Concluding a 25-year run leading James Madison University’s intercollegiate athletics program, Jeff Bourne announced to the JMU Board of Visitors that he will step down from his role as director of athletics in the spring of 2024.
Bourne orchestrated JMU’s rise from a diverse regional Division I athletic program to a profile firmly established as one of the nation’s top departments for broad-based success, national achievement, academic excellence, student-athlete support and cultural strength. Over the course of Bourne’s tenure, James Madison blossomed as one of the Colonial Athletic Association’s charter members with success across all 18 sport programs while working alongside President Linwood Rose and Senior Vice President Charlie King. As the department’s portfolio spread wider, Bourne worked in concert with JMU President Jonathan Alger to steer the Dukes into FBS football and membership in the Sun Belt Conference in July of 2022.
Jeff Bourne began his tenure as JMU AD on July 15, 1999, and he will conclude his quarter century at the helm on a to-be-determined date near the conclusion of the spring academic term. Months after Bourne’s hire, JMU captured its first Division I football conference championship. The Dukes proceeded to reach the playoffs in 14 of 23 FCS seasons under Bourne and have posted a .500 or better record every season since 2003. Upon his departure, JMU will be fully FBS transitioned beginning with the 2024 season with unrestricted access to bowl participation and for consideration in the College Football Playoff, setting up the university for further heights previously unreached.