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The football team at James Madison University hasn’t had much trouble adjusting after making the leap to the FBS, as the Dukes are currently 7-0 and sitting at No. 25 in the AP poll. Unfortunately, JMU won’t have the chance to play in a bowl game this season, although some lawmakers in Virginia are going out of their way to get the NCAA to change its tune.
In 2021, the Dukes announced they were gearing up to join the Sun Belt Conference in 2022 after spending around four decades in the FCS.
Under NCAA rules, the squad at James Madison University isn’t eligible to compete in the postseason until the 2024 campaign, but plenty of people have lobbied for the governing body to grant it an exemption due to how the school has fared in its second season at the highest level of college football.
Earlier this month, Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares sent a letter to NCAA President Charlie Baker urging him to grant JMU an exemption. Unfortunately, the man who replaced Mark Emmert in that post earlier this year firmly denied the request while making it clear the Dukes will have to wait at least one more year to get a taste of Bowl Season.
According to WRIC, that didn’t sit well with multiple members of the state’s legislature. On Monday, Democratic Senator L. Louise Lucas essentially promised to make life miserable for the NCAA if it fails to change its tune by teasing a “very unfriendly future” for the organization if JMU fails to secure a waiver.
Let me remind the @NCAA that they are required by their charter to follow state laws where they operate. If they continue to hold @JMUFootball hostage to a technical rule and stop them from competing in the postseason they will face a very unfriendly future from our legislature.
— L. Louise Lucas (@SenLouiseLucas) October 23, 2023
It’s not entirely clear what those lawmakers plan to do if they don’t get their way (it’s worth noting the legislature isn’t scheduled to convene again until the start of 2024). It seems like the NCAA could find itself on the receiving end of some sort of bill designed to undermine its authority in the state of Virginia, but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see how this all plays out.