{"id":6641,"date":"2014-04-08T00:04:56","date_gmt":"2014-04-08T04:04:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6641"},"modified":"2014-04-08T00:04:56","modified_gmt":"2014-04-08T04:04:56","slug":"student-appreciation-day-a-big-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=6641","title":{"rendered":"Student Appreciation Day a Big Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

JMU Football held it’s first ever Student Appreciation Day on Saturday and it was a rousing success by all accounts<\/a>. \u00a0Coach Withers brought this idea with him from Ohio State and JMU outdrew AAC member UConn’s similar event despite the fact we are #CAA4Lyfe! Students got a chance to watch practice, meet coaches, run routes and plays, and tour the locker room in the Plecker. \u00a0One student even got to try field goals (in boat shoes) with a huge crowd around to put the pressure on. \u00a0And the players themselves, running drills surrounded by their classmates in closer fashion than a PGA event, seemed to love the attention and really ramp up the enthusiasm by all accounts.<\/p>\n

\"withers-james-madison\"<\/a>We are thrilled to hear Coach Withers initiated this event and it seems like the type of thing that might even lead to bigger events in other years, students actually getting to know the players, and maybe even a few students learning to care enough to stick around for the fourth quarter at BFS. \u00a0All we know is we would have loved an event like this<\/a> when we were students. Hell, we’d love an event like this now, but no word yet on when Alumni Appreciation Day will take off.<\/p>\n

And oh yeah, not a bad spring recruiting event. And one of those recruits even mentioned something about realignment. Wait, what’s that? \u00a0You don’t want to hear that “R” word? \u00a0Neither does JMU and neither do we. But if you’re anything like me (as opposed to rational Rob) and you’re going to really lose it if news breaks soon that Liberty, effing Jerry Falwell’s open enrollment, non-selective admission, hate-filled Liberty, is taking the last available ticket out of the joke that is FCS while the Dukes brain trust continues monitoring the situation, than just know you’re not alone. \u00a0Guess there’s always a silver lining – if Liberty honors the last game of their series with JMU, at least we’ll finally host an FBS team in Bridgeforth! Now excuse me while I go stab myself with a spork.<\/p>\n