should change it because st Thomas the division 3 school the moved up to fcs finished 8-1 and didn’t get a chance to go to the playoffs

[@essextaylor]

Yeah, at least maybe make a rule where if a transitioning team wins their conference they get a playoff spot due to the autobid, but if they don't win conf then they aren't eligible for an at large bid since that's more subjective. I just don't understand an outright champ of an autobid conf being left out.

[@JmacJSGuru]

And now we’re sitting 9-0 as of Nov 4 2023 and ranked 21 in the AP poll. This rule needs to change

[@Clintondmb]

Got denied again this year. Maybe enough pressure and attention will change things this season.

[@j.o.6271]

Much rather see JMU in a bowl game over a 5 win team. Good TV/ good story lines

[@NewLeaf88]

JMU Alumni here, Go Duuuuuuuukes! BEAT UVA!

[@austin_l]

Marshall University's first year back in 1A (now fbs) they Won the MAC and played Ole Miss in a bowl game. I don't know if their situation was different or not. They were the first team I knew of making the jump. They were a 1A school that dropped to 1AA for about 12 seasons or so and dominated after about a decade of not being competitive after the plane crash.

[@davidr5658]

That Marshall team loaded up on transfers (such as Randy Moss) immediately before releveling. At the time, transfer rules between IA and IAA were less restrictive then within the IA. The other members of the MAC felt that gave Marshall an unfair advantage. The result was that the NCAA created the very rule discussed here limiting JMU now, as well as App and Ga Southern in their first FBS year. Now that transfer rules have changed, the "Marshall Rule" as it is informally known is out dated and should be dropped.

[@Taubull422]

I live in the DC area. JMU wasn't suppose to play in the SBC until 2024 & continue to play FCS with no playoffs & championship game however the state of Virginia stepped in and overturned the decision so JMU could began SBC play this year. I still believe they're not allowed to compete in bowl & Championship games until 23-24 season.

[@Ramen_Hibachi]

I wish North Dakota State would join the Mountain West

[@MrGA555]

They should have made the jump LONG ago

[@lordhegamonster6931]

NDSU would rather be a big fish in a small pond, unfortunately.. 😢

[@essextaylor]

I think the rest of the FCS has wanted that for awhile too 😂

[@robserrano8971]

NCAA should use REGULATIONS to improve college football in all divisions.

[@williamsewell6094]

Montana bout to clap NDSU in the playoffs

[@alaskanyeti907]

If you're moving down, then the rule makes sense. But if you're moving up, it makes zero sense at all, considering that on paper that school would be at a major disadvantage.

[@michaelperriccio4721]

Great work. "The Dukes are Deserving"

[@timarrington2245]

James Madison will go straight up

[@daleshipman7139]

The "Dukes" definiteyl are the Best team in the Sunbelt.

[@tallowatt34]

If you appear in the top 25 at anytime in the year then you should be eligible for that year. If not the ban continues to its conclusion

[@cripple9860]

And NCAA denied their application to make the transition period just 1 year instead of 2 years... crazy

[@RIPJimmyA7X]

Even though we got our asses kicked I'm glad we got one last playoff matchup with them before they moved up. I knew they were going to win 8+ games their first season at the fbs level, they haven't been fcs talent wise in about 7 years

[@RFMaster6]

They knew the rules when they went into the season. Georgia Southern ran the conference table in 2014, won the conference as a 2nd year reclassification school. Still, didn't go bowling until 2015. You don't get to change the rules because suddenly your school is the one.

[@GitCuppaJoe]

The only thing that is good in Georgia is the peaches.

[@v10mclaren]

And the ncaa denied a waiver for a ‘23 post season….

[@j.thompson9345]

That rule is stupid. If you move up from D3 to D1 or FCS to FBS, shouldn’t you technically be at a disadvantage? Especially from a depth standpoint. The NCAA should have committees at every level to evaluate each program individually. Then determine if the program would be immediately eligible for championships, bowl games, etc. This stupid rule sucks for programs such as Georgia Southern (No bowl appearance), App State (No bowl appearance), JMU (No bowl or championship appearance) Bellarmine (No Tournament appearance), etc. who all we’re competitive or won their conference in year one. That Georgia Southern team in 2014 could’ve went 11-1 but lost close games against NC State 24-23 and Georgia Tech 42-38. And would’ve been left out of post season play due to the rule. Complete joke. If they can compete immediately, don’t punish them. Evaluate the entire program from the time they submit their applications to move up, to right before the CFP rankings are released.

[@robserrano8971]

The bug schools control everything unfortunately

[@Supernova2464]

I figure bowl organizers wouldn’t look to a team that played half its games against FCS opponents, I guess what I’m saying is, isn’t this a self correcting problem? After just because you have 6 wins doesn’t mean you make a bowl game. IDK maybe I’m talking out my rear

[@CDeeez94]

I'm a Troy fan and holy moly do I think James Madison got robbed. They definitely deserved to play us in the Sunbelt Championship and it definitely would have been a much better game had they been given the chance.

[@silvericiclez]

go dukessss

[@NukaCola6962]

Wait a decade and they will be capable of hanging around alabama, ohio state and Georgia

[@MarkCzmic420]

Harrisonburg stand up

[@evangeffner1194]

They absolutely destroyed unc btw…they were easily the best sunbelt team

[@toomanygeebs]

im in my last semester at Jmu and this shit sucks cuz i know damn well next season we may not have a winning record... we losing a lot of players like our QB

[@InterUnited]

ditto and were getting mccloud... he might be solid under cignetti

[@soa1]

This bs rule hurts recruiting as player want to play for post season. The rule doesn't make sense s if u win ur conference then u should rep ur conference. It's doing more harm then good.

[@penguinskits3698]

High school 2.0 football for me

[@lowercherty]

One way to avoid NDSU, bail out to FBS.

[@christophermilner1808]

That's a stupid rule. They moved up, not down.

[@thomastrain7311]

Really dumb rule. So stupid. JMU plays good football every year. Go hokies!

[@HEC892]

forget this team they absolutely sold the two weeks I wagered on them! haha

[@jasonsire3823]

They lost to 3 and 5 team Georgia southern thats probably why they did not make it.

[@InterUnited]

That ga southern since went 6-6 and made a bowl game, what are you saying lol

[@jasonsire3823]

@@InterUnited just saying the reason JMU probably didn't make it into the playoffs was that loss, not saying they're a bad team they're very good team

[@InterUnited]

@@jasonsire3823 woah woah no one is arguing they should be in CFP playoffs lol that would be insane, were saying they should make a bowl game, which all other cfb teams do when they win 6 games

[@jasonsire3823]

@@InterUnited ahh gotcha I took that wrong then my bad

[@jamesjarrettt3995]

Done the unthinkable ???? What ? Won a game ?

[@brianwilliams6865]

They joined the top 25 AP poll and won the conference in their first year. Thats never happened before.

[@campegriles7125]

They destroyed teams that they weren’t expected to beat…

[@campegriles7125]

Example… ranked 23 coastal Carolina who they beat by 40…

[@vultorgetstoscore6976]

you must not know much about college football, so why even comment on a topic you don’t know about ?