The Louis Rowe Era is Finally Over at James Madison

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In the least surprising news ever, James Madison mutually parted ways with head coach Louis Rowe on Monday, thus ending a disappointing four-year stint that was controversial from the start. Rowe picked up the job after the school let go of longtime coach Matt Brady. Prior to his dismissal, Brady led JMU to a 21-win season, his fourth 20-win season in eight years as coach. Now an assistant at Maryland, Brady watched as the Dukes railed to finish above .500 or reach 15 wins in four seasons under Rowe.

Rowe, who hadn’t held a D-1 head coaching job before JMU, finished with a 43-85 overall record. In CAA play, his final record was 21-51. In the CAA tournament, he finished with a 2-4 record.

“The competitive expectations for this program are high, and a change of direction is necessary in order to meet those goals,” James Madison athletic director Jeff Bourne said in a statement via ESPN.

As the losses piled up under Rowe, the attendance at Dukes games also fell. This is especially interesting because one of the reasons Brady was let go of was due to attendance. Yet, under Rowe, the team never averaged as many fans as they did in Brady’s last season in Harrisonburg, and the number dropped every year.

James Madison Basketball Home Attendance

  • 2016: 3001 avg. (Brady’s last season)
  • 2017: 2867 avg. (Rowe’s first season)
  • 2018: 2664 avg. (Rowe’s second season)
  • 2019: 2464 avg. (Rowe’s third season)

(numbers courtesy of NCAA)

The numbers for this season haven’t been released yet, but it should be noted their home finale drew just 1,763 fans this year.

Outside of the attendance woes, Rowe’s tenure at JMU was also notable for his failure to shake George Mason head coach Dave Paulsen’s hand after a game during the 2018-19 season.

The school hired Collegiate Sports Associates to help with the search for their next coach. JMU will notably debut a new arena next season, the Atlantic Union Bank Center.

The Dukes lost 63-61 to Elon in the first round of the CAA Basketball Tournament on Saturday.