James Madison sends NCAA letter requesting relief of rules restricting bowl participation

James Madison may be unbeaten at the moment, but a bowl game isn’t in their future, due to NCAA bylaws that restrict transitioning teams from bowl participation.

According to Shane Mettlen of the Daily News-Record Sports, the program has sent a letter to the NCAA, hoping for relief from their unique situation. It’d be a shame if their great season was left by the wayside come bowl season.

“BREAKING: James Madison delivered a letter to the NCAA Board of Directors chair requesting relief from NCAA bylaws restricting transitioning teams from bowl participation,” Mettlen posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

BREAKING: James Madison delivered a letter to the NCAA Board of Directors chair requesting relief from NCAA bylaws restricting transitioning teams from bowl participation.

— Shane Mettlen (@Shane_DNRSports) November 7, 2023

Continuing, Mettlen added that, “the Sun Belt Conference also sent a letter to the NCAA yesterday asking for JMU’s relief from the bylaw.”

Additionally, The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach shared a copy of the letter, featuring the program’s plea in its entirely. You can find the letter in full in the subheading below.

In the letter, James Madison cites a list of their accomplishments, as the reasoning for why they should be eligible to play for a bowl. It was signed by a number of important members of the program, including the university’s president and athletic director.

Will it be enough for James Madison to become bowl-eligible in 2023? It remains to be seen, but the effort is there from the powers at be, and it’s in the NCAA’s hands now.

Full letter from James Madison to the NCAA:

The below is the full letter sent from James Madison to the NCAA, shared to Twitter by the aforementioned Auerbach.

“Dear President Morehead and the Division I Board of Directors: In April 2023, James Madison University (JMU) sought a waiver to reduce our FCS to FBS two-year transition period to one year. Much has transpired and changed in our situation and in the Division I landscape since our waiver was denied. Accordingly, JMU respectfully requests relief of NCAA legislation to allow our football program to be fully eligible for bowl consideration during the 2023 season. Our university has embarked on this transition in ways that no other institution has since the transition rules changed 23 ycars ago; and our student-athletes have achieved an astonishing. unprecedented level of success during this period. Relief that allows our student-athletes to participate in a bowl game, as their play has earned, is warranted.

One of the rationales offered for denial of our previous waiver centered around the Transformation Committee’s ongoing work in establishing new FBS membership requirements. The work of that committee has since been completed, and in August the membership adopted new FBS membership requirements that will go into effect August 1, 2027. Fortunately, due to the diligence and planning of our institution, we are able to confirm that we are meeting the updated requirements now. We have met full FBS membership requirements in both years of our transition, and will continue to meet them in the future.

Our football program has also achieved unprecedented success competing against other FBS
institutions. Below is a short list of achievements for our program during the 2023 season.

• We have a 9-0 record with 8 victories coming against FBS competition. We are one of seven undefeated programs in FBS.
• We are currently ranked 21″ in the country in the AP and Coaches polls. We are the top-ranked Group of 5 (G5) program in the country in various metrics such as SP+, Massey, Massey Composite, Warrennolan, and ESPN power rankings. If we were allowed to compete in the postseason without restrictions, we would be in the running for a prestigious New Year’s Six bowl game.
• We have a 15-3 record against FBS competition in the past two years, including a current 12 game winning streak. We are the only program to be ranked in the AP poll during each of the first two years of transition while competing against full FBS schedules.
• We lead the FBS in multiple team and individual statistical categories including rushing yards allowed, sacks, and tackles for loss.

Most importantly, relief is warranted as a matter of student-athlete welfare. The membership recognizes postseason participation as a fundamental element of the student-athlete experience. If relief is provided, our student-athletes would potentially have the rare opportunity to participate in a prestigious New Year’s Six bowl contest. Our team includes cohorts of students who have been through COVID disruptions, missed out on carned opportunities last year, and face uncertain prospects for postseason play again this year despite their sustained excellence. Postseason participation is a reward for on-field success, and it serves as a special and high-profile developmental opportunity. The artificial denial of such opportunities, which have otherwise been carned on the field, is clearly detrimental to our students’ mental health and well-being. Further, this denial hinders our student-athletes’ financial prospects and professional possibilities.

Since the adoption of the new NCAA Constitution in January 2022, divisional regulations ensure to the greatest extent possible that penalties imposed for infractions do not punish programs or student-athletes not involved or implicated in infractions. As of April 2023, the association reserves postseason bans for Level I infractions cases that lack exemplary cooperation. This dichotomy poses a critical question: If we don’t prohibit postseason participation opportunities for institutions that elect not to follow our rules, why would we restrict them for a school that has not only followed all the rules but has exceeded all expectations in doing so? This sends a challenging and conflicting message.

JMU decided to change subdivisions for the betterment of our student-athletes, with the knowledge and expectation that a waiver could be sought under circumstances such as these. The current, rigid application of the rule, which takes away an earned postseason opportunity in this instance, is indefensible, especially when combined with the extraordinary commitment that JMU has made to ensure a complete and successful transition.

In closing, JMU presents a unique set of factors in making this request for relief. No other school has gone above and beyond the transition requirements in all the ways we have. This request is specific, unique, and consistent with the principles of student-athlete welfare espoused by the NCAA. In this evolving landscape which includes the transfer portal and NIL opportunities, our football program has displayed extraordinary grit and resilience in maintaining roster continuity and performing at an extremely high level. Our student-athletes have done everything the right way, and they view the postseason prohibition in this instance as an inexplicable punishment in light of the NCAA’s stated priorities. As many commentators have noted, this is an opportunity for the NCAA to do the right thing for our student-athletes and recognize their exceptional efforts on and off the field.”