JMU Athletics Posts Best Winning Mark in Virginia in 2015-16 to Cap Banner Year

HARRISONBURG, Va. – By winning 66 percent of all of its athletics contests, James Madison topped all 14 Division I institutions in Virginia to capture the annual All-Sport Survey conducted by the Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID), adding one more accomplishment to a triumphant year for JMU Athletics. As champion, JMU will receive an award from the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.

JMU's all-sport crown was its fourth in the survey's 38-year history and first since 1995 (.611). The .660 percentage was also the best final mark for the Dukes since claiming their first title in 1982 (.686). At 230-117-6, JMU claimed the honor by edging Virginia (.656), which had grabbed seven of the previous eight all-sport titles. The Dukes had placed second to Virginia in 2014-15 with a .626 overall percentage compared to .671 for the Cavaliers.

James Madison also posted the state's best mark among women's sports programs for the third straight year with an impressive winning clip of .762 (162-50-2) to far out-distance Virginia's runner-up mark of .636. The Dukes also captured the women's standings in 2013-14 at .685 and in 2014-15 at .721.

Among JMU's 13 sport programs that accumulate a won-loss record, 10 improved their record from a year ago. James Madison teams advanced to NCAA Championships in women's soccer, football, women's basketball, lacrosse, softball and cross country to go along with individuals advancing to NCAA national competition in men's golf, swimming and diving and track and field. The team NCAA achievements helped JMU to achieve its best Learfield Director's Cup finish (97^th) since 2008-09.

The Dukes captured CAA Championships in football, women's basketball, women's soccer and softball and won regular season league titles in football, women's basketball, field hockey, lacrosse, softball and volleyball. Madison was also runner up in the CAA in swimming and diving, cross country, track and field, men's golf and women's tennis.

Five different JMU squads appeared in their sport's highest national poll with football reaching as high as fourth in the STATS FCS Poll, softball sixth in the NFCA Poll, field hockey 17^th in the NFHCA Poll, lacrosse 19^th in the IWLCA Poll and women's basketball receiving votes in the AP Top 25 and ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.;
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2015-16 James Madison Athletics Highlights:

.660 overall winning percentage (230-117-6) best in Virginia among Division I institutions
.762 winning percentage (162-50-2) among women's sports best in Virginia
4 CAA Championships (football, women's soccer, women's basketball, softball)
6 CAA Regular Season titles (field hockey, volleyball, football, women's basketball, softball, lacrosse)
9 programs represented in NCAA Championships (cross country, women's soccer, football, women's basketball, swimming and diving, lacrosse, softball, men's golf, track and field)
11 All-Americans (compared with 4 in 2014-15): Andrew Ankrah (Football), Ryan Cole (Men's Golf), Megan Good (Softball), Benito Felice (Cheerleading), Jailyn Ford (Softball), Mitchell Kirsch (Football), Vad Lee (Football), Amber Monroe (Track & Field), Loes Stijntjes (Field Hockey), Becca Wells (Cheerleading), Taylor West (Field Hockey)
8 CAA Players of the Year among JMU's 18 sports, most of any CAA school: Vad Lee (Football), Taylor West (Field Hockey), Janey Goodman (Volleyball), Olivia Lehman (Diving), Jazmon Gwathmey (Women's Basketball), Ryan Cole (Men's Golf), Jaci Gordon (Lacrosse), Jailyn Ford (Softball)
3 CAA Scholar-Athletes of the Year: Kathleen Stewart (Cross Country), Camilla Czulada (Swimming & Diving), Brooks Lawler (Lacrosse)
5 CAA Coaches of the Year: Kenny Brooks (Women's Basketball), Mickey Dean (Softball), Christy Morgan (Field Hockey), Lauren Steinbrecher (Volleyball), Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe (Lacrosse)
4 CAA Rookies of the Year: Kayla Cooper-Williams (Women's Basketball), Melissa Wilken (Field Hockey), Olivia Viparina (Track & Field), Alex Henderson (Men's Golf)
3 Additional CAA major honors: Megan Good (Softball – Pitcher of the Year), Erica Field (Softball – Defensive Player of the Year), Loes Stijntjes (Field Hockey – Defensive Player of the Year)
BK Racing earned exposure value for JMU Athletics by entering a JMU-branded car driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond International Raceway on Sept. 12.
ESPN College GameDay visited James Madison on Oct. 24, attracting a crowd of 12,000 to the Quad and a media exposure value to JMU of $3.6 million. It was the ESPN program's eighth non-FBS stop in 309 total shows in its history. The show also contributed to a Bridgeforth Stadium record attendance of 26,069 for that day's homecoming football game against Richmond
College GameDay was one of three ESPN campus visits as Vad Lee was featured in September in a Big Man on Campus feature segment while softball competed on ESPN and ESPNU as part of hosting the Women's College World Series Super Regional
JMU finished 97^th in the country in the Learfield Director's Cup standings for both its best finish and first top-100 finish since 2008-09
James Madison had its first former student-athlete inducted into a major professional sports Hall of Fame with Charles Haley's induction into Canton in August of 2015
15 of 16 programs exceeded the JMU Engaged in Excellence strategic plan benchmark of 960 in the NCAA Academic Progress Rate (APR) measurement while 14 of 16 improved their mark from the previous year
Lacrosse's Brooks Lawler earned Academic All-America status with selection onto CoSIDA's At-Large Second Team.
Softball's Jailyn Ford was a finalist for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award
JMU Athletics was honored with the "Youth in Philanthropy Award" from the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The award recognizes the work of young people (JMU's student-athletes) in service and making a difference in the community.
The JMU Duke Club raised $128,735 on March 15 as part of the university's first #JMUGivingDay. The event shattered initial goals and saw 795 gifts directed to student-athlete support with an average gift of $150.
Former football student-athlete and current member of the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers Arthur Moats and his wife Shonda presented a $300,000 gift to the university to support construction of the new Convocation Center, athletics scholarships and the university's studio art program while also renaming the strength and conditioning facility in the Plecker Athletics Performance Center.
The JMU Alumni Association made a significant $500,000 gift to support construction of the new Convocation Center.
JMU had three student-athletes drafted into professional opportunities on the same evening as Jazmon Gwathmey was selected 14^th in the WNBA Draft and then traded to San Antonio. At the same time, Jailyn Ford was selected third overall by Akron and Erica Field 18^th by USSSA (Kissimmee, Fla.) in the National Pro Fastpitch College Draft. Additionally, Ben Garner signed a free agent contract with the Anaheim Angels.
Football went 9-3 and shared the CAA title at 6-2 in the conference, JMU's first CAA title since 2008. The Dukes achieved the No. 5 seed for the FCS playoffs, also best since 2008. JMU's 7-0 start was its best in program history. Vad Lee became the first ever repeat Dudley Award winner as Virginia best Division I football player and was one of three STATS FCS All-Americans. JMU also posted its fifth-ever win over an FBS opponent with a 48-45 win at SMU on Sept. 26.
Women's soccer won its fourth CAA title in program history and advanced to its 11th NCAA Championship with a 14-7-2 overall record.
Volleyball went 22-8 overall and 12-4 in the CAA to win the regular season for the first time since 2000 and the right to host the CAA Championship for the first time since 2002.
Field hockey went 14-6 overall and 6-0 in the CAA to capture the regular season title and host the CAA Championship. The program boasted two All-Americans in Taylor West and Loes Stijntjes with West also earning a spot on the USA National Team roster.
Cross Country placed second in the CAA and ninth in the NCAA Southeast Regional with senior Kathleen Stewart earning All-Region honors.
Women's Basketball went 27-6 overall and 17-1 in the CAA while winning its third straight CAA title. The Dukes posted their 11^th consecutive season of at least 24 wins and advanced to the NCAA Championship for the fifth time in seven seasons. Jazmon Gwathmey was named CAA Player of the Year and earned her third consecutive CAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player honor.
Men's Basketball reached 19 wins for the third time in four seasons with a 21-11 overall record while Ron Curry closed a noteworthy career by earning First Team All-CAA accolades.
Swimming and Diving went undefeated in dual meets at 7-0 and finished second at the CAA Championships while breaking six school records in the meet. Olivia Lehman was named CAA Diver of the Year and became the first JMU diver to place first in any event at the NCAA Zone meet by winning the 1-meter board, which earned her a trip to the NCAA Championships. Carly Alexander also advanced to the NCAA Zone Meet in diving.
Softball continued setting new standards for excellence by going 50-6 overall, winning the regular season and tournament championships in the CAA, earning a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Championship, winning its first NCAA Regional (hosted at JMU) and hosting LSU in a NCAA Super Regional with a narrow setback in the best-of-three series. The Dukes were ranked as high as sixth in the national polls before finishing 11^th and boasted a pair of First Team All-Americans in Jailyn Ford and Megan Good to go along with a bevy of conference, regional and state accolades.
Lacrosse shared the CAA regular season title and earned the No. 1 seed in the league as part of a 10-10 season. The Dukes received an at-large bid to the NCAA Championship and competed in the first NCAA lacrosse postseason content on the West Coast by competing against Stanford in Los Angeles. Jaci Gordon was named CAA Player of the Year.
Baseball improved by six wins in its first season under skipper Marlin Ikenberry and finished fourth in the CAA to qualify for the CAA Championship.
Men's soccer also qualified for the CAA Championship in its first season under Head Coach Tom Foley and advanced to the semifinals.
Track and Field finished second in the CAA Championships, third out of 44 teams at the ECAC Indoor Championships and second out of 55 scoring squads at the ECAC Outdoor Championships. The ECAC Outdoor finish matched the best place in program history achieved in 2015. Amber Monroe earned Second Team All-America honors after placing 15^th in the shot put at the NCAA Championships in Oregon. She was one of four athletes to represent JMU at the NCAA East Preliminary, joining Kathleen Stewart (10,000-meter), Carol Strock (1,500-meter) and Olivia Viparina (3,000-meter steeplechase).
Men's Golf finished as runner up in the CAA for the third time in the last four years with Ryan Cole being named CAA Player of the Year and becoming the first golfer in program history to advance to the NCAA Championship. Cole reached the national competition after finishing as the top individual at the Franklin NCAA Regional outside of advancing teams.
Women's Tennis reached the CAA Championship match for the first time in program history. At 18-7, the Dukes posted their highest win total since the 1989-90 campaign.
Cheerleading finished second at the National Cheer Association Collegiate Championships in the Small Coed Cheer Division I category while Benito Felice and Becca Wells earned All-America honors.

2015-16 VaSID All-Sports Survey

OVERALL STANDINGS	W-L-T	%
1. James Madison	230-117-6	.660
2. Virginia	512-268-4	.656
3. Virginia Tech	215-163-5	.569
4. VCU	154-120-7	.561
5. Old Dominion	160-126-4	.559
6. William and Mary	185-165-6	.528
7. Liberty	188-173-2	.521
8. Richmond	122-113-2	.519
9. Longwood	140-144-3	.493
10. Norfolk State	140-176	.443
11. Radford	129-168-3	.435
12. George Mason	145-196-5	.419
13. Hampton	98-170	.336
14. VMI	65-168-2	.279

MEN'S STANDINGS	W-L-T	%
1. Virginia	263-127-3	.673
2. VCU	88-48-4	.636
3. Old Dominion	96-69-3	.580
4. Virginia Tech	106-77-3	.579
5. Richmond	79-60	.568
6. William and Mary	100-76-2	.567
7. James Madison	68-67-4	.504
8. Norfolk State	56-61	.479
9. Hampton	33-36	.478
10. Liberty	68-75-1	.476
11. Longwood	58-66-1	.468
12. Radford	53-74-2	.419
13. George Mason	73-103-3	.359
14. VMI	45-160	.273

WOMEN'S STANDINGS	W-L-T	%
1. James Madison	162-50-2	.762
2. Virginia	274-141-1	.636
3. Virginia Tech	109-86-2	.559
4. Liberty	120-98-1	.550
5. Old Dominion	64-57-1	.529
6. Longwood	82-78-2	.513
7. William and Mary	85-89-4	.489
8. VCU	66-72-3	.479
9. Richmond	43-53-2	.449
10. Radford	76-94-1	.447
11. George Mason	72-93-2	.428
12. Norfolk State	84-115	.422
13. Hampton	65-134	.327
14. VMI	20-48-2	.294

PAST VASID DIVISION I ALL-SPORT CHAMPIONS	Institution	%
1978-79	Old Dominion	.651
1979-80	Old Dominion	.724
1980-81	Old Dominion	.663
1981-82	James Madison	.686
1982-83	Old Dominion	.676
1983-84	Old Dominion	.646
1984-85	Old Dominion	.688
1985-86	Old Dominion	.649
1986-87	George Mason	.631
1987-88	James Madison	.625
1988-89	Virginia	.620
1989-90	Virginia	.633
1990-91	Virginia	.642
1991-92	Virginia	.664
1992-93	Virginia	.662
1993-94	Old Dominion	.667
1994-95	James Madison	.611
1995-96	Old Dominion	.641
1996-97	Virginia	.642
1997-98	Virginia	.621
1998-99	Old Dominion	.662
1999-00	Hampton	.626
2000-01	Hampton	.622
2001-02	Richmond	.627
2002-03	VCU	.673
2003-04	Virginia	.644
2004-05	Virginia	.633
2005-06	Old Dominion	.672
2006-07	Old Dominion	.661
2007-08	Virginia	.619
2008-09	Virginia	.648
2009-10	Virginia	.693
2010-11	Virginia	.660
2011-12	Virginia	.646
2012-13	VCU	.655
2013-14	Virginia	.655
2014-15	Virginia	.671
2015-16	James Madison	.660

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