Billy Napier back in Sun Belt at James Madison. It’s a changed world from Louisiana-Lafayette days

By Canadian Press on December 15, 2025.

HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP) — Four years ago, Billy Napier walked away from a Sun Belt Conference powerhouse he had built at Louisiana-Lafayette. It was, in part, because he wasn’t sure how that program would handle the financial challenges of new rules allowing college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness.

Four years later, Napier is returning to the league with James Madison. And the Dukes’ ability to compete financially was one of the main drivers behind his decision to become the successor to UCLA-bound Bob Chesney.

“This place has what it takes to dominate the competition for sure,” Napier said of a program ranked No. 19 in the AP Top 25 and headed to the College Football Playoff.

Napier went 40-12 in four seasons at Louisiana-Lafayette, dominating Sun Belt competition. His Ragin’ Cajuns won the Western Division all four years he was there and claimed league championships in his final two seasons. He was twice named the league’s coach of the year.

But after posting a 12-1 record and his second Sun Belt title in 2021, Napier left for Florida.

“I stayed at Louisiana after Year 2 when we had opportunities, after Year 3 when we had opportunities,” Napier said. “And we probably, truth be known, would have stayed longer if it wasn’t for NIL. Because we know that was coming. We knew that roster was going to be tough to keep together.”

Changed landscape

Napier went 22-23 at Florida, starting this season 3-4 when he was fired in his fourth year leading the Gators.

As he surveyed the landscape, considering his future, he thought a lot about how college football had changed since he first took over at Louisiana-Lafayette in 2018. The NIL rules allowing college athletes to cash in on their fame went live in summer 2021, while this year marked the arrival of revenue sharing following the $2.8 billion House antitrust settlement.

“It’s very different,” Napier said. “Obviously (revenue sharing) is ultimately a huge difference maker at the Group of Six level. Now, you evaluate jobs relative to alignment, resources — which basically means building infrastructure and hiring a great staff — and then the rev share that allows you to compensate really good players.”

Napier said that, the transfer portal and roster limits following the House settlement have changed the game since he last coached in the Sun Belt.

“But ultimately, football’s football,” Napier said. “We’re going to need to evaluate well. Basically going to recruit a high school cycle each year. Then you’re going to recruit a portal cycle each year. Then start over.”

Those changes aren’t something Napier is thinking about in the abstract.

He jumps right into one of the most awkward positions in the country — seeking to retain players of a CFP-bound team while their current coach presumably is hoping to take some of the Dukes’ top talent with him west to UCLA. (No. 12 seed JMU faces No. 5 Oregon on Saturday night.)

“I’m for transparency,” Napier said. “Let’s rip the Band-Aid off. Who are you taking? And who wants to go?”

Roster management

When Curt Cignetti left JMU for Indiana, he took 13 of the program’s top players with him. That group includes the Hoosiers’ leader in rushing touchdowns (Kaelon Black), its leader in receiving scores (Elijah Sarratt), its leader in pass breakups (D’Angelo Ponds) and its second-leading tackler (Aiden Fisher).

Nine former JMU players started multiple games this season for top-ranked Indiana, which beat then-No. 2 Ohio State for the Big Ten Conference title and is the top seed in the 12-team playoff.

Chesney had to rebuild JMU almost entirely from scratch. He brought in 58 new players his first season.

Athletic director Matt Roan said he and Chesney navigated the entire season with openness and honesty, starting with UCLA’s first inquiries about Chesney after Week 3. That gives him confidence that Chesney and Napier will be able to work simultaneously and professionally toward the future of both coaches’ programs.

“We were very transparent throughout,” Roan said. “The day that UCLA announced that DeShaun Foster was being removed as the head coach, they started calling. And every program in America started calling. And we would have those open, honest conversations about where things could go. We’ve been the adults in the room.”

JMU president Jim Schmidt expressed confidence the Dukes will remain successful under Napier no matter how the fight over players turns out.

“I have no doubt that we may lose some talented players to UCLA,” Schmidt said. “We certainly lost some talented players to Indiana. I believe that we will retain the right players and I believe Coach Billy will bring some great players to round that out.”

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Mike Barber, The Associated Press