A coach from a small private school in North Carolina walked into Bridgeforth Stadium eight years ago and beat James Madison on its own turf. The Dukes were ranked No. 2 in the FCS and had won 19 straight at home. Elon, a program JMU had beaten 63-14 two years earlier, forced a fumble and won 27-24 on a 15-yard touchdown pass 77 seconds remaining.
For JMU athletic director Jeff Bourne, the loss doubled as a job interview. "I got to watch how well prepared they were. And it's like they knew what we were doing before we did," Bourne said.
Ten weeks later, Elon's coach was James Madison's coach. His name was Curt Cignetti. Fast forward to today, the seventh full week of the 2026 season.
Nine FBS teams remain unbeaten, the fewest through seven weeks since 2009, and three are led by men who have coached James Madison. Cignetti's Indiana is 6-0 and has won 22 straight games, including a national title in January. Chesney is the first UCLA coach to open 5-0 in his debut season.
First-year JMU coach Billy Napier is 6-0 and hanging just outside the AP Top 25. "Every graphic I see reminds me of that," JMU athletic director Matt Roan said. JMU's success and the continued success of their former coaches has the industry buzzing.
How does the school produce so many great coaches? Miami (Ohio) has owned the title Cradle of Coaches for generations. Woody Hayes, Ara Parseghian and Bo Schembechler all coached in Oxford, Ohio.
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