However, it wants to either be a FBS Independent and remain a member in the CAA for all other sports or join a "northern" FBS conference as a full member because it gets its out-of-state students from either the Mid-Atlantic or New England Region. If JMU goes the independent route, then ideally it would prefer to join the A-10 for all other sports. It would get the exposure in the ideal regions plus re-unite with its CAA instate rivals.

The hyperlink is an article from 2014 that talks about JMU declining an invite from the Sun Belt. There is even a hyperlink in the article to a Virginia-Pilot article that provides further information.

In the summer of 2014 the DN-R interviewed Jeff Bourne about the possibility of JMU playing FBS football some day. In that article he directly or indirectly (I don't remember which because DN-R has since removed the article) said that future conference movement would be a direct reflection of where the school gets its out-of-state students from. Since C-USA and Sun Belt don't have any northern members, then it is unlikely JMU would be interested in either conference. JMU and Delaware were in talks about joining the MAC as football-only members. I think Delaware ended that possibility when it decided it wasn't ready to end its football rivalry with Villanova. Then I think the MAC ended any of possibility of JMU joining when the conference decided it didn't want partial members in football and gave UMass the ultimatum a few years ago. Buffalo (full MAC member) and UMass (football-only member) were the only reasons JMU kept the door open. I am not sure Buffalo is enough of a reason to become a full member for JMU.

Here is an excerpt of President Alger's state he made in 2014 when there reports circulating that the Sun Belt was interested in JMU.

"We are well aware of the changing scene within our conference as well as nationally. In response, we have engaged in a rigorous analysis of our athletic profile within the context of our strategic planning process. This process, resulting in The Madison Plan, confirmed our institutional core values: Academic Quality, Community, Diversity, Excellence, Integrity and Student Focus. Further, we determined that any new conference membership opportunity must align with the following guiding principles and criteria: academic profile and fit, university culture, student and student-athlete welfare, financial impact and sustainability, competitive balance, and geographic footprint. Feedback received from the JMU community and its many constituencies through extensive and thoughtful dialogue supports these values and principles, and we will use them as criteria for all future decisions, including those involving athletics."

http://www.jmusports.com/news/2014/4/15/Athletic_Director_Shares_President_s_Update_on_the_University_and_Athletics.aspx

The local media (basically within the state) were all scratching their heads on JMU's decision. However, they were looking at it from a geographical standpoint instead of a student pool standpoint. I grew up going to JMU sporting events (mostly men's basketball) during the late 70s and early 80s when Carrier was President. As long as I can remember JMU was getting its out-of-state students from that part of the country, so I wouldn't expect them to suddenly start recruiting more from the southern states.

I found this article from 2013 after JMU completed its study.

http://www.richmond.com/sports/college/schools/james-madison/article_7873a6b8-2d3e-11e3-b8fe-001a4bcf6878.html

The most interesting part of the article may be this quote from Jeff Bourne, “We’re not interested potentially at looking at a move for the sake of making a move.” The quote possibly helps support the notion that any move JMU makes will because it will help the school in recruiting of out-of-state students; not just from an athletic standpoint.