When JMU men’s basketball fired Louis Rowe after the 2020 season, the program was irrelevant.

The Dukes went 9-21 that season, going 2-16 in conference games and ending the season ranked 311th in KenPom. It was an abysmal season that saw JMU lose to Virginia by 31, George Mason by 13, and Radford by 23. William & Mary swept the Dukes, and Coppin State bludgeoned JMU by 16.

JMU’s fan base wasn’t dismayed as much as it was apathetic. The Dukes averaged a woeful 2,435 fans per home game in 2019-20, as fans seemed to accept the program’s status as a low-major than mid-major team.

After regular NCAA Tournament and NIT appearances in the 1980s and 1990s under Lou Campanelli and Lefty Driesell, respectively, the Dukes had hit rock bottom.

Enter Mark Byington — and a brand new arena.

“Culture and fit are paramount to any search at James Madison, and Mark Byington checked every box in those categories,” former JMU athletic director Jeff Bourne said in a press release in 2020 after making Byington’s hire official. “He was engaged in ticket sales and fundraising around his program to grow attendance and overall interest. He is committed to the university, our local community, our faculty and staff, our student body, our alumni and other fans. In short, he is excited to be part of JMU Nation and invest himself in us. Mark Byington is the total package to lead JMU men’s basketball.”

Bourne was spot on.

Byington led the Dukes to four winning seasons and an NCAA Tournament bid (and win) before leaving for Vanderbilt. He took a program that won just nine times in 2019-20 and led them to a 14-0 start last season. The Dukes beat Michigan State, won the SBC championship and then ousted Wisconsin in the opening round of March Madness. They went 32-4, beating ODU three times and only losing to Duke outside of conference action.

JMU averaged 5,280 fans per home game at the Atlantic Union Bank Center in 2023-24, and the Dukes packed Brooklyn for an opening round game against Wisconsin. JMU fans made their presence felt for a March Madness victory, a far cry from where the program was in 2020.

They were receiving attention from national media outlets, and John Fanta (one of the most prominent CBB personalities) even profiled the team during the year. Byington completely overhauled the program in four short seasons.

But was Byington a flash in the pan or the sign of things to come for JMU men’s basketball?

Through 30 games in 2024-25, it seems the program might have staying power.

New coach Preston Spradlin, who will likely be a Power Conference coach one day, has the Dukes (20-10, 13-4 SBC) one win away from clinching a solo SBC regular-season title. Despite major roster upheaval following Byington’s departure to Vanderbilt, Spradlin rebuilt the team with mostly transfers and has the group jelling with March just days away.

JMU’s win over ULM on Tuesday guaranteed a top-two seed in the SBC Tournament, which comes with a bye to the semifinals. It also gave JMU its third consecutive 20-win season, a feat the program hasn’t accomplished since 1992-94 under Driesell.

There’s no guarantee this team makes the NCAA Tournament or even the NIT, but the Dukes are competent. They’re a top-150 KenPom team with exciting guard play, and they’re good enough to contend for the SBC title. The Dukes also averaged 4,534 fans per home game this season, a 2,000-fan per game increase from 2020. Those are all solid accomplishments in Year 1 of a new coaching staff, especially with most members of last year’s 32-win team graduating or playing elsewhere.

Spradlin has built a foundation for his program going into 2025-26 and beyond. Next year’s roster will include Preston Fowler, a top-200 recruit who also received offers from Oklahoma State and Wake Forest. The Dukes are improving under Spradlin, and they’re recruiting at a level they’ve never accomplished previously.

JMU men’s basketball is far from a finished product as a program, but the Dukes have reached a level of competence they lacked for decades. 

Five years after being a college basketball afterthought, the Dukes are becoming relevant again.

Photo courtesy of JMU Athletics Communications