BasketballCAAHiringSun Belt

Georgia Southern’s Mark Byington returning home to take James Madison job

Virginia-native Mark Byington, the head coach at Georgia Southern for the last seven seasons, has been announced as the new head coach at James Madison. Byington was 131-97 at GSU, winning 20+ games four times and going to the CBI in 2017.

“Coach Byington is very cerebral in his approach. He knows the game, he knows what it takes to lead a winning Division I program and he knows how to lead and impact student-athletes to be successful both on the court and in life,” AD Jeff Bourne said in a statement. “He demonstrated a deep knowledge of our program and our current student-athletes, and he has a plan to lead JMU to the top of our conference, to win championships and to lead us back to postseason play.”

Byington last coached in the commonwealth in 2012, serving as an assistant at Virginia Tech for one season. He has also worked at Virginia, both as DBO and a graduate manager. This is also a return to the CAA for Byington, who played for Jerry Wainwright at UNC Wilmington and earned All-CAA honors in 1998.

“I am extremely excited to be the next basketball coach at James Madison University,” Byington said Friday. “I feel it’s one of the best jobs in the Mid-Atlantic and I’m looking forward to winning immediately.”

 

credit to AJ Henderson/Georgia Southern Athletics for the photo