It’s no secret the Sun Belt Conference is actively looking at membership expansion, but one school – James Madison University – has removed itself from contention according to the league’s commissioner.
“It appears they made a decision to stay FCS,” Sun Belt commissioner Karl Benson said Tuesday during a stop in Orlando for the announcement of the creation of the Cure Bowl. “We never offered an invitation and we never extended an invitation either formal or informal.
“They were under consideration,” he added.
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Pictures: UCF Knights spring football game
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James Madison president Jonathan Alger updated his school’s future plans including conference affiliation Monday.
“We are well aware of the changing scene within our conference as well as nationally,” Alger said in a statement on the school’s website. “In response, we have engaged in a rigorous analysis of our athletic profile within the context of our strategic planning process.
“…Consistent with these values and principles and the ongoing issue of conference alignment, JMU will not pursue or accept an invitation from a conference that does not meet our criteria. If we do receive an offer consistent with our established values, we are prepared to review it and make a recommendation to the Board of Visitors. This process is ongoing and will require continued support on the part of the university, students, faculty, staff, coaches, alumni, and fans.”
The school had indicated in the past it was happy as a member of the Colonial Athletic Association of the FCS.
Benson, meanwhile, said the league has been looking to add another school – one that plays football – so it could increase its current membership from 11 to 12. The NCAA regulates that conferences must have at least 12 members to be able to host a football championship game.
A year ago at this time, the Sun Belt announced the additions of Appalachian State and Georgia Southern to the league. Those moves were going to allow the league its championship, but Western Kentucky’s decision to leave for Conference USA, put those plans on hold.
“We definitely want to get to 12,” Benson added. “Our goal is to get to 12 and get a championship game. We know we’re not going to get there for ’14, whether we get there for ’15 is still unknown. We want to be selective and we want to make sure we get the right university.”
Benson said the 11 football-playing schools and the two that don’t play football – University of Arkansas-Little Rock and the University of Texas at Arlington – are committed to moving forward and get better.
“We want to make sure we get the right university that cannot just fill out a spot, but to bring value with them,” Benson adding that the league does have a short list of possible expansion candidates
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