A crazy coaching carousel Monday keeps spinning. First it was Kyle Smith to Stanford, then it was Danny Sprinkle to Washington, and now it’s Vanderbilt hiring James Madison coach Mark Byington, the school announced Tuesday. The hire was a swift decision, coming in less than 18 hours after Byington’s 12th-seeded James Madison team lost to No. 4 Duke 93-55 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
“Vanderbilt is getting an extraordinary coach and person in Mark Byington. From our first conversations, Coach Byington impressed me with his competitiveness, his intensity, his passion for developing young men on and off the court, his love for the game, and his plan to elevate Vanderbilt men’s basketball to new levels of success,” Vanderbilt athletic director Candice Storey Lee said in a statement released by the school. “I was struck by the shared passion that we have for what this basketball program can be and for all that is possible at this great institution. I was also impressed with Mark’s approach to building an elite culture and his desire to fully immerse himself in all corners of Commodore Nation. He has proven his ability to turn programs around at Georgia Southern and James Madison by working tirelessly and communicating a shared vision.”
The Dukes finished 32-4 this season and were No. 62 at KenPom.com. JMU opened up tournament play with a convincing 72-61 win over 5-seed Wisconsin, giving the program its first NCAA tourney victory since 1983.
“I’m thrilled and honored to be the head men’s basketball coach at Vanderbilt University. I know Commodore fans are eager for success and we will get there together,” Byington said in a statement released by the school.
Byington spent the past four seasons building JMU into a mid-major monster, going 82-36 and guiding the program through a transition from the CAA to the Sun Belt. It was a special season for the Dukes that started with a road win over preseason top-five team in Michigan State.
Vanderbilt closing means that the only high-major jobs still on the table are Louisville, Oklahoma State and SMU.
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