The college football ecosystem was stable for once, with no pending conference realignment moves from July 1 through October 11.
That changed October 12.
The James Madison Dukes applied to and were accepted as a member of the American Conference. They will join the league no later than July 1, 2028. The American Conference Board of Directors unanimously voted James Madison to become the 15th football program in the conference. The Dukes will become the conference’s 14th full member — which includes
non-football member Wichita State and excludes football members Army and Navy.
“The American Conference is a destination, and James Madison University represents everything we value and strengthens our membership,” American commissioner Tim Pernetti said in a statement. “The Dukes have rapidly built a nationally recognized brand through a culture of innovation, investment, bold leadership and competitive success. JMU’s trajectory aligns with who we are and where we are going. We look forward to welcoming the entire JMU community to the American and building something special together. Thank you to our highly engaged presidents, chancellors, and athletics directors for their thoughtful and collaborative work that led to a unanimous vote.”
James Madison will pay a $23 million entry fee to join the American, as well as a $5 million exit fee to leave the Sun Belt Conference, per ESPN’s Pete Thamel. According to Thamel, the money for those fees was privately raised by JMU donors.
“We’re ecstatic for James Madison to take the next step in our university’s growth by joining the American Conference,” James Madison athletic director Matt Roan said in a statement. “We work every day to best position our athletics program for excellence, and today’s announcement is the next step in our strategic elevation. The American offers opportunities for all our sports to thrive, to grow our brand and media exposure, to expand our constituent base, and to continue to elevate the impact of James Madison on college athletics. We are grateful to the CEOs and Commissioner Tim Pernetti for this invitation to join the American, and we are bullish about our future path as conference members. I also want to thank the Sun Belt Conference and fellow athletics directors for their collaboration through competition over the last few years.”
James Madison joined the Sun Belt in 2022 as a new entry from the FCS level. The Dukes had unprecedented success with the transition, posting a 46-11 record in four-and-a-half seasons as an FBS member — including a 6-0 mark this year, as one of the nine remaining undefeated teams at the time of the announcement.
James Madison was ranked in the AP Poll at some point in three of its first four seasons, won its first Sun Belt Championship Game last December, and became the first-ever Sun Belt team to qualify for the College Football Playoff. Since 2022, JMU owns the fifth-highest win percentage in the FBS, only trailing Georgia, Ohio State, Oregon, and Notre Dame.
The Sun Belt will contract from 14 to 13 members no later than 2028, with no pending acquisitions on the horizon. When the conference lost Texas State to the Pac-12, it quickly filled that vacancy with Louisiana Tech to remain at an even 14.
Meanwhile, the American will shift to an odd number with 15 football members. On September 25, a report from Brett McMurphy of On3 Sports stated that Miami (OH) and UConn were among other programs interested in joining the American, along with James Madison. This will be the American’s first realignment move since 2024 when it lost SMU and an added Army. James Madison’s move is to be completed no later than July 1, 2028.
